• Howard Beach Animal Clinic recommends spay/neuter at 6 months or later.  This allows time for puppies or kittens to have all vaccine boosters completed before their surgery.  There are exceptions when an animal can be spayed/neutered earlier:
  
• Castration if both testicles have descended and there is another reason for the animal to undergo anesthesia
  
• Spay if a female has already had her first heat.  Wait until she is done spotting before bringing her in for spay (a spay done while an animal is in heat is a more costly and complicated surgery).  See the section on mammary cancer to see why spaying before the first or second heat is beneficial to your female animal.

This can be based on your availability, but feeding twice a day rather than just once tends to help the pet feel full for longer.  Puppies need to eat at least three times a day when they’re under 5 months because they are rapidly growing, need constant energy, and they haven’t developed enough to have a means to store energy.  If you are not available to feed more than once, it is okay to leave food out, but remember to measure out the daily requirements – no more than this!

It is important to measure how much your pet eats or should eat each day.  Each food has different calories and nutrients per cup, so it is important to find out what the company recommends for that particular food.  Most bags or cans have a guide on how much to feed per day according to your pet’s weight.  If they don’t list this information, contact the company or ask a veterinarian to help you. When referring to the recommended feeding table, please keep in mind you want to feed according to how much your pet should weigh, not how much they actually weigh.  For example, if your dog is 23 pounds but should be more like 15, feed the recommended amount for a 15 pound dog – not one in the 20′s.

Nobody knows exactly why, but this is a common and normal activity for dogs, especially puppies.  Most dogs do not suffer any repercussions from this, but coprophagia could lead to re-infection from pre-existing internal parasites or to gastrointestinal upset from bacterial or viral load.  Products that reportedly change the flavor (and tastiness) of the feces exist, but do not work for every dog.  If your dog likes to sample the feces, the best thing to do is remove it before they can eat it!