They say that's true for dogs too and actually they're finding that early spaying and neutering is very bad for dogs, especially for large breed males. You're supposed to wait until like a year now. For the really large breeds, like giant ones, it should be closer to 18 to 24 months. Or not at all. They're finding it really affects joints/bones and can make them a lot more susceptible to ACL/CCL/tendon and ligament tears and injuries. Not sure why but dogs neutered too early have been shown to have more instances of it. Their bones don't grow properly, or rather don't stop, if you neuter too early. What happens is the growth plates don't close so the legs grow longer than they're supposed to. The hormones taken away are what tells them to stop growing. Early neutered dogs also tend to be taller (because the growth plates don't close) and sometimes leaner because they don't fill out as much. And they also don't get the big male head as much, which is very pronounced in some breeds. Some people wait to neuter simply for the looks, or at least that's more of a factor than the health stuff, because they can be somewhat ugly ha not that it matters much but it makes sense, dogs go through an adolescent phase from like 6 months to 18 months or so I think, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter, and obviously they're wild and crazy then but IMO, they're also lean and teenager like. Our dog didn't start really filling out until like 2 or 3. He was neutered very early though, even younger than the usual 6 months, at like 4 or 5 months cause he was huge, but he still filled out some and later. I think if he was intact he would have filled out even more. My uncle has always had Rhodesian Ridgebacks and when he got this latest puppy like 5 or 6 years ago he had said he was going to wait to neuter him until like 2, if he did at all, because he wanted him to develop the big, blocky, handsome Ridgeback head. I'm not sure if he actually did that though but Rocky is very handsome.
Anyway, sorry for rambling and talking about dogs on your cat thread haha but I guess I basically wanted to confirm that there IS something to what you said, about them not developing as full, and there are lots of studies now proving the harmful effects of early spaying and neutering but also that. I could find some if anyone would like.
