We
are advocates for early spay/neutering of pet puppies for a number of
reasons. Prior to choosing to do early spay/neutering of all our
pet puppies, we were routinely contacted by puppy brokers and puppy
mills attempting to purchase intact puppies, presumably to place in
mill situations where the dogs do not have proper care or quality of
life. Since choosing to post on our website that all our pet
puppies are sent home already spayed or neutered, we have not had any
conversations that seemed odd !
We do occasionally place puppies in breeding homes, but only
after we interview and are comfortable that the breeder breeds with the
same care as we take.
Most dogs are sexually altered
at or before six months of age, which means that they do not ever have
a heat cycle or develop the characteristics of a sexually mature dog.
For the most part, this is what puppy families want, as the
territorial marking, wandering and male aggressiveness towards other
dogs and other behaviours that are hormonally driven simply do not have
a chance to develop. I personally consider that there is very
little difference between spaying or neutering a dog at 8 weeks of age
or at 6 months of age. Neither group of dogs enters puberty or
experiences the development structurally that occurs with testosterone
or estrogen/progesterone.
Those who are interested are welcome to follow the above links
discussing the findings in the veterinary journals regarding early
spaying and neutering of pets.
The
information contained on this site is in no way intended to replace
that of proper veterinary advice, diagnosis or treatment.
It is meant to provide a resource so that we can better understand canine health related issues.
