Early Spay and Neuter

Your Mini Goldendoodle from Springview as well as puppies from many other reputable Labradoodle and Goldendoodle breeders will go through this procedure before they go home. It is a well known and accepted fact that spaying or neutering your pet is a good idea. In most cases neutered animals make better pets, they are less aggressive and because they are not driven to find a mate, they are more focused on you, their pack leader. It is found that 85% of bites to humans are from un-neutered dogs. They are also found to be much healthier with a lower risk of reproductive disorders and many cancers.

There have been questions as to when is the best time to spay or neuter your pet. Study after study has found that spaying or neutering a pet at a young age is a much less stressful surgery on the pet, and because these smaller animals require less anesthesia, they recover much more readily than they would if they were to be spayed or neutered at 4 to 6 months of age. In most cases, puppies that have this procedure done before being released to their families are running and playing with their litter mates the very same day, as opposed to a many day recuperation for an older pet. We use a vet that has had years of experience in early spay and neuter and does this procedure on a regular basis, not only for us, but for his regular clients and also other breeders in the area. He and his staff are very gentle and loving, I am always very comfortable knowing that our puppies are held gently, and treated in a very caring gentle manner. Our vet like many others did not always do this procedure, but at the request of other local breeders several years ago, he did the research and learned not only how to do the procedure but that it was in most cases an easier procedure not only for him but for the puppies. As with any surgery, there are risks involved, but the risks are not because they are younger, it is the risk of the effect of the anesthesia on the dog. If the dog is going to have an adverse reaction, they are not going to outgrow that risk. Our vet gives the animals a very thorough evaluation prior to preparing the puppies for surgery to assess their overall health and make sure that everything looks normal prior to operating. In some cases, we will postpone the surgery on our Petite Goldendoodles for an additional week because of their size. If this is the case, they will be released at a later than normal date. When our puppies come home in the afternoon after having their surgeries, they are wrestling and playing like nothing ever happened. Their tiny incisions are healed in days in most cases before the pups even go home. Many vets that don’t agree with this procedure are from the “older” school of thinking and have not read any studies or have done any research to back up their stand. They also have never done the procedure so have no first hand experience of how the procedure can be much easier and safer on the pup. They don’t know so they don’t like it. You will not find a vet that has any experience with the procedure that has decided not to support it’s use.

Why do we choose to have this procedure done at this early age? While one consideration is to protect the breeding lines that we have spent an enormous amount of research, time and money creating, the most compelling reason is to cut down on the number of dogs that are euthanized each year in shelters. I grew up in VT and for years, volunteered at our local animal shelter. Luckily, I was not involved in the constant euthanization process, but I was very well aware of how many animals we had to euthanize each and every week. That was many years ago and the problem is only worse now. We spend a great deal of time and effort to make sure our puppies go to families that will cherish them as a member of their family forever. It is very easy for time to slip away and for the male to come of age and find a fertile female, or for the female to come into heat at an early age and before you know it, she is having an unexpected “oops” litter. These puppies in turn would be sold or given away with little to no thought of the quality or preparedness of the family to deal with the new member of it’s household. Many dogs are turned into shelters by the age of 14 mos. because the families are not financialy ready or the pup has become “a bigger responsiblity” than the family had planned. We do our best to avoid this situation with our screening process and our policy to always rehome any dog that comes from our program for it’s entire life. In the US, between 4 and 6 million animals are euthanized each year. We do not want any of our puppies or their offspring contributing to that figure.

While there have been some poorly done studies in certain animals that have shown a higher level of incontinence, most of the research does not back up this viewpoint. Please read on for some history of the procedure and veterinary prospective on some of the issues that have been raised on ES&N. The following professionals have come out and wholeheartedly endorsed the procedure.

