[AddieCrow]

Ok so I know I'm probably opining up a can of worms by posting this but I just wanted people opinions or maybe even experiences on when they plan to or have gotten there dog neutered.

Reason why I bring this up is because in August my husband and I got Dexter. Now before we got together I already had 2 dogs, Booker was fixed when i got him and Dixon got fixed as soon as the vets said it was ok (early age, I think before 6 months), but when i got Dexter i did a little more research and found it was best to wait at least a year due to hormones helping with his growth.

Hes almost a year old now, and I'm in no hurry to go by a deadline and get him fixed, I plan to, even called and asked vets for pricing, I just want to do it at a good time for him and his growth. Hes half German shepherd half Pitt, and at almost a year hes already 75 pounds.

Now we live in the country, no neighbors, hardly any traffic, all of my other animals are fixed and hes never outside alone and I only have to use a leash with him sometimes because hes got a rather solid recall for his age. I only added that because I'm sure people were going to be worried about unwanted litters of puppies or home roaming.

So, with that being said and the can of worms opened let's hear your opinions ?

 

[Spicy1_VV]

I would definitely wait until a year plus. Just for health reasons. I honestly don't even neuter, but I think each owner has to do what works for them.

https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/early-neutering-poses-health-risks-german-shepherd-dogs-study-finds/

 

[Crantastic]

I think that if someone can truly reliably keep their dog from impregnating another, they never have to neuter if they don't want to. However, altering a dog does make things easier, at least for me. I'd neuter when the dog is full-grown/its growth plates are closed.

 

[Lillith]

For most dogs, studies have shown that waiting until 1 year old or until growth plates have closed can help reduce the risk of certain cancers, and the hormones do help with physical and mental development.

Personally, I would rather wait until 1 year old to neuter if I had a chance to do it again. Neutering does make life easier, though, if you have to board, and some neutered males don't like intact males for some reason if you plan on bringing the dog to doggy events. Its also nice to just never have to worry about your dog impregnating the neighbor's dog, though, haha.

 

[AddieCrow]

Thank you everyone for your input. Om blessed in the fact that dexter is fine with all dogs. Male/females, fixed or not, we rescue and rehab so since a pup he had seen it all.
I probably wont get him fixed unless absolutely needed, hes got an awesome temperament for being intact, no bad morning habits, and there are only rare days when I'm annoyed grumbling "let's get a puppy she said, it will be fun she said" lol

Now the other dog we rescued on the other hand, his gems are getting taken away if we can't find him a perfect new home haha hes like the polar opposite from DeX, but hes also almost 2 and came from a bad home.

 

[3GSD4IPO]

I never neuter a male dog UNLESS there is a health reason (cancer and so forth).

I just. Don't.

Back in "the day" we never neutered male dogs and they never bred anything. In fact, most people would purchase or obtain a male because they did not have to deal with heats OR with the cost of a spay. These dogs were NEVER neutered.

I am all for not neutering unless you are an irresponsible owner and, if you are THAT, you should not have a dog in the first place (you are not that from your post).

 

[DaySleepers]

Yup, so long as you can reliably and comfortably prevent accidental litters within a reasonable doubt, when to neuter is really up to you. Personally I'll never neuter below 1 year unless health forces my hand - and not just because it's illegal to do so here without medical cause. Especially with big dogs, but even my <20lb boy has some physical immaturities that I'm 99% sure are due to his pediatric neuter (done before we got him).

Granted, I also think there's nothing wrong with someone deciding that they either can't manage an intact animal or don't want to deal with it. I'd rather see that then unplanned litters, for the health of both the parent dogs and the dog community at large.

 

[AddieCrow]

Posting this went a lot smoother then I thought it would so I'm very happy for that haha.
I have always preferred male dogs and all my others are fixed, no other dogs around, we dont go on vacation and I havnt even spent 1 day away from him so I'm rather certain hes not gunna get "lucky" haha.
And I agree, as long as no health issues arise I'm pretty sure he will be keeping his gems and I'm 100% okay with that.

 

[Lillith]

We didn't typically alter our dogs on the farm, either, until we started having problems with other people's loose dogs coming around. We didn't want to deal with "Oh, your dog impregnated my dog, you have to pay half!" Nope, he's fixed, lol. But I don't think any of our farm dogs were neutered before 1 year old, anyway. But, its one of the many situations where altering just made life easier and there was no chance of our dogs producing oops litters.

 

[elrohwen]

I'd probably wait until 18-24 months to make sure growth plates are closed and his body is mature. Though if you don't have a reason to neuter (no female dogs, a way to keep your dog secure, etc) then there's no real reason to do it anyway. I don't plan to neuter my male. So you have options, do what works for you.

