Best age for spay and neuter: a new paradigm

In small animal practice, neutering (including spaying) males and females at about 6 months has become standard. Using our extensive computerized case record system of the veterinary hospital, with currently about 60,000 cases per year, we launched a 10 year project to provide breed-specific and gender-specific, data-based information on joint disorders and certain cancers in dogs associated with neutering at ≤ 6 months, 6 - 11 months, 1 ≤ 2 years and 2 - 8 years. Our 3 published studies on the Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, and German Shepherd Dog reveal an increase in the incidence of a joint disorder with neutering done within the first year to 2 - 4 times that of the 3 - 5% incidence of intact dogs. In Golden Retriever females, neutering at any age was associated with an occurrence of one of the cancers followed to 3 - 4 times that of the 3 percent incidence of intact females ...