What's the best age to neuter my large breed dog, a Labradoodle?

Hi there and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Typically, spay surgery is recommended around 6 months of age but current research has shown it is a little better to wait until 9 months to a year of age especially for large breed dogs to avoid certain orthopedic problems. I hope this helps!

Great question! There are pros and cons to neutering at different ages, so ultimately it comes down to your personal preference. The biggest advantage of neutering around six months or so, is that this will normally prevent the development of problematic "boy behaviors" such as urine marking, wanting to mount other dogs, not getting along with other intact males, and wanting to roam constantly in search of female dogs. There is some evidence that early neutering (before the dog is finished growing) can increase the risk of certain orthopedic issues like hip dysplasia or cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures later in life, especially in large-breed or very athletic dogs. So, this is something to take into account as well. Personally, I have always neutered my male dogs at around 10-12 months of age, when they're still fairly young but finished growing for the most part. Most of my clients choose to neuter around 6 months of age to avoid the behavior issues mentioned above. But ultimately, the choice is up to you :)

This is an awesome question! Personally I recommend not neutering Gus until he is at least a year old. This allows him to grow and mature, and some vets will recommend waiting until he is two years old. There will be no health risks associated with waiting until he is two to neuter him. The only concern is that he gets free and mates with a female in heat. If you can keep him away from all intact females, it's fine to wait until he is a year old. Now there isn't a concern if you want to neuter him now, but I personally recommend waiting until a year of age. I hope this helps!

Hello, thank you for your question. This is a very complex topic in veterinary medicine and you will hear/read about a variety of different opinions regarding this matter. In my opinion, if you have a male Labrador puppy, recent studies have shown that leaving them intact until roughly 1 year of age helps with bone growth/development and has been shown to help decrease the risk of arthritis developing down the line. Some veterinarians even suggest leaving male dogs intact for as long as possible. However, as intact dogs age they are prone to developing problems with their prostate (such as infections, enlargement) as well as some dogs exhibit problematic behaviors. In regards to female puppies, I recommend spaying them around (or before) 6 months of age, prior to their first heat cycle. The major reason for this recommendation is that the risk for mammary cancer goes up exponentially when a female dog is allowed to go through a heat cycle (i.e. the chance is <0.5%, after the first cycle and with subsequent cycles the risk increases to 26% or higher). Some veterinarians recommend leaving females intact as this helps to improve bone growth/decrease risk of arthritis. However, I feel that the risk far outweighs the benefit in female puppies. Mammary cancer is very serious in dogs and could mean additional surgeries/chemotherapy in their lifetime. I hope this helps! As mentioned, this is a very controversial topic in veterinary medicine. These are just my feelings on the topic, based on research in the topic.

There are some studies that recently may have found a correlation between earlier neutering and an increased risk for joint issues. This is pretty new evidence and at this point I think it's not really clear what the risks and benefits are. I typically recommend waiting until a male dog has reached his adult size, usually around 1 year, to neuter BUT in situations where the dog is showing undesirable behaviors potentially related to sex hormones I strongly recommend neutering earlier. If you were planning on having him neutered by 8 months I doubt 1.5 months of growth would make much of a difference for his bones and joints, so I would considering scheduling the neuter now. You could always talk to your veterinarian about pros and cons as well.

In large breed dogs (i..e Golden Retriever, Labs, Rottweilers, etc) the newer recommendations is to wait until the pet is 2-3 years of age before neutering to decrease the chances of inadvertently causing bone cancer. So I would recommend waiting a bit longer.

By convention, the general recommendation often 4-8 months, though early spy/neuter is common especially in shelters. A male dog who reaches sexual maturity before being neutered will grow into a “stalkier” build typically. There are also studies suggesting that waiting to neuter decrease the risk of knee problems and some types of cancers. However, he is also more likely to develop behavioral problems. With ages over 2, unneutered dogs are at a MUCH higher risk of overall health problems. I’d recommend talking to your vet about what their thoughts are. I don’t think there’s any significant difference in early neutering and neutering at 6 months of age. Here’s a couple of articles to consider: http://www.vrcc.com/oncology/does-early-castration-increase-the-risk-of-cancer-in-dogs/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/early-spays-neuters/ For what it’s worth, I don’t think it’s wrong to do it at 6 weeks and I don’t think it’s wrong to do it at 2 years. I DO think it’s wrong to just decide to NOT do it all together. I hope that’s helpful... I realize it may just muddy the waters more for you, and I apologize! Talk to your vet about what he or she recommends and the two of you can come up with the best plan for Diggy.