[Labradorable]

Why would a breeder put in a contract a requirement that a person buying one of their pups must wait until the pup is between one and two years old to have the pup neutered?

I thought it was norm for a pup to be spayed/neutered in-and-around the 6 month old bracket.

Sorry for all the weird questions, but I've come across a couple breeders with this as a stipulation.

 

[Shane23]

My contract required me to wait till the dog was about 12 to 18 months old. It's so that the dog can fully mature before it's neutered. I know somebody on here can give you more technical information on the reason why. I waited till Shane was 18 months old.

 

[YellowJakesMom]

Altering a dog later in life has been shown to decrease the risk for certain cancers and/or other conditions. It will also alter the way a dog looks, as it allows more time for the hormones to influence development.

 

[labby]

I agree with this which is why I require later spaying and neutering also in my contract. Some will come on and argue the opposite so really it depends on what you want to do or what you're required to do by your breeder.

 

[patm]

I think that it is getting more and more common to get dogs altered at an earlier age, and I'm not sure what kind of health argument there is FOR this, but my personal opinion is that they are doing it to try to get more pets neutered. If it is done earlier, the person is less likely to put it off or decide not to. I don't think that it is in the animals best interest to do this, more a human, social thing right now.

 

[Labradorable]

The last time we had to spay a dog was nearly a decade ago, if the "rules" have changed since then I'd love to know. My sister works for a vet clinic and they do most pups at 6 months. I don't know all the pros and cons of doing it earlier or later ... All I know is I don't want my dog to reproduce. LOL

 

[Snowflake]

It wasn't in our contract for Sally, but our breeder strongly urged us to wait until after her first heat. Then, during one of her vet visits, the vet said she had an inverted vulva which would correct itself after her first heat and strongly urged us to wait to spay her until she had been in season once.

We chickened out. As time drew closer to her possibly going into heat, we absolutely chickened out. I just didn't want to go through it, since we had a male Basset Hound (intact) at the time. I agonized and agonized over it and we went ahead and had her spayed.

I still regret it to this day. I so wish I had have listened to my breeder and vet!

 

[Labradorable]

Why do you regret it? Has it harmed her in any way? I've never heard of an inverted vulva before ... did it stay that way?

 

[Snowflake]

I regret it because she still has that inverted vulva and will always have it (unless we have surgery). She also has had occasional UTIs because of that dang vulva!

Inverted vulva is when the vulva goes in either a little or entirely. If you look at your dog's vulva, it should poke out...for um, shall we say, easy access?

Well, Sally's only sticks out a little. If you want to look at her vulva, you have to pull skin back and make it poke out. Her's isn't as bad as some, however.

The vet and breeder and a thousand other experienced people told me that if we let her have that first heat, it would pop out like it is supposed to be. (Obviously being in heat makes the vulva swell?)

 

[labby]

http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/ins-outs.html

 

[Di]

I regret it because she still has that inverted vulva and will always have it (unless we have surgery). She also has had occasional UTIs because of that dang vulva!

Inverted vulva is when the vulva goes in either a little or entirely. If you look at your dog's vulva, it should poke out...for um, shall we say, easy access?

Well, Sally's only sticks out a little. If you want to look at her vulva, you have to pull skin back and make it poke out. Her's isn't as bad as some, however.

The vet and breeder and a thousand other experienced people told me that if we let her have that first heat, it would pop out like it is supposed to be. (Obviously being in heat makes the vulva swell?)

It did the trick for Sammi but it only happened by pure coincidence! She also had an inverted vulva, not knowing about the need for her to go through a heat cycle to fix it, and our vet didn't mention it either so she was scheduled to be spayed at 6 months and just by chance went into heat 2 days prior to when it was suppose to occur. So now I'm glad she did, but at the time I sure wasn't

 

[Shane23]

My sister-in-law is a vet and she thought it was ridiculous that I was waiting. She said it could be done at 4 months. I told her about the documentation my breeder provided me and she said it shouldn't matter because Shane was a "pet". I told her I signed a contract and was going to follow it. Her attitude explains why she is not my vet.

 

[cinderbay]

While I do not agree with early spaying/neutering I do feel it has a place especially when it comes to shelter/rescue dogs.
If one of my puppy buyers does not spay/neuter their dog...so be it. Honestly, how much can I really control??? My contract I think stats between 7-15 months. I don't feel it is fair to ask a puppy buyer to allow a ***** to go into season once (or twice possibly) before they spay her. Heat cycles can be stressful and very messy and the risk of an oopsy is alway there.