AVMA-American Veterinary Medical Assoc
HSUS, Humane Society of the US
The Ohio State University
FranklinCountyDogs.com
Cat Fanciers Association
Texas A&M
College of Vet Med, Univ of Minnesota
Knox County Humane Society
Massachusetts Soc for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
American Humane Association
Doris Day Animal League
AKC
AVAR (Assoc of Vets for Animal Rights)
The American Animal Hospital Assn
ASPCA

Pediatric, or Early Spay/Neuter, refers to spaying or neutering pets at a much earlier age than the old six to nine month standard. With today’s anesthetics, advanced monitoring equipment, and surgical techniques, not only are these procedures safe in young puppies and kittens, the risk of complication is lower and the recovery period shorter than in mature pets. Concerns about adverse effects have now been proven unfounded. The American Veterinary Medical Association, the Humane Society of the United States, the Association of Spay/Neuter Veterinarians, and the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia, are among those that support early spay/neuter. Here is an article from the ASPCA on Early Spay and Neuter.

The reasons for spaying and neutering are compelling

Overpopulation and the resulting mass euthanasia and neglect.
It avoids heat cycles, unwelcome visitors fighting on the lawn, accidental pregnancies, unwanted puppies and kittens, inconvenience, and expense.
Males and their caretakers are spared roaming and fighting, and the resulting injuries, spread of disease, and expenses. In our area, 80% of the dogs killed by cars and 80% of the cases with feline AIDS are un-neutered males.
Better-behaved pets – Neutered pets rarely spray or mark, roam and fight. 85% of bites involve un-neutered dogs.
Healthier pets – Neutered males don’t have testicular cancer or the prostate problems common in intact dogs. Females spayed before their first heat cycle have 96.4% less breast cancer, a common cause of death. They have no risk of uterine infection, or the many complications associated with pregnancy, whelping or raising a litter.

But why spay and neuter the babies?

It’s safer. Our mortality rate is lower. Complications occur less often. Most compelling, in a study done by veterinary students (completely inexperienced surgeons), their death and complication rates were lower.
It’s easier on the pet – anesthesia time is shorter and recovery takes only a few hours.
It completely eliminates the possibility of accidental litters. We daily hear the infamous “I didn’t know she’d go in heat so soon,” and “she just got out for a few minutes.” The list is endless. My personal favorite is “She can’t be pregnant, I chained her up when she was in heat.”
It completely eliminates the possibility of intentional breeding by well meaning, but ignorant guardians. The old “so the kids can have the experience”, “just one litter,” “we can make a little money,” or “I found her a good home” that turns out to be a back yard puppy mill.
Breeders can avoid having their names show up on poor quality stock and help control competition by backyard breeders.
The bottom line is fewer unwanted pets, and fewer ill-bred animals filling up homes so that others go without.

Here is a great ‘objection’ and ‘answer’ session with Dr. Land:

Comment Quote from the Dalmatian Club of America – Study now appearing on website states For physiological and anatomical considerations that are logically and medically sound, the development of the os penis is incomplete until about 12 months of age in males. Castration prior to this age impedes the development of the os penis, and the resulting immature, small os penis size may contribute to the development of clinically relevant obstructive urinary stone disease in these animals. This subgroup analysis would be very important to conduct, if possible, from the survey results as it may support the recommendation to breeders, owners and others to delay male Dalmatian castration to one year of age.
Response from Dr Tracy Land Castration prior to this age impedes the development of the os penis, and the resulting immature, small os penis size may contribute to the development of clinically relevant obstructive urinary stone disease in these animals. That “may” is pretty telling. I can give you a stack of scientific studies like a phone book showing no problems. So the questions is do they have even one study to support their supposition? If they did, wouldn’t they quote it instead of saying “may” – which also means “maybe not”. Where is the study? And where is the logic? Doesn’t intuitively make sense to me that a smaller bone would cause more of a problem? If the theory is that the bone causes the stones to block, wouldn’t a smaller bone be a good thing? Actually, I don’t think it’s the bone that causes the blockage at all, but soft tissue swelling, though I’d have to consult a urologist to confirm that. Growth plates close at maturity, which stops the growth of the bone. Dalmatian size dog will close from ten to sixteen months in most cases. So if we neuter at 6, he’s still not closed. Again – where is the logic (or study) that says six months is any better than six weeks? Seems to me another case of someone reaching to support a position that isn’t backed up by the science. Tracy Land, DVM

