Alternative Sterilization For Those Who Can’t Wait

Is someone recommending you get your Neo spayed or neutered before 18 months?

The earliest you should spay or neuter any giant breed dog is 18 months, but 2 years is preferred. The reason has to do with hormones and their growth. Spaying or neutering before puberty will stop the rise in hormones that closes the growth plates. This causes the long bones to grow longer than they are supposed to, causing issues with how their joints work and instability in their developing joints leading to orthopedic problems. (This will also break your contract and void your health guarantee with many breeders). Waiting until they are finished puberty will guarantee that the growth plates have closed so you can avoid these issues.

Unfortunately, this means dealing with a heat or two of a female and the possibility of roaming for a male.

If this is a deal breaker for you and you really would rather get your Neo fixed early, there is an option. - Hormone Sparing Sterilization aka Ovary Sparing Spay for females or a Vasectomy for males.

These two types of sterilization do not disrupt the hormones being produced no matter what age the procedure is done.

For the ovary sparing spay, females are spayed but leave their ovaries to produce estrogen/progesterone. It does reduce the bleeding during heats, but some discharge still may occur.

For the vasectomy, males have their vas deferens tube clamped, cut, or ligated leaving their testicles to produce testosterone. This procedure is a much more minor procedure compared to neutering.

If this sounds like the best option for you and your pet and you need help finding a veterinarian that offers this type of sterilization, the website below will help.

https://www.parsemus.org/pethealth/veterinarian-directory/#clinic_search