How young is too young to spay & neuter?

[elegy]

From my Chris Zink seminar notes, and I have no idea where these trends came from, because my notes are apparently not that fantastic. But.

When altered before maturity:

medium/large breed male
longer radius/ulna
longer tibia

medium/large breed female
longer scapula
longer humerus
longer femur

dwarf breeds

male
longer scapula
longer humerus
longer radius
longer ulna
longer femur
longer tibia

female
no apparent effect

toy
no significant effect

[sassafras]

Originally Posted by ihartgonzo

http://weimaranerclubofamerica.org/m...Column0112.pdf

Ugh, the problem with summaries is that they don't really explain the methodology thoroughly. If all it was was a questionnaire and bone length measurements with different breeds all lumped in together, then... it's a pretty poorly designed study.

Unless there is significant methodology they aren't putting in their summary, as far as I can tell there is no attempt whatsoever to identify, let alone control for, confounding factors (breed, size/bone length of relatives of the dogs in the study (if known), diet/nutrition, where the dog was acquired, how old the dog was when it was acquired, just to name a few). So as it stands, it's nothing more than a suggestion that further study is warranted IMO.


ETA: I actually truly, sincerely wish someone would do some well designed studies about this stuff. It's frustrating.