Can you neuter at 9 weeks?

 Yes.

Yes I think so, my vet told me he once neutered or spayed (can't remember) an 8 week old puppy.

Ok, cool, I didn't know that.

 Emma was spayed at 8 weeks. It can be done, but not without affecting the dog's growth. IMO, dogs need hormones, just like people do, to help them develop properly.

8 weeks is the soonest they can be neutered/spayed. All puppies or kittens MUST be 2 lbs at the least, regardless of age.

yes, and if the dogs are in a shelter, it SHOULD be done before placement IMO.

Yes they can be nuetered/spayed that early.

rwbeagles

yes, and if the dogs are in a shelter, it SHOULD be done before placement IMO.

actually, in most states it MUST be done before placement. Therefore - the earliest you can adopt is 8 weeks.

yes -- what everyone said.  Now -- how??

Whe they are done that young it's done with a laser.  it's literally just an incision that requires 1 or maybe 2 stitches -- just big enough to get a laser probe inside and they they cauterize the undeveloped organs with the laser.  It simply prevents the organs from growing. 

A dog spayed/neutered early like that will sometimes grow 'bigger' than normal because the hormones that organ would produce may signal for the body to stop growning sooner.  so if you're worried about a dog being conformed "properly" that's why. 

Remember, when pups are born (only after a 2 month gestation) they are SO immature that their eyes can't see and their ears can't hear (which is why a puppy's eyes are closed at first) -- all that maturation has to take place AFTER birth.  So 8 weeks is the beginning of the window when a pup is big enough to handle such a surgery and yet the organs are still tiny enough to cauterize to prevent development.

However, on the reverse side of the coin, a dog spayed/neutered early can have fewer problems with things like demodex simply because sexual maturation can drain the body's resources and the immune system can take quite a hit so early spay/neuter can help lessen that. 

Make more sense now?

Thank you Callie! Helpfull as always! Yea, it makes more sense - I don't think I'd spay/neuter that early, but for shelters and breeders it's great that they can do that so early now!

why is it great? it's bad for the dog's health.

mudpuppy

why is it great? it's bad for the dog's health.

It's no worse for they're health then getting spayed/neutered at an order age - and it's a heck of a lot better then them fathering or mothering multiple litters of puppies. If the animal is in a shelter, and they can spay or neuter before it leaves for its new home or adopted - thats wounderful, no more unwanted litters, and they can be adopted into new homes sooner.....seems pretty great to me.

What would be "pretty great" to me is if people were responsible enough to be trusted to spay/neuter their adopted animal on their own when the animal reached the appropriate age.  I think putting a tiny puppy or kitten through surgery and denying their body the hormones needed to grow properly is just wrong.  I, personally, would never adopt a dog who had this done.  My focus is in dog sports and dogs who have been spayed or neutered at an early age are far more prone to joint & bone problems stemming from the lack of hormones that leads to overgrowth.  I don't even want my dogs neutered at the "normal" age of six months, so to do it at eight weeks is completely unthinkable to me.

KarissaKS

What would be "pretty great" to me is if people were responsible enough to be trusted to spay/neuter their adopted animal on their own when the animal reached the appropriate age.

Thats true - which is probably why someone thought up a way to handle the issue sooner.