Neutering Comments

[CarolynInPEI]

I everybody, I've been very busy the last little while and haven't been keeping you guys updated on Angus's progress.

Just so you know, he is growing like crazy, getting into anything and everything he can, being a great little puppy. When I say little....I'm lying!! He getting SO big.

Here is a pic of him from yesterday.

Anyways......here's the question:

DH doesn't want to get him neutered....til he's a year old atleast.

I want to get him neutered at 6 months.

What is everyone's opinions?

[TeriM]

Oh my dawg, he is getting soooo big . He's adorable .

I used to believe in six months neutering but I would actually be tempted to wait until he was closer to a year depending on variables such as his temperment, your ability to control him, chances of him accidentally making puppies etc.

I had Riley done at about 7 months but wish I had waited a bit. He actually continued to grow for a very long time (year & half) and basically was at least three before most of his filling out was done. I think the benefit of some testosterone would have been good in our instance.

I would probably not wait much past a year personally. Dogs can have such a bratty period from 1-2 years anyway plus other dogs can be quite agressive to un-neutered males. Neutering then could be helpful in controling thoses issues.

I think that even a few extra months would be beneficial so perhaps think about 9 months instead?

[marko]

Personally, I'm a 5-6 months kind of guy and I'd 100% want my dog neutered before puberty. I would not wait.
Depending on the male, neutering can help him calm down, can help crush roaming behaviour and will 100% avoid accidental pregnancy which happens all the time.

[LavenderRott]

I won't be neutering my male until he is 2. There was a thread just within the last week or two that had a ton of links about the pros and cons of later neutering. Let me see if I can find it.

[LavenderRott]

Here it is - http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread....ight=neutering

Lots of information so that you can make an informed decision.

[BusterBoo]

Originally Posted by CarolynInPEI

I everybody, I've been very busy the last little while and haven't been keeping you guys updated on Angus's progress.

Just so you know, he is growing like crazy, getting into anything and everything he can, being a great little puppy. When I say little....I'm lying!! He getting SO big.

Here is a pic of him from yesterday.

Anyways......here's the question:

DH doesn't want to get him neutered....til he's a year old atleast.

I want to get him neutered at 6 months.

What is everyone's opinions?

No real opinion, but .....that first picture just melted my heart

[kathryn]

I still maintain the younger the better. I've read loads of reports and talked to tons of vets, but honestly seeing the effects first hand, ESPECIALLY for females, the younger the better! My best age right now is between 3 and 4 months. I see the absolute best results from them. They aren't TOO young, but they are young enough that they bounce right back from surgery.

My friend has a springer who will be 2 soon and she wanted to wait until he was 2 to be neutered. Now that the dog has matured he is severely overprotective and often very aggressive towards people. I firmly believe this is due to not being neutered sooner.

I also just saw recently a boxer that was maybe 2-3 years old who had a GIGANTIC prolapsed uterus and the tissue started to become necrotic. If they had her spayed when she was a pup that never would have happened.

So overall, the possibility that your dog may not grow as big or will grow too big or whatever the rumor is now is nothing compared to the consequences of waiting.

I see it all the time first hand. The bigger your dog is the more invasive the surgery is. Your dog looks like a large breed dog so in particular it is a terribly idea for you to wait as there is an increased risk of scrotal hematomas the bigger the dog is. Those are very unpleasant for the doggies!

Same for females.. no matter what the size never wait. The longer you wait the larger and more developed the organs become and the surgery goes from being a little incision with your animal being back to normal the same day to them taking several days to bounce back to normal; if there are no complications.


Spaying and neutering is a very safe procedure on any relatively healthy animal, but the older they are (even just by months) the more problematic it becomes.

[LavenderRott]

Originally Posted by kathryn

I still maintain the younger the better. I've read loads of reports and talked to tons of vets, but honestly seeing the effects first hand, ESPECIALLY for females, the younger the better! My best age right now is between 3 and 4 months. I see the absolute best results from them. They aren't TOO young, but they are young enough that they bounce right back from surgery.

My friend has a springer who will be 2 soon and she wanted to wait until he was 2 to be neutered. Now that the dog has matured he is severely overprotective and often very aggressive towards people. I firmly believe this is due to not being neutered sooner.

I also just saw recently a boxer that was maybe 2-3 years old who had a GIGANTIC prolapsed uterus and the tissue started to become necrotic. If they had her spayed when she was a pup that never would have happened.

So overall, the possibility that your dog may not grow as big or will grow too big or whatever the rumor is now is nothing compared to the consequences of waiting.

I see it all the time first hand. The bigger your dog is the more invasive the surgery is. Your dog looks like a large breed dog so in particular it is a terribly idea for you to wait as there is an increased risk of scrotal hematomas the bigger the dog is. Those are very unpleasant for the doggies!

Same for females.. no matter what the size never wait. The longer you wait the larger and more developed the organs become and the surgery goes from being a little incision with your animal being back to normal the same day to them taking several days to bounce back to normal; if there are no complications.


Spaying and neutering is a very safe procedure on any relatively healthy animal, but the older they are (even just by months) the more problematic it becomes.

