Please Don't Spay Your Dog Too Soon, Scientists Say

A UC Davis research paper, "Larger dogs face more joint problems if neutered too early," published in the latest issue of Frontiers in Veterinary Medicine states,

Spaying and neutering dogs before 6 months of age is standard practice in the United States and most of Europe. The study, which analyzed 15 years of data from thousands of dogs at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, suggests that dog owners should carefully consider their options.

The researchers examined common joint disorders in five weight categories, including hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia and cranial cruciate ligament tears, knee injuries. They also looked at the risk of cancer in mixed breed dogs according to body weight, but found no increased cancer risk in any weight category compared with intact dogs.

Large dogs may have several times higher risk of joint disease compared to intact dogs. That's true for large mixed breed dogs. For example, for female dogs weighing more than 43 pounds, the risk rises from 4% for intact dogs to 10-12% if neutered within a year.

Since you can't be sure how big your dog will grow without the mix or dog parents being unsure, neutering the dog while it's still young can potentially neuter a large breed mix.

Therefore, studies have pointed out that if you have a small watch dog, you can sterilize the dog 6 months ago. If it is not a small dog or you cannot determine the breed and blood of the dog, please sterilize the dog one year later.

In the United States, where the paper was published, most of them are mixed-breed dogs, and China is also facing this situation. Pedigree of dogs cannot be traced, and falsifications occur frequently. Therefore, it is more reasonable to sterilize dogs after they reach adulthood. Of course The exception is purebred small dogs, which can be neutered before 6 months.