neuter question!!!

thumbelina

is it true that when your get your dog neuter it get fat?
what are the pros and cons on this issue?

briteday

Neutering and spaying are both altering the hormonal balance of the dog. And there are many hormones that are involved in metablolism, such as insulin for one. So yes, speutering alters metabolism. If your dog is older and less active then feed the same food but less. Learn that food does not equate to your love for the dog. A proper balanced diet and enough exercise is a better indication of your feelings for the dog than how much you feed it. If your dog is young then you may not notice much difference in weight after the speuter. Just monitor your dog's weight as necessary, I weigh our dogs monthly, then adjust the amount you feed based on their weight. Use a real measuring cup so you know how much you are feeding if the vet asks you, instead of saying " a yellow cup full twice per day."

Dog_Shrink

Neutering your dog before the age of 6 months to a year (which I generally don't recommend) can alter your dog's growth and development. As the previous post states hormones control not only motabolism but also growth hormones in younger dogs. They need that hormone surge to tell them when to stop growing. Often you see dogs that were either puppy neutered or before the age of 6 months grow beyond their skelital potential which can lead to early onset arthritis and other musculoskelatal issues. Not necessarly just "fat"

Another common problem with neutering before or around 6 months of age is the "eternal puppy" they also need those hormones to tell them "ok time to mature and take my place in the pack and be a responsible productive member". I see that more often that growth issues from early neuters. As a general rule of thumb (and unless there are major behavioral issues that neutering will solve or aide) I tell client's to wait until the dog is close if not just a bit past his first birthday.

Pai

Here is an article talking about all the medical risks and benefits of S/N.

From all the research I've read on the issue, it seems it is beneficial (healthwise) to spay a female dog, but it's not so much of a health benefit to a male dog (though it can prevent unwanted habits like marking in the house).

If you don't want to have to take the effort and watchfulness it requires to keep your dog from getting pregnant or impregnating another dog, it's best to spay or neuter them. You have to be always watchful and in control of an unaltered dog, and most people do not want to have the extra worry and the chance of ending up with unwanted and unplanned-for puppies that will have a good chance of ending up in a shelter. It is hard work to properly care for a pregnant dog and raise her puppies to be well-adjusted family pets (the process starts BEFORE they are even 8 weeks old, which is when the overage owner gets a puppy and therefore doesn't know what should happen before then). For an amateur it is not a good idea to take the risk.

Labsnothers

This is the AVMA's position, http://www.avma.org/animal_health/br...r_brochure.asp

The evidence for problems due to early spay/neutering is weak and the problems are minor. A hormone crazed dog mayor may not return from a romantic escapade.

Quite often dogs are neutered at about 6 months when growth is leveling off and food requirements drop. I have raised many dogs intact past a year and found I needed to cut their food back around 7-8 months to keep them lean. Dogs get fat from too much food for the exercise they get.