When should I neuter my 12 week old (standard, 1st generation) Labradoodle?

Question

After weighing the options before me -- to breed out my first
generation labradoodle or not -- I have decided to go ahead and have
him neutered. Henry is now 12 weeks old. When I adopted another dog @
12 weeks of age, he was already neutered. But my vet said that they
usually wait (due to maturity, etc.) until 5 -6 months of age. Is this
normal?

Answer 1

The standard is 5-6 months before a neuter because it ensures that the dog is healthy and has all of their shots (like parvo) before being around other animals during the surgery. The reason the other dog was probably neutered was because he is from an animal shelter that alters all animals at soon as they are 8 weeks to ensure they WILL be altered, or the breeder wanted to ensure that the animal wouldn't be bred.

Either way, it is much healthier to wait until the dog is 5-6 months old. Your vet is RIGHT! :)

Answer 2

It is normal practice to neuter around 5-6 months. Cuts down on many of the negative male behaviors like marking if you neuter at this age. And there's really no reason to neuter before this -- unless it is a shelter situation where they have to know that the dog is fixed before adopting out.

Now, there are some reasons to wait longer than 6 months, provided that you can keep your male from roaming and mating. If you cannot keep your male from mating with other dogs, you should definitely neuter at 6 months. If you are capable of being responsible, there are some reasons to wait until the dog is fully grown (at least 14 months). Developmentally and orthopedically, it can be better to wait.

I will not be popular for floating this idea, but I believe responsible people should have all the information and be able to make their own choice. Here are some links to studies who recommend waiting until the dog is finished growing:

http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html

However, if you don't want to deal with your male marking his territory, going insane if he smells a ***** in heat, and generally having to contain him and prevent mating, it would be best for you to neuter at 5-6 months.

Answer 3

Some puppies are neutered as early as 8 weeks old! Since he is a male, it is less invasive, cut the scrotum open and remove the testicles, whereas females is cutting them open and taking out ovaries and uterus, so usually it's the females that should wait a little longer.

Some vets have different opinions, he may want to wait until he's older to make sure he can handle the anesthesia. If you feel he is physically healthy, not sensetive to medications and both testicles are descended, I say go for it.

The only 'side effect' of neutering early is that he may grow larger. People commonly mention that their male dog who was neutered early has grown larger in size than they normally would. Their bones grow longer, thus resulting in extra height. If you're okay with this, go ahead!

Answer 4

Good for you for being responsible! Your pup can be neutered now. Some 'old-school' vets still prefer to wait until 6 months, but it can be done anytime after 8 weeks.

From the page linked below:

More and more veterinarians are performing early-age spay/ neuter procedures on animals as young as 8 weeks of age, to ensure the animal will never be at risk of accidental pregnancy or able to impregnate. Vets who perform early-age spay/neuter report that the animals tend to recuperate more quickly as well, with a speedier healing time and less discomfort. Both the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights endorse early-age spay/neuter.

Answer 5

The standard neutering and spaying age is 6 months, but recently some vets have started neutering very young (as early as 6 weeks). This seems to be very new and somewhat controversial. I would stick with the standard 6 months that your vet recommended.

Answer 6

5-6 months is the normal age. Although, some wait until their male is around 9-12 months old so that he can mature a little and establish muscle growth.

Alot of Vet stray away fron spaying/neutering before 5-6 months of age but Shelters prefer to do it before the animal leaves their facility.

Answer 7

Congratulations on your decision!

Early spay/neuter (i.e. before 6 months) is a relatively new concept. Doing the surgery at 6 months was the veterinary standard long before then.

I personally believe that the dog should be allowed to use those hormones to mature some prior to being neutered. I'd wait until the puppy is 6 months.

Answer 8

Vets that wait to spay/neuter til the dogs are 5-6 months of age.. do so because they don't have the experience operating on young dogs, with the surgery and the anesthesia needs... If your vet isn't experienced in young spay/neuter.. Either find one who is well experienced and educated, or wait til he feels comfortable doing the surgery..

Answer 9

Yes vet standard is 5-6 months of age.

Answer 10

Thank you for choosing to spay your Lab/poodle mix. There are so many mixed breeds in shelters and pounds that we don't need any more added to the mix. And yes, it's normal to wait until the dog is about 6 months before neutering them.