 

[Canyx]

I'm having my ~70# dog neutered at 2 years of age (and getting hip/elbow scans at the same time). I have this irrational fear of him getting stolen. He is never outside unattended and I don't just leave him places. But he is a fairly rare breed and an eye-catching dog. I figure his monetary and breeding value go away if I neuter him. I've lived in some places where dog theft was not uncommon, so there ya go.

 

[AsherLove]

I have 2 intact dogs, and one dog that I neutered at 2 years old (that would have been 11 years ago). I don't plan to neuter my 2 current dogs. The one, my pom, will definitely never be bred. The other (a grand champion standard poodle) has a very very slight chance he may be bred. My next dog will also be an intact standard poodle show dog.

 

[[email protected]]

I dont neuter. If I was worried about unwanted pups I would go with a vasectomy so the big boy hormones would still be there. Dont understand why a simple vasectomy isnt done more often than cutting things off.

 

[Francl27]

I dont neuter. If I was worried about unwanted pups I would go with a vasectomy so the big boy hormones would still be there. Dont understand why a simple vasectomy isnt done more often than cutting things off.

I'm guessing that most people neuter dogs to avoid the behavior issues that come with having intact males - escaping, marking etc. The puppy thing is really not what they're worried about (I know I'm not!).

The next dog I'm looking at (newfoundland - finally found a good breeder and I'm on the list), the contract says that you can't neuter until the dog is 1. I might make it 1.5 as long as it's manageable (don't see why not). My main issue really is that I'm worried that an older dog won't heal as fast as a 6 month old puppy... but with large breeds I can definitely see why you want to wait until the dog is mostly grown.

 

[DaySleepers]

There's also the fact that we've been castrating animals for much, much, much longer than vasectomies have been around. Vasectomies also aren't currently considered standard procedure, and aren't often trained in vet school, so the number of vets who have training and experience in performing them are much smaller than those who can do castrations.

I also do have to wonder if it's possible for dogs to have recanalization happen - where a sperm regains the ability to pass into semen after a vasectomy. It's rare in humans, and likely so in dogs as well, but it'd still make the process slightly less reliable as far as sterilization goes than a full castration. Might still be worth it for any given individual's situation, but it's a factor to consider.

 

[MastiffGuy]

I'm guessing that most people neuter dogs to avoid the behavior issues that come with having intact males - escaping, marking etc. The puppy thing is really not what they're worried about (I know I'm not!).

The next dog I'm looking at (newfoundland - finally found a good breeder and I'm on the list), the contract says that you can't neuter until the dog is 1. I might make it 1.5 as long as it's manageable (don't see why not). My main issue really is that I'm worried that an older dog won't heal as fast as a 6 month old puppy... but with large breeds I can definitely see why you want to wait until the dog is mostly grown.

With a Newfie your looking at 18 to 24 months till the growth plates close, full maturity is generally 3 to 4yrs. With a male it is pretty easy to manage.

Marking has zero to do with intact or not, also Newfie's are not really a wondering breed so as long as your not leaving them outside alone all night your pretty safe there. Saints, Newfies and EM's want to be with there people 24/7 and do not do well being alone for long periods.

 

[Francl27]

With a Newfie your looking at 18 to 24 months till the growth plates close, full maturity is generally 3 to 4yrs. With a male it is pretty easy to manage.

Marking has zero to do with intact or not, also Newfie's are not really a wondering breed so as long as your not leaving them outside alone all night your pretty safe there. Saints, Newfies and EM's want to be with there people 24/7 and do not do well being alone for long periods.

Yeah I'm not worried about it at all. Might just leave him intact if there's no issue.

 

[christine_72]

My thoughts in regards to Neutering have always been, if it aint broke, don't fix it. And if you are going to get it done, wait til they're fully mature mentally and physically.

Now, here's the kicker... I got my Jack Russell, Nugget, done 2 weeks ago, he is now 7.5mths old. I made and canceled that appointment a dozen times, as i was struggling to bring myself to neuter such a young dog.

Here are my reasons for getting him done:

- He was Humping everything in sight. Male/female entire neutered/spayed, as well as humans.

- Stopping to talk to people on our walks became stressful as he would cock his leg and pee up their legs. They must of thought i was so rude, as i was honed in on Nugget watching for signs of impending peeing and not really paying attention to anything they were saying lol

- Aggression toward other puppies, ALL puppies. Which made obedience school a nightmare, as we were still in puppy class.