 

[BigBrownDog]

I think you will find that vets in general take a "public health" stance on spay and neuter policy in that it should be done as early as possible in order to avoid unwanted puppies further clogging up the shelters. They have a global viewpoint. That viewpoint says that the average owner is not aware or responsible enough to adequately shield their female from males intent on breeding and that unintended pregnancies will result.

As an individual you have to weigh your ability to properly avoid an unplanned breeding against the benefits of allowing your girl to mature fully. It's your dog and you have the right to choose when to spay her - just be aware that having a ***** in heat around is not a picnic and males will try very, very hard to get to her.

I personally feel like the vets have a solid point. You may be the exception and be properly responsible - but in general I agree with spaying at 6 months. (but if it were my dog - I would allow him/her to grow up first)

(I originally posted the above on the old board in reply to the same question- for those of you for whom this looks familiar)
Since your breeder is requiring that you wait until 12 months or older, I would do that. One of the things that you see with dogs de-sexed early is legginess. I have a male neutered at 6 months and he is quite tall. My last female dog was also spayed at 6 months and she was very leggy as well. Growth plates close more slowly when they are hormonally altered via de-sexing. Many people feel that this also puts a dog at increased risk for orthopedic problems in the months between the spay/neuter and adulthood.

I will not neuter my puppy until he is at least a year old and I anticipate I will hear some grief from my vet for this.

 

[YellowJakesMom]

I think you will find that vets in general take a "public health" stance on spay and neuter policy in that it should be done as early as possible in order to avoid unwanted puppies further clogging up the shelters. They have a global viewpoint. That viewpoint says that the average owner is not aware or responsible enough to adequately shield their female from males intent on breeding and that unintended pregnancies will result.

As an individual you have to weigh your ability to properly avoid an unplanned breeding against the benefits of allowing your girl to mature fully. It's your dog and you have the right to choose when to spay her - just be aware that having a ***** in heat around is not a picnic and males will try very, very hard to get to her.

I personally feel like the vets have a solid point. You may be the exception and be properly responsible - but in general I agree with spaying at 6 months. (but if it were my dog - I would allow him/her to grow up first)

( I originally posted this on the old board in reply to the same question- for those of you for whom this looks familiar)

Thank you! This is my viewpoint as well. While there are a lot of JL'ers who I am sure are responsible enough to handle an intact dog - the vast majority of the general public is not.

 

[justine]

I regret it because she still has that inverted vulva and will always have it (unless we have surgery). She also has had occasional UTIs because of that dang vulva!

Inverted vulva is when the vulva goes in either a little or entirely. If you look at your dog's vulva, it should poke out...for um, shall we say, easy access?

Well, Sally's only sticks out a little. If you want to look at her vulva, you have to pull skin back and make it poke out. Her's isn't as bad as some, however.

The vet and breeder and a thousand other experienced people told me that if we let her have that first heat, it would pop out like it is supposed to be. (Obviously being in heat makes the vulva swell?)

Abbey's is the same way. I didn't even know about it until the 4th vet. She was spayed before I even knew about it.

But I guess it depends on the person and the breeder. There are pros and cons to both doing it early and later.

 

[Labradorable]

Okay, all of this makes sense, but I have another question. I've heard that if a male (which is my first choice) isn't neutered at an early age there tends to be more problems with him peeing in the house and marking territory. Is this true? I just want to do what is best foremost for the dog and for my household. I've had a male dog before (neutered at 6 months old) and never had any issues with peeing where he wasn't supposed to. I'm sure it all comes down to the dog's personality and training ... or maybe I'm totally wrong.

 

[kelli]

Okay, all of this makes sense, but I have another question. I've heard ...

Where? Is that the word on the street? Try and quantify "i've heard" with a source.. it helps to better dispell rumour and opinion.

If you're so worried, just follow what your breeder and your vet recommend.

 

[HersheyK's Dad]

Labby's site, she posted it, has some really good information on when to neuter. I believe there are two considerations independent of bias.

The first being some really good information regarding the probability of certain cancers increasing or decreasing if the ***** is spayed before or after the first heat.

The second being the full and proper development of the animal. There is significant evidence that if the female is spayed before first heat, she just doesn't develop the same physically if spayed before first heat. The same for the male, he just won't build up the same skeleton and muscle mass if neutered too early.

 

[Labradorable]

Where? Is that the word on the street? Try and quantify "i've heard" with a source.. it helps to better dispell rumour and opinion.

If you're so worried, just follow what your breeder and your vet recommend.

I'm not "so worried", I'm just trying to do what you've said ... dispell rumour and opinion. I've "heard" these things from friends with male dogs, from a vet I know (not the vet I use for my animals) and its one of those things I grew up listening to from grandparents. No real decent source, which is why I'm asking the question here. I get the impression you are offended by my questions.