Spay/neutering small puppies?

This is a subject that everyone seems to have their own opinion on. I can only tell you my view on this and why I spay/neuter my puppies early.  When anyone see's pictures of a puppy mill, they cringe.  I can't even watch some of the commercials on T.V.  How did these dogs end up there to start with?  How do pugs end up in puppy mills and in dog pounds and in rescue?  It all starts with a pug puppy that has the ability to produce offspring.  In the hands of the wrong person, this little precious baby will live a life of hell.  Owners of puppy mills need new blood to keep doing what they are doing, so they e-mail breeders and claim to be little old ladies just wanting a companion.  Some of them are willing to pay good money to get good blood lines with no health issues....so they can use this dog as a breeder for a very long time.  I've had it happen to me (puppy mill e-mails).  The minute I send a return e-mail informing them that their deposit will pay for the puppy to be spayed or neutered, they are no longer interested.  There is no way to really know who is e-mailing me.  This is exactly why the dog pounds/shelters have all puppies 'fixed' prior to adoption.  If we lived in a world where everyone was honest and had good morals and ethics, this would never be an issue...but we don't.
Isn't just holding the AKC papers until the new family gets their pug spayed/neutered enough?  Imagine this scenario: Frank owns a puppy mill and has a very sick AKC registered stud pug dog...we'll call him Pugsley.  Pugsley  dies.  Now he needs a replacement, so he gets (cons) a good? breeder into selling and shipping him a puppy and she holds the papers.  That's fine with him because he will now call the new puppy Pugsley and use the dead dogs AKC papers.  AKC makes all breeders that use a male for breeding, get DNA on the dog.  It doesn't matter in this case though because who is going to argue that the father of the litter isn't who they say it is.  Puppy millers don't allow people to see their dogs or their kennels.  They could be using their old AKC papers with a mixed breed pug and you would never know.  There are so many scams going on.
Is getting an 8 week old puppy fixed safe?  Putting any dog or animal or person under general anesthesia is taking a risk....at anytime.  Some Vets aren't as skilled at putting the flat faced breeds 'under' as others.  My veterinarian (Dr. Bailey) is an expert at this.  She skips the pre-tranquilizer injection and then just uses isoflurine gas to put them out.  When I pick up a puppy that just had surgery one hour prior, they come home and are running around and playing. 
The argument for not doing the surgery early is that the pug needs the hormones for bone growth.  A pug isn't fully grown for 2 years.  So if you were planning on getting your dog spayed or neutered after they are two, there would be an argument for this.  Most people want their pug fixed prior to the first heat....or about 5 to 6 months old.  So we are talking about an extra three months time difference (from when I do it verses when you would do it)...not enough to make a hormonal difference.
Being a good breeder is all about doing the right thing for your dogs. It starts with being ethical in every category involved in the owning, showing, breeding and care of your dogs. It ends with making sure any babies leaving here are getting a safe, wonderful home where he/she will be cherished for many, many years. I have to do my part.  Notice the two little pugs to the left in this puppy mill picture. It makes me want to cry!  If you want to see this pair bred again and again, support your local pet store..because that's where their puppies end up!