I think it just further reinforces the fact that the decision on when to alter really needs to be on an individual basis.

While I personally would not alter ANY of my own animals at 8 weeks (although some of ours were from shelters that had the procedure done that early--IOW, before we ever even got them)...I can see the shelter perspective on pediatric S/N. Doing it preemptively ends the possibility of an irresponsible owner A) having them make more animals and B) returning the animal (or worse) b/c of problem behaviors associated with an intact animal that they can't/won't work to correct.

But aside from that case...I'm a fan of waiting until 6 months, at least. After that, again, I think it's case by case basis, and breed and dog dependent. I know for our next puppy, my GOAL is 12-18 months, purely for the health reasons. In large/giant breed dogs like the akita (and male ones in particular...the issues get murkier when you bring females into the question--how hard is an empty heat on them, but early alter can INCREASE the aggression, etc.), all signs point to it being the "safer gamble" (b/c really, what it is is a risk analysis and a decision based on that). But that's a goal, and it doesn't mean things might not change our decision to more of the 8-12 month window.

Regardless...it's an interesting discussion.