Too early to be spayed?

Question

I have a 9 week-old ShiTzu and I would like to spay her. I called one vet and they told me they wouldn't fix her until she is 6 months old. Then I called a place indicated by the Humane Society and they said I could take her now or at any moment. What do you guys think would be better for her? Is there ok spay a 9 week-old dog?

Just letting you guys know I have decided to wait until she gets a little older, maybe between 5 to 6 months. She is too little and too cute!
Thanks a lot for all your help!!

Answer 1

I am getting them done at about 6 weeks. It much easier on the puppy.

Call around for a vet that does prepubescent spay and neuters.

Some vets its not that they don't want to do it being young but the likely hood of them catching a disease while at the vet.

Answer 2

"Ovariohysterectomies/gonadectomies (spay/neuter surgery) for puppies and kittens (eight to sixteen weeks of age), was endorsed by the American Veterinary Medical Association in 1993 as another effective method to stem the overpopulation of companion animals. Having kittens and pups altered before adoption (most are adopted when very young) ensures that there will not be any accidental litters. Female kittens and pups can become pregnant by the age of five months, so the past practice of waiting until animals are six months old has resulted in many an unwanted litter! It is interesting to note that in the old days, people were told to wait until their cat/dog was a year old, or had her first litter to be spayed! The time was later moved up to six months but we now know that companion animals can safely be done much earlier, and have a faster recovery time as well. It may be easiest for vets learning this procedure to move their earliest date back to four months, then three, then two. Anesthesia protocols are not much different for the younger patient than for the adult, and they are very resilient; several articles from JAVMA are included here."

Waiting until 6 months caused my family's dog to go into heat before her appointment and have to wait even longer because they usually can't have it done right after.

Answer 3

Cornell University did a study on spay/neutering at very early ages and found that it is perfectly safe to spay/neuter dogs and cats at 9 weeks to 5 months. The sooner the better. Spaying a female dog before their first heat lessens their chance of ovarian and mammary cancer by as much as 200%.

Answer 4

I was told the younger the better when I asked the vet about my jackrussel and she was spayed at about 4-5 months (I waited until I could gain a bit of trust with her and she did soooo well!) by a differnt vet - the one that became MY vet =). The vet was very good, and she saved one of my dogs lives, so I trust opinions from her.

Different vets have different opinions, personally I think it is good to gain a bit of trust so when they are recovering they will trust you to take care of them and not be as scared. This was not a vet's advice but my personal preference, and she was not around any male doggies =)

My vet said do it 6months because it will heal easier. =)

Answer 5

I have watch all of the Animal Hero shows on animal planet and their vets spay and neuter puppies before 6 months, so go for the humane society place, they know what they are talking about. I think of it this way; if the ASPCA in New York does it, why argue with them?

Answer 6

I am glad you are going to wait. A lot of vets are doing early spays/neuters now from age 2 mo on, but I disagree with that. I did have a male pup neutered at 4 1/2 mo, but he was already showing typical male behavior and I wanted to stop it before it got too bad.

Answer 7

I would wait until she is 5 or 6 months old. What's the hurry. I don't know if it is connected or not but I had my dog spayed when she was 4 months old. Still very young. Before her incision healed she started have epileptic seizures. Many times a day. Never had them b4 - she is now 9 years old and has to stay on anti seisure medicine twice a day. I say wait.

Answer 8

i would wait for the 6 months one. Some humane society ones only tie tubes...which can still result in problems and some dogs even still go into heat. Just wait 6 months and go to a regular vet!

Answer 9

Dogs are generally not neutered or spayed before they are 6 months old as putting them under using anaesthetic can be lethal under 6 months. In addition, they are still growing during the first 6 months and such radical surgery can create other health issues.

Answer 10

I would probably wait until she was about 3 months old. I've taken mine in before to have them spayed before they were 6 months because the vets recommended that they be done before then because they were small breeds.