I have seen that before. They don't define what they call significant additional height. Other reports I have read have suggested maybe a half inch. And none of the studies looking at after maturity are controlled studies with the age of spaying the only variable. The newer studies I have read reports of of very young to the common 6-7 months didn't show much difference. Before condemning the practice, I would want to see more studies showing negatives. Just because it doesn't feel right, is nothing to base decisions on.

thankfully i do not work with vets that would perform this procedure.. just because you can do it,doesnt make it right imo.

Oh for goodness sake stop quoting reports and so called studies.

It would be wonderful if for once you showed yourself to have compassionate feelings for people and their dogs, but you always sound like a robot

This is also how I feel. I can see why some rescues do it, but as much as it would prevent dogs being bred, what you have to ask is, is the dog in question's quality of life being affected in order to prevent the suffering of others? If so is it then really fair on the dog that's being neutered and suffering as a result? For me the end just doesn't justify the means I'm afraid.

Hi Rip, I too can see why some rescues choose to do it, their priority is preventing more dogs ending up in rescues but for the responsible pet owner their priority is the health and welfare of their puppy.

Admittedly there are thought to be some health benefits from early spaying eg prevention of mammary tumours but you have to set that against the other risks involved like giving a general anaesthetic to a small puppy/blood loss in a small puppy/ dehydration / performing surgery on tiny organs (the vets I have spoken too says it is much more fiddly with more chance of damaging the fine ligature near the bladder in bitches ) the affect on the dog of preventing the hormone surge which comes with adolescence and assists the dog to mature both physically and in some behaviours.

For the responsible pet owner there are many things to consider...

I just don't agree with it regardless of whether the party doing the neutering is a rescue centre, breeder, pet owner or otherwise.

..neither do I

We were advised by our vet that to spay before the first season was now preferred. Obviously this would depend on the breed and the development. Fudge was spayed at 5 months. I remember a thread that Patch did quoting all the latest research that supported this theory . I will try and dig a link up.http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?t=60359

Hi Fudgely there are lots of papers arguing for or against spaying/neutering in general and mentioning the carrying out of early procedures like the one below by Laura Sanborn. As to what is the best course of action I guess it depends on who you wish to believe and what you consider to be the best thing for your dog...
http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/longt...uterindogs.pdf
..this is L.Sanborns's conclusion..

An objective reading of the veterinary medical literature reveals a complex situation with respect to the longterm
health risks and benefits associated with spay/neuter in dogs. The evidence shows that spay/neuter
correlates with both positive AND adverse health effects in dogs. It also suggests how much we really do
not yet understand about this subject.
On balance, it appears that no compelling case can be made for neutering most male dogs to prevent future
health problems, especially immature male dogs. The number of health problems associated with neutering
may exceed the associated health benefits in most cases.
For female dogs, the situation is more complex. The number of health benefits associated with spaying may
exceed the associated health problems in many (not all) cases. On balance, whether spaying improves the
odds of overall good health or degrades them probably depends on the age of the dog and the relative risk
of various diseases in the different breeds.
The traditional spay/neuter age of six months as well as the modern practice of pediatric spay/neuter appear
to predispose dogs to health risks that could otherwise be avoided by waiting until the dog is physically
mature, or perhaps in the case of many male dogs, foregoing it altogether unless medically necessary.
The balance of long-term health risks and benefits of spay/neuter will vary from one dog to the next. Breed,
age, and gender are variables that must be taken into consideration in conjunction with non-medical factors
for each individual dog. Across-the-board recommendations for all dogs do not appear to be supportablefrom findings in the veterinary medical literature

I think most of us go by what our vets recommend. I have never met a vet yet who had a problem with neutering/spaying before first season or the male matures.

I will be honest here - all our bitches and dogs were neutered early, ie before the first season before male matured.

We have had no problems associated with this but perhaps we have been lucky.

Of our present dogs - Rosie [playing with the angels] was 7 months, Katie was 11 months and Harvey was 11 months. I might not have got him done at all except he had an undescended testes and the vet kept on about it.

12 weeks - I dont agree with full stop.\How can anyone justify that -so so sad