Comment from Breeder, November 2007 We do not do pediatric S/N because of the increased risk of osteosarcoma in large breeds.
Response from Dr Tracy Land This is an old one. If you actually read & understand these studies, the only remotely relevant finding is an increased risk of osteosarcoma in neutered vs unneutered Rottweilers, which are genetically predisposed to osteosarcoma anyway. The issue of age at sterilization IS NOT ADDRESSED. Overall, sterilized dogs live longer than those unsterilzied ones. True more osteosarc in sterilized Rottweilers, but overall they don’t live as long due to deaths from other cancers & causes. I’m attaching an excellent article from a famous veterinarian that attempts to explain some of these specific issues, one that has done a lot of our studies proving the safety of pediatric S/N. It’s a little complex, but is a great example of how studies can be misinterpreted by those lacking the scientific background to understand them, and how they can be just plain misquoted to support a position that otherwise can’t really be supported. Do take the time to try to read it, and stash it away somewhere safe for future reference. It isn’t as if we who support pediatric spay/neuter choose to ignore any relevant or even possibly relevant finding. Of the dozens of studies that will stand up to peer review that have been done, the ONLY negative finding is a slight increase in urinary incontinence in female puppies spayed prior to 12 weeks of age. Though the increase is slight (3%) and the finding contradicted by other studies, we acknowledge it, attempt to err on the safe side when possible, and fairly weigh the possible disadvantage against the benefit of NBA (neuter before adoption) programs – guess what, a few animals that may be incontinent, which is treatable, doesn’t outweigh millions dead. You’ll almost invariably find anyone who will argue that has never spent any time in a kill facility.

Comment from Dalmatian Rescuer November 2007Dalmatians have a unique uric acid metabolism, with high levels of uric acid excretion in their urine, which can make kidney and bladder stone formation a possibility.
Response from Dr Tracy Land Dals do indeed have that problem. The penis is indeed smaller in dogs castrated early – BUT – not the urethra, the difference is that the erectile tissue in the penis (around the urethra) does not develop. The thought process is logical, but basically flawed in that regard. The studies on cats are 30 years old, going way back to research on the old blocked kitty problem. I believe University of Florida repeated the study on dogs fifteen years ago.

Comment from a Weimaraner rescue person 99% of pediatric spays have incontinence
Response from Dr Tracy Land Incontinence – If 99% of early spays were incontinent, we’d have stopped long ago – that’s just absurd. One study showed a 3% increase in the risk of incontinence if female dogs spayed prior to 3 months, though that finding has not been the case in several other studies. The significance of a possible 3% increase in a treatable problem pales in comparison to six million dead annually due to overpopulation. I personally have done thousands of pediatric spays, and have NEVER ONCE had one of my pups come back incontinent. I do frequently treat incontinence in my outpatient clinic, and without exception, every single patient was spayed at or after six months, or not at all. Who ever is saying that just has absolutely no clue what they’re talking about.

Comment from Weimaraner Rescue We also prefer that they are developed hormonally and structurally to their best advantage.
Response from Dr Tracy Land 1. Hormones? Makes no sense. A weim spayed at six months is not “hormonally” mature either, so what’s the difference? We’re currently collecting mature ovaries for research into an injectable method of sterilization for dogs at Auburn. They don’t want us to collect six month old ovaries, as they don’t yet contain the hormones needed for their research. So there really is no valid issue there. 2. Structurally – Dogs sterilized early will have slightly delayed closure of the growth plates, and therefore be a fraction of an inch taller than those sterilized later. Who cares? I do think this is a valid point for dogs being shown at conformation, as they will not develop quite the same extent of secondary sex characteristics – such as breadth of chest or head. But, the average pet over can’t tell that difference, show dogs can’t be sterilized anyway unless someone’s cheating, and there is little or no difference between those spayed at six months or three. So again, logically not a valid issue there.

