There was a discussion in chat a few days ago regarding the "best" age to spay and neuter and the pros and cons of doing so. There was also a discussion about vaccinations. I'd like to shed some light on the situation by providing you with a few articles to read up on.

Vaccinations and the new AAHA guidelines that you may not have heard about or your vet hasn't told you

Study done on neutered vs. intact males and females and the health issues involved

This is strictly to provide you with more tools to assist in your decision making and care of your beloved pups. I'm constantly researching and learning more on vaccines, spay/neuter, and nutrition (bit of a nutrition nut). 

I prefer to wait a while to neuter/spay, because those hormones and estrogen help structure growth, and neutering early can seriously stunt growth in breeds. Some dedicated and educated breeders I know even have a clause in their paperwork where they will refund you ______ amount of your payment if you neuter/spay after a certain age to ensure proper growth if bought as a dog under pet contract. 

If I own a show female who I actively breed and show, I spay right after her career is done got reduce the chances of more breedings and any sickness from being intact. 

Ok, 2 bits done and gone X3

I agree with you 100%, Duckie. They need the hormones for proper development. The risks we neuter/spay to reduce are so minimal compared to those from neutering and spaying too early.

(It's almost embarrassing how many dog groups I'm part of on Facebook) but ill have to search for one of the threads started about this topic in one of them, it was very informative and included pictures and such as well, it was very informative and an interesting read.

-do I want to poke that "debarking" bag? Hmmmmm maybe later-

We're discussing changing vaccination protocol to every 2 or 3 years as per AAHA but owner compliance for annual wellness exams is a big concern. 

I definately can see that, Trig. A lot of people don't think their dog(s) need to see a vet just for a check-up. We have people like that here who have the mentality that if it's not for vaccinations, there dog(s) don't need to see a vet at least once a year. I do not see the logic in that, whatsoever. But hey, there are stupid people with animals. All we can do is sit on the sidelines and hope they educate themselves. Ignorance is bliss!

I don't typically take my dog into the vet every time they send out a card like they used to do. She get's only one shot a year and that's for her rabies.  I love my dog to death, but I don't want her to get a lot of shots.

She got spayed last year threw a program called ASNIP that partners with Petsmart. I only had to pay for her shots, since she wasn't up to date on them. She even got pravo as a puppy, even though she got the five in one shot... but I knew it was too soon for her to have it. But the vet gave it to her anyways.

I would have loved for her to have puppies, but I think it's for the better that she didn't. She's a Treeing Walker Coonhound mix and is at possible 50 lbs now. 

She had a couple of false pregnancies, which led me to getting her fixed. We have another dog, who never got fixed after having those. I know how horrible it can be.  

Not every dog need's to be fixed and not every dog need's shots, it all just depends really. 

Hi,

I believe all dogs and cats should be spayed/neutered unless you are a responsible breeder breeding to improve the breed.

Why you may ask?

1. it stops unwanted pets

2. prevents cancer

But that's just me :)

This is also a good read: http://retrieverlife.com/ive-change-heart-spaying-neutering/

There are health risks associated with both spaying/neutering, and not spaying neutering, and my preference is to keep my dogs intact.

I retract my previous statement. I doubt I will ever spay or neuter a dog again unless they must have it done. The health risks are there and it isn't natural. Intact is the way to go for me personally. 

Coming from the side of working and voluenteering in numerous shelters/vet clinics its absolutely essential that people do neuter their animals. Now, if you're showing or a breeder - absolutely keep your animal entire. But as a 'happy hacker' of the dog world please - get them spayed! They end up getting out and ending up pregnant and its horrendous how many litters of kittens/puppies we get dumped off each season :( 

It may not be natural - but its often nessessary.

And that article.. mad doesn't even cover it. Vaccines are essential to the community as a whole. We don't vaccinate to help save your healthy four year old bouncy lab.. we vaccinate to save those who are too young for their vax yet or those who are immunocompromised. As soon as I see literature with the word "enlightened veterinarian" versus "old school" you can pretty much guarentee its rubbish - emotive language has no place in science. This is exactly on par with those who refuse to vaccinate their children due to "toxins" in the vaccine.. yes, they're chemical based, yes - they're often unatenuated strains of the pathogen itself but it will SAVE THEIR LIVES.

Booster shots are important as you have two antibodies that are in charge of immunity. IgM is the initial stage, it responds to the first exposure to the pathogen.. then comes IgG which has a memory component. Once IgG is formed in the body it can then 'remember' to next time mount an immune responce.. Its like - IgM is the first time you log into a website.. it takes a little while and is a bit of a bother - but as soon as you have a login (IgG) you can get in as soon as you see the website.. by re-administering the dose of the vaccine you're ensuring the levels of IgG are kept up. Yearly may be slight overkill but dragging your pet in for a "wellness check" is just as redundant. 

Rant over. TL;DR, vaccines are important. 
Apologies if I've offended anyone.. its something I get a bit crazy over. 

In a perfect world people would take proper care of their dogs and spaying/neutering for the purpose of preventing shelter overcrowding wouldn't be necessary. In the 4 years my girl has been intact, the only pregnancy she's experienced was the one I planned, and it's merely because I did the responsible thing and kept her secure during her heats.

I will be keeping both her and Bailey intact even though I won't be breeding from Chloe again. Not that I wouldn't keep them secure anyway, but the health risks of having them spayed and neutered are significant enough to keep them intact and take the proper precautions to secure them properly.

If I got a dog part of it would depend on the contract from my breeder. Some require spay neuter to ensure you dont get their puppies and make a puppy mill with them. But spaying/neutering has such negative consequences. We got tini spayed, nothing super negative yet, but I know people who have had serious complications from the surgery itself or the after affects of being made sterile that way...

one thing i wonder...we can tie tubes/vasectomy on humans and keep their body parts intact...is there a reason why we just remove the whole things on animals? Why can't we just do like we do in people? I think if someone went to a doctor and said "i want to be sterile" the first thought wouldnt be removing the entire organs...

Yeah, removing the human uterus is often a last resort procedure. But I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that a hysterectomy is such an extreme measure and a huge, huge decision for someone who decides they don't want kids, so tying tubes is a safer option in case they change their minds as it can often be reversed.

I can see why removing the entire canine reproductive system is the "easiest way", but I still don't like it and won't be doing it to mine unless it's medically necessary