Wait to neuter?

[abugah]

I know this is a controversial topic but curious to hear people’s opinions and experiences. I’ve worked for a vet for many yrs and drs encouraged to spay and neuter around 6 months. I personally have always followed this standard w my pets my whole life. However I’m reading more and more that the recommendation is now to wait til around a yr to let their bones fully grow.
I have a six month old papillon and scheduled his neuter for 2 weeks from now and now I’m second guessing myself and wondering if I should wait. He seems so bowlegged to me and when I pick him up sometimes I can feel his knees or hips cracking. His vet said around 16 weeks that he has loose knee caps but that it’s too early to tell if it will be an issue. I asked at that time about neutering and mentioned my concerns that I’ve read it may be better to wait to let their bones fully develop and growth plates close and she recommended doing it at 6 months like I’ve always heard and said waiting is more for bigger dogs not toy breeds.
I’m also concerned about marking and behavior issues if I do wait…
Thoughts?!?!

 

[nicolegriff]

@abugah Hi there! Vet tech here of 13 years, and although I never worked in GP, the vets I worked with suggested neutering the smaller guys around 10 months- this is to make sure thst if they have any retained baby teeth, thwy can be removed at the same time as the neuter/spay.

 

[abugah]

@nicolegriff Thanks!

 

[briang70]

@abugah Man, I’m having this exact debate myself. I’ve been on the fence bc my dog is a rough collie, which is a larger breed.

I found a report that doesn’t show any changes in cancer risk or joint risks for males, but recommends females are spayed at one year. So, I feel better about getting the puppy done at six months.

My vet also explained that neutering won’t affect adult size. She got a puppy that had been neutered at 6 weeks and he became a very athletic 95lbs

 

[abugah]

@briang70 The struggle is real!!!! lol
Thanks so much! That’s is great to know because that’s another concern. I would like him a little bigger and wasn’t sure if that would stop the hormones and keep him from growing so thanks!!

 

[briang70]

@abugah It might be worth it to ask in a subreddit that specializes in papillons. That’s how I found all the great risk studies for rough collies

 

[abugah]

@briang70 Great idea thanks

 

[davevanza]

@briang70 Probably a stupid question but I’m curious about the neutering at 6 WEEKS!?! If you don’t mind me asking some questions about that. Unless you meant to say 6 months instead of weeks.

I have a dachshund, he’s literally about to turn 1 year old this month on the 23rd. So his bday is 3-23-23. He came home with us in May. I believe the date was 5-19-23. He had just turned 8 weeks and had his final vet evaluation before official adoption just 1 day prior to us bringing him home.

At 8 weeks old he basically had zero balls (I know he had them and they had technically dropped according to the vet, but they were virtually invisible). Like it was just a little tiny bump back there, not at all pronounced.

I have not neutered him yet. One thing I noticed with him is how enormous his balls are lol. I can’t remember exactly when it seemed like they finally quit growing but, I’m almost positive they were still growing even after the 6 month mark.

So that’s made me wonder about people neutering the male dogs really early. In my experience my pup was still growing back there even after 6 months. So I imagine getting them cut even before 6 months is confusing to me.

So if I’m thinking of a 6 week old being neutered it makes me feel like how? Like how were they even developed enough for them to fully snip them? If you cut them too early is there any risk of possibility for them to “regrow”? Maybe not the best way to phrase the question but like if they are still developing and increasing in size at 6 months old, could snipping them too early cause them to have maybe missed some of it? Idk how it works at all obviously but I’m thinking what if they only got one ball, didn’t realize it and the other ball still develops?

Again this question is probably really dumb lol. I’m still so new to all this puppy stuff as he’s my first ever dog that I’ve been the responsible owner of and definitely when it comes to things like health and development I’m basically lost.

Thankfully i have a family member who is a vet assistant and knows almost everything there is to know about common pets as she’s seen it all.

 

[wunderlust]

@davevanza That's actually called a pediatric neuter along with neuters or spays under 6 months. It's actually an easier surgery that's less expensive, and it's easier on the animal vs. when the balls have dropped. There are a lot of comparisons of animals who were pediatric neuter vs. regular neuter, and it does seem to affect their features. My cat was pediatric neuter and at 11 years old does not have adult cat features. Still love his kitten face, though!

You'll find some images on this as well, even with dogs of the same litter.