Comment from person who adopted rescue dog that was spayed at 8wks She has too much skin around her pee pee because the early surgery stopped her maturation of her vaginal area. This causes the skin around it to keep it covered, therefore keeping it moist. This can lead to bladder infections and staph, per my vet at XXX (Columbus Ohio Area Vetl Hospital). There is a host of other things that could come from this. I have also been told that a female should be at least six months of age before spaying. When I took her to this vet at an earlier date, the Dr that saw her said that they don’t do spaying at 8 weeks. I have a lot of mixed feelings about this. I don’t understand why this was done at such an early age. I would have taken her to be spayed when she was six months.
Response from Dr Tracy Land I can tell you that the problem being described is usually seen in overweight dogs, and the cause is the obesity, not the age at spay. The cases I have seen have, with one exception, always been overweight. One was just primary anatomical problem. I’ve spayed a lot of puppies, (thousands) and never seen it as a problem in one of those. Only those spayed at six months or later, that were too chubby. Puppies spayed prior to six months usually have no significant difference in the size of the vulva than those spayed at six months. This is another classic and tragic example of a vet who hasn’t done his/her homework on pediatric spay/neuter, and has no experience in the area, unjustly criticizing something they don’t understand. Research, tons of it, have never mentioned this a problem finding. Tracy Land, DVM

Comment -sent to me by a breeder after we began discussing pediatric spay/neuter.
Kellie, Here again, maybe for most breeds, but NOT shihtzus ! They have tiny noses, with tiny openings that don’t totally open up until they are about 6 months old….so it is extremely dangerous for THIS breed especially to have pediatric s/n. I HAVE read up on it, and I have also called and talked to 22 vets, including Michigan state and Purdue! They said this is NOT necessary, good LORD girl, a 7 week old pup is not going to get bred, so it is ONLY COMMON SENSE, to wait a bit! Like I said, 4 months is adequate….that is how I feel, and its wrong and cruel to spay or neuter at 6-7 weeks old for a snub nosed dog….ANY snub nose dog. Sherry, breeder in Michigan
Response from Dr Tracy Land Some special considerations have to be given to short-nosed breeds during anesthesia, regardless of their age or size. That said, it just isn’t logical to say that they are at any greater risk at 7 weeks or 7 months or 7 years. I’ve done hundreds of short nosed puppies, of various breeds, including many Shih Tzu’s over the years and never had a problem. I have a Japanese Chin breeder, and a King Charles breeder that regularly bring me their (very expensive) pups to alter before sale. Can’t get much smaller and shorter nosed. No problem. Have the vets allegedly advising against pediatric spay/neuter actually done the procedures? Or are they offering an opinion based on no experience? If they are having trouble, and I’m not, you’ve got to wonder about the surgeon or the protocol. Properly done, there are no problems (coming from someone who has actually done hundreds). The younger the dog, the shorter the procedure time, and therefore the shorter the anesthetic time. Logically, that would render the anesthetic risk lower in the younger animals.

For further information contact Dr. Tracy Land at:
4630 Martin Rd., Cumming, GA 30041
Fax: (770) 781-4237
tracylanddvm@bellsouth.net
www.projectspayneuter.com

Early spaying and neutering, pre-puberal spaying and neutering, pediatric spaying and neutering are all talking about the same thing … the neutering of our dogs and cats earlier than the commonly recommended and accepted ages. Veterinarians decided years ago that the time to spay a female dog or cat was after she had a litter. Motherhood appeared to mature the female. The male did not have babies so they were not figured into the formula and consequently ignored. Quite possibly a man thing. J Later we found that if the female dog was spayed before she had a litter, the incidence of mammary tumors was reduced to zero and the recommendation was modified to, “spay her just before her first heat”. The client then asked, “When does she come into heat the first time?” And so, the time to spay her became, on the average, “about six months”. Again male dogs did not have babies and many male owners anthropomorphized and were reluctant to have the males neutered. “Gee Doc, ain’t you gonna let em have some fun?” This type of comment is still heard today. I usually ask if they have seen the dogs mating act. It is very uncomfortable and doesn’t look to be much fun to me. Most male dogs were neutered to minimize or stop aggression; their part in the reproductive process was not a viewed as a problem … if the neighbor’s bitch was in heat … keep her locked up.