Just wondering if you read any of the reports I linked to .....

If you are having BEHAVIOURAL issues with a dog - then you didn't train the puppy. It really is that simple. I have never met a vet that has said that neutering would solve behavioural problems beyond chasing females in heat.

[Love4himies]

I have no opinions either, but just want to say what a cutie pie he is

[luckypenny]

Angus is too adorable .

For the neutering, I think it depends on you and your individual circumstance, Carolyn. Have you been doing any training with him? Is there a possibility he mate with a female? Does he play with other un-neutered dogs? Do you frequent dog parks?

When it comes to aggression/guarding/etc., I agree that it would depend on how well socialized/trained your puppy is, not whether he was neutered at a young age.

What reasons does your dh give for wanting to wait until 1 year? Why do you want to have him done at 6 months?

[CarolynInPEI]

Originally Posted by luckypenny

Angus is too adorable .

For the neutering, I think it depends on you and your individual circumstance, Carolyn. Have you been doing any training with him? Is there a possibility he mate with a female? Does he play with other un-neutered dogs? Do you frequent dog parks?

When it comes to aggression/guarding/etc., I agree that it would depend on how well socialized/trained your puppy is, not whether he was neutered at a young age.

What reasons does your dh give for wanting to wait until 1 year? Why do you want to have him done at 6 months?

He wants to wait bc he feels that it will affect his physical developement (and the fact that he "can't stand the thought of Angus having his nutz cut out" but I'm trying to convince him that dogs arent as attached to their nutz as most men are )

I'm willing to wait til he's 9-12 months. I'm just used to dogs being spayed/neutered at 6 months.

Also, Angus' eyelid is curled in and will be requiring a surgury to have it fixed (I'm getting a secong opinion on that first tho) and I don't like the idea of him having to be put out for two surgeries, within a few months.

I think it would be less stressful on Angus to have both done at once. But if we wait until he is older to neuter him, he will need two surgeries bc his eye wont be able to wait.

[JennieV]

Considering that he will go in for his eye, I would be strongly inclined to do both at the same time.
Good luck!

[Dog Dancer]

Well for me then I would have both done at one time. I'm a firm believer in avoiding anesthesia whenever possible. I don't think it would hurt him any to get it done earlier.

[babymomma]

I know that all my future dogs will not be fixed before 2 years.. But to each their own...

I can definatly see the benefits in waiting.. As long as you are esponsible enough to own intact animals I dont see the problem.

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by JennieV

Considering that he will go in for his eye, I would be strongly inclined to do both at the same time.
Good luck!

Originally Posted by Dog Dancer

Well for me then I would have both done at one time. I'm a firm believer in avoiding anesthesia whenever possible. I don't think it would hurt him any to get it done earlier.

same here

[clm]

I too wouldn't put him under twice. If you're going to neuter, do it at the same time as his eye. While my own have not been neutered yet, if they had had to have a surgery for something else before I would have had the neuter done at the same time as that surgery. Anesthesia is a risk I would not want to take more than necessary.

clm

[DoubleRR]

Originally Posted by clm

I too wouldn't put him under twice. If you're going to neuter, do it at the same time as his eye. While my own have not been neutered yet, if they had had to have a surgery for something else before I would have had the neuter done at the same time as that surgery. Anesthesia is a risk I would not want to take more than necessary.

clm

Agree with this entirely--avoid anesthesia as much as possible.

[Chaser]

IMHO, I would always err on the side of caution and do it at 6 months, because no matter how cautious you are you can never be 100% certain that he won't get away and find a mate. Considering the additional circumstance of the eyelid surgery, I would most definately neuter him young and do the procedures together...not work the risk of putting him out twice!

[Chaser]

And he is SOOOO very cute!

[Shaykeija]

That puppy is just too cute...

Tell hubby that you heard that air bags are in this year....

[kathryn]

Originally Posted by LavenderRott

Just wondering if you read any of the reports I linked to .....

I've read many reports... and personally have assisted on over 5,000 spay/neuter surgeries myself and worked with close to a dozen different licensed veterinarians So I think I have a pretty good idea of what goes on in real life vs. reports. As far as my friends dog, they have an unspayed female dog in the house as well, hence the aggression (male hormones are going wild!).



You can have the entropion repair surgery done at the same time as being neutered. It's a fairly simple surgery. I have assisted on a few of those as well. Your dog will have sutures in his eyes for a while after that surgery and it looks pretttyyy creepy but it clears up quite nicely

[cassiek]

Personally, I have always had my pets fixed as soon as possible, but that's just my personal preference. I have never had any fixed as young as 3-4 months, but have usually had mine done at the 6 month mark.

I think it all comes down to the owner... if the owner is 110% confident that there will be no 'accidents' then I don't see a problem. I would hate to see more unwanted puppies born simply because someone wanted to wait until their dog was older to have him/her fixed. For myself, I can not always be with my pups and would never, ever want any 'mistakes' to happen, so I have always had them fixed young.

SO and I will likely get a male American Bulldog in the next few years, and may wait until he is older to do the snip snip (i.e. a year), but that's still up for debate.