(Secondary reasons were, he had a Hernia that needed to be fixed asap, as well as a retained baby fang tooth which was causing him bother. I didnt want to put him through 2 operations..)

Bottom line was, his drive to do all of the above behaviours was stronger than my training/ him trying to please me.

I'm not expecting neutering to be a magic bullet, and turn my unruly dog into the perfect specimen. I will still need to concentrate hard on training and his social manners, but i am "hoping" the lack of testosterone, will make it easier on both us. Only time will tell...

 

[Lillith]

My thoughts in regards to Neutering have always been, if it aint broke, don't fix it. And if you are going to get it done, wait til they're fully mature mentally and physically.

Now, here's the kicker... I got my Jack Russell, Nugget, done 2 weeks ago, he is now 7.5mths old. I made and canceled that appointment a dozen times, as i was struggling to bring myself to neuter such a young dog.

Here are my reasons for getting him done:

- He was Humping everything in sight. Male/female entire neutered/spayed, as well as humans.

- Stopping to talk to people on our walks became stressful as he would cock his leg and pee up their legs. They must of thought i was so rude, as i was honed in on Nugget watching for signs of impending peeing and not really paying attention to anything they were saying lol

- Aggression toward other puppies, ALL puppies. Which made obedience school a nightmare, as we were still in puppy class.

(Secondary reasons were, he had a Hernia that needed to be fixed asap, as well as a retained baby fang tooth which was causing him bother. I didnt want to put him through 2 operations..)

Bottom line was, his drive to do all of the above behaviours was stronger than my training/ him trying to please me.

I'm not expecting neutering to be a magic bullet, and turn my unruly dog into the perfect specimen. I will still need to concentrate hard on training and his social manners, but i am "hoping" the lack of testosterone, will make it easier on both us. Only time will tell...

Unfortunately, neutering is only a guarantee that the dog can not produce offspring. Humping is typically an excitement behavior and isn't necessarily sexual. Many young dogs do it, neutered or no. Marking is also not something that is eliminated by neutering. My dog humped and still marks everything upright (outside and non-human, luckily), and he was neutered at 5 months old.

The humping pretty much completely went away at around 1.5, and if he was about to mark something inappropriate, you know, like my rose bush or the A/C unit, I would redirect and reward for marking on a tree, or a post, or a weed, or whatever, lol.

The "aggression" may be reactivity, either frustration, excitement, or fear based, and won't necessarily be fixed by a neuter. Also, every Jack Russel I've met has been kind of growly and loud when they play, so make sure you aren't mistaking regular, but loud, play for aggression.

 

[christine_72]

Unfortunately, neutering is only a guarantee that the dog can not produce offspring. Humping is typically an excitement behavior and isn't necessarily sexual. Many young dogs do it, neutered or no. Marking is also not something that is eliminated by neutering. My dog humped and still marks everything upright (outside and non-human, luckily), and he was neutered at 5 months old.

The humping pretty much completely went away at around 1.5, and if he was about to mark something inappropriate, you know, like my rose bush or the A/C unit, I would redirect and reward for marking on a tree, or a post, or a weed, or whatever, lol.

The "aggression" may be reactivity, either frustration, excitement, or fear based, and won't necessarily be fixed by a neuter. Also, every Jack Russel I've met has been kind of growly and loud when they play, so make sure you aren't mistaking regular, but loud, play for aggression.

Yes, he is vocal/growly whilst playing with other dogs, but other puppies are a whole different level, it is aggression, not enough to do any damage, but rough enough to frighten the object of his attention, he pins them down,paws on back and shoulders and growls, differently to his friendly play growling. At obedience school, half way through class they get an off leash play with each other... Nugget got a time out within 2 minutes after he pounced on and bullied a poodle puppy, So we had to stay on the other side of the gate for 5 minutes. We were then allowed back in and he ran straight up to the biggest pup there, an English springer spaniel and started humping his back leg furiously.
I can tell within seconds of meeting them if another dog is a pup (under 12mths old, which is harder with the large/giant breeds as they are so big already), within seconds by the way Nugget reacts. He is good as gold with Adult dogs, other than the humping, but zero aggression.

I am most certainly aware that neutering is not a magic bullet, and these behaviours may remain. Which is why i have to take the wait and see approach, and deal with it then. One bonus is he has not humped either me or my husband since being done, but this was the least of our problems and was handled with redirecting him, I wouldnt have got him done if this was the only problem. He has also never marked inside.

I have never neutered/spayed a dog this young before, always waited til maturity, but i have also never had to deal with any behavioural issues.