Well, times and attitudes changed. Unwanted puppies and kittens were inundating the planet and something had to be done. The hue and cry became, “spay and neuter” your dogs and cats. But S & N alone have not been able to quell the tide of pet overpopulation. The animal shelters are overcrowded … animals were adopted and even though they were required to leave a neuter deposit … fifty to sixty percent of these animals were not spayed or neutered and became contributors to the overpopulation problem.

Quietly over the past twenty-five to thirty years a few progressive animal shelters began various early sterilization programs with uniformly consistent success stories. If they are spayed or neuteredbefore they leave the shelter … they cannot become contributors. Puppies and kittens are being neutered as young as six to eight weeks. The development of new anesthetics and surgical procedures has made these procedures as safe or safer than the commonly accepted time of six months. The younger patients recover faster and have fewer surgical and post-surgical complications than their older counterparts. There is very little to no body fat to contend with, the incision is smaller, surgery time is reduced and recovery time is very short.

The research available on the physical, behavioral, short and long-term effects of prepubescent neutering in dogs and cats shows no adverse results. Based on this information, the American Humane Association supports this practice as a feasible solution to decreasing pet overpopulation and the tragedy of resulting deaths. Early sterilization practices are also endorsed by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Animal Hospital Association and the California Veterinary Medical Association.

On a personal note, I heartily endorse this program also. I have been actively participating in ESP since 1984 and have performed ESP on approximately 1000 animals. We have not noted any negative results, in fact, clients typically report these puppies and kittens are the “best we have ever had”. We have not lost a single animal because of this procedure! Seven of sixteen Irish Wolfhound puppies from our last litter and two of nine from the litter prior to that were neutered prior to placement in their new homes at ten weeks of age. The first litter is now twenty-eight months, the last litter is now eighteen months old, and no negative results have been reported.

People worry that this early procedure might stunt growth. In fact, research shows that the dogs will actually get a little larger. The reason for this is that the long bones tend to grow for a slightly longer period. Since this extra growth is not caused by more rapid growth, but instead by prolonged growth, the implication is that this might be a good thing in our giant breed. It is known that when growth proceeds slowly over a longer period, the bone density (strength) increases.

Conscientious breeders have, for years, sold companion quality puppies without registration papers and/or with a non-breeding or spay/neuter contract to try and prevent undesirable reproduction. In fact, these methods were not always effective. Dogs, which shouldn’t have been bred, still were. Pediatric spay/neuter is foolproof!

We offer this procedure at no extra charge to all our puppy purchasers who are not interested in showing their puppy. So far, in our last two litters, 100% of the buyers to whom we offered this procedure were thrilled to accept. It saved them money and the emotional trauma of having their pet undergo an elective procedure AFTER they had become attached to it. We strongly recommend that breeders consider this option and discuss it with your own veterinarian.

EARLY NEUTERING OF THE DOG
AND CATS

W PRESTON STUBBS

Gainesville, Florida

KATHARINE R. SALMERI

Red Bank, New Jersey

and MARK S. BLOOMBERG

Gainesville, Florida

Early neutering of the dog and cat by Stubbs, Salmeri and Bloomberg. 1995.In: Bonagura (ed), Kirk’s Current Veterinary Therapy, XII, WB Saunders & Co., Phila., pp.1037-1040.

Pet overpopulation continues to be a leading cause of death in dogs and cats in the United States, with millions of animals being euthanatized each year despite current population control programs. Surgical sterilization is the most common and reliable means of pet population control, leading most animal shelter/ control facilities to employ mandatory neuter policies. However, because surgery is usually delayed until dogs and cats are at least 6 months of age (Stone, Cantrell, and Sharp, 1993), many animals adopted from shelters remain sexually intact and are never neutered. Pre-pubertal gonadectomy or early age neutering (6 to 14 weeks) is being advocated by animal shelter and humane organizations as a means of enhancing the efficacy of sterilization programs. As the terminology suggests, surgical sterilization is performed prior to the onset of sexual maturity, and hence reproductive capability, which may occur as early as 6 months of age in dogs and 4 months of age in cats.

