"Early spay" refers to the procedure of neutering (removing the reproductive organs) a female animal at a young age, usually before they reach sexual maturity.
Full definition
Learn more The benefits
of early spaying go beyond reducing shelter populations.
Of course, there rarely was discussion
about early spay neuter, dental care, nutritional counseling, or heartworm.
Nevertheless, surgical removal of the anal glands is routinely performed
on early spay / neuter ferrets (most commonly pet store ferrets) before they are shipped to the pet stores.
Early spaying also reduces the chance that the animal will «accidentally» become pregnant.
Check out some of the following blog posts, which focus on
why early spay / neuter is so very important.
However, studies of cats up to 3 years
after early spaying / neutering have demonstrated no adverse effects.
Connect with veterinarians who will
conduct early spay / neuter or train the organization's current veterinarian on this surgery.
Although some veterinarians still suggest waiting until six months, advocates
of early spay and neuter are proving the benefits of that practice.
Indeed, I was proven correct, at least in large breed dogs, where the odds of some types of cancer increase
with early spay / neuter.
It is more important than ever, then, that the truth
about early spay / neuter is spread as far and wide as possible.
The corporate and institutional interests that
promote early spay / neuter have similarities to another large American corporate interest.
Here is one vet's opinion
on early spay and neuter for sports dogs.
Even though
early spaying in the cat does not seem to yield as much protective effect as in the dog, you can still decrease the incidence of this tumor by up to 60 % by spaying early.
Cancer is a risk in this breed, which can be reduced
by early spaying and neutering.
While early spay / neuter is common when adopting cats, it's not so common outside of the sheltering world.
In addition,
early spaying prevents later problems, including mammary tumors, uterine infections, and uterine tumors.
Even
though early spaying and neutering are considered safe, many breeders feel that IF something should go wrong during the operation, the loss of the kitten would be the heartache, pain and loss to the breeder, not the customer.
For large breed females, since there IS an association
between earlier spay and a reduced incidence of mammary cancer, I recommend these owners wait until the dog has gone through one heat cycle and then spay them about 2 - 3 months later.
You can ask your breeder but some breeders want
early spays because they are afraid of unwanted pregnancies.
There appear to be predisposing hip dysplasia factors for
early spay as well, assuming the dog has the genetic predisposition.
And when savvy pet owners
avoid early spay / neuter (or forego it altogether), to mitigate that risk, they're frequently vilified for contributing to the pet over population problem.
3) Another research paper on the health impact of spay / neuter — the book of research on the health impacts of spay / neuter (
particularly early spay / neuter) continues to grow and I think every single person involved in animal welfare needs to read this study — because it's going to dramatically impact how we operate in the years to come.
As president of the AVMA, I feel it is unconscionable not to
use early spay / neuter since it is safe and very very effective in achieving our goals.»
I usually
advise early spaying unless you want to breed her when she is older (which of course you can't do if she is spayed).
A: I do not know of a really good study of
early spay procedures (less than 6 months of age) and later incontinence incidence so the best I can really say is that I don't know.
Laws banning ear cropping, tail docking, debarking, declawing, or
enforcing early spay and neuter protocols attempt to dictate how you practice medicine.
Genetics do play a huge part in ACL ruptures, there is a school of thought (with veterinary evidence) that
too early spaying / neutering plays a part, too.
Veterinarians have been taught to
recommend early spay - neuter sterilization for positive health benefits and population control.
See if they
provide Early Spay and Neuter, Early Neural Stimulation, and psychological evaluations.
To avoid this family / pet crisis, Dr. Mackie
implemented early spay and neuter procedures at his Animal Birth Control Clinics.
However,
extreme early spay / neuter, like 8 - 16wks is not a good idea for a dog's long term growth and health.