Although it is one of the oldest surgical procedures performed on domestic animals, few objective scientific data exist to suggest an optimal age for elective gonadectomy in the dog and cat (Salmeri, Olson, and Bloomberg, 1991). In the United States, dogs and cats are routinely neutered between 5 and 8 months of age. Most veterinarians are comfortable performing elective gonadectomy on animals of this age group because untoward effects are minimal. A more rational basis for this policy is lacking, however.

The safety of early neutering has been questioned by veterinarians because of their unfamiliarity with surgery and anesthesia on pediatric patients. Other concerns about prepubertal neutering of dogs and cats include stunted growth, obesity, perivulvar dermatitis, vaginitis, behavioral changes, urinary incontinence, increased morbidity/mortality during surgery and anesthesia, and impaired immunocompetence (Salmeri, Olson, and Bloomberg, 1991). In the cat, urethral obstruction (males) and defective formation of the preputial cavity (Herron, 1971) have been cited as potential problems. Mounting clinical and research data, however, would suggest that most concerns regarding prepubertal gonadectomy are unfounded (Aronsohn and Faggella, 1993; Theran, 1993; Salmeri et al., 1991). In fact, several studies have found that early neutering affects skeletal and physical development, behavior, and urethral function in much the same manner as more traditionally timed gonadectomy.

CLINICAL AND RESEARCH DATA

The aforementioned concerns were addressed in two separate but parallel studies conducted at the University of Florida. The effects of prepubertal gonadectomy on skeletal growth, weight gain, food intake, body fat, secondary sex characteristics, urethral function, and behavioral development were investigated in both dogs (Salmeri et al., 1991) and cats. Both studies divided animals into three treatment groups: animals neutered at 7 weeks of age (I), 7 months of age (II), and those which remained sexually intact as a control population (III).

Gonadectomy (groups I and II) delayed closure of the distal radial growth plate in both dogs and cats as compared with sexually intact controls. This allowed for an extended period of growth and greater radial/ulnar length in all neutered male dogs and group I bitches. Although delayed physeal closure was observed in neutered cats, there was no significant difference in mature radius/ulna length amongst the three treatment groups. Thus, rather than causing stunted growth, prepubertal gonadectomy may actually result in normal or greater stature. This delay in physeal closure probably occurs because gonadal hormones facilitate physeal cartilage maturation; in their absence the growth plate remains open for a longer period of time. Some investigators have suggested that this may increase the risk of physeal fractures (Houlton and McGlennon, 1992).

In dogs, gonadectomy did not affect growth rate, food intake, weight gain, or back-fat depth (body fat). Body weight and body fat were similar among neutered (group I and II) cats; however, sexually intact cats weighed less and had less body fat than their neutered counterparts. Prepubertal gonadectomy had no adverse effect on urethral function in the dog or cat as deter

mined by urethral pressure profilometry. Male cats of all three groups had similar urethras diameters.

The external genitalia of prepubertally neutered animals of both sexes and species remained infantile in appearance. Male cats neutered at 7 weeks of age had a virtual absence of penile spines, but the penis could be fully exteriorized, indicating separation of the balanopreputial fold. This is contrary to results describing persistent preputial adhesions in four of ten male cats neutered at 5 months of age (Herron, 1971). The penis, prepuce, and os penis of group I dogs were infantile, as were the vulvas of early neutered bitches and queens. No problems with vaginitis or perivulvar dermatitis were noted, however. Behavioral characteristics were similar amongst all groups with the exception of greater intra species aggression and fewer demonstrations of affection in sexually intact cats. Neutering did not result in lethargy or inactivity in either dogs or cats.

The safety of early neutering in a clinical setting has been well established (Aronsohn and Faggella, 1993; Theran, 1993). In the Massachusetts SPCA study (Theran, 1993), gonadectomies were performed on over 350 6- to 14-week-old dogs and eats without serious complications or mortality. The authors have had similar experience with a smaller group of research animals.