How do I know when to get dog castrated?

[mckenzie]

He's 8 months old Tibetan terrier. The vet says now.
TIA.

[TallulahFallula]

Depends on many factors which I can expand on later (off to walk dog in a mo) if nobody else comes along. I'd wait a while yet. Vets do tend to like to neuter too early IMO.

[SweetAndFullOfGrace]

We neutered our mini schnauzer at a year and I think it was a bit late to be honest. In retrospect I would have done it earlier before he got quite territorial, but it does depend on the breed.

[mckenzie]

Thanks guys. I'll do another search on here. I guessing it's been discussed before

[TallulahFallula]

Sweet - your dog would probably have become territorial anyway (if that's what he is; it's more likely a fear/training issue though). There's also the possibility that neutering made things worse. Neutering doesn't really change personality or behaviour issues but what it CAN do is exacerbate issues like fearfulness - which may be at the root of what you call "territoriality". A good vet will recommend waiting to neuter until the dog is mature and past all the fear periods, and has demonstrated a steady and confident temperament. Neutering an already nervous/anxious dog is likely to make it worse. Testosterone is linked to confidence.

[TallulahFallula]

My vet is of the "Neuter early" opinion.

My friend recently got a somewhat timid GSD and I went with her to his puppy check up/first vacc (different vet than mine).

The vet nurse talked knowledgeably about all sortd of puppy issues, including the possibility that neutering too early could make his timidity worse. She advised that nowadays a lot of vets AREN'T recommending the operation too early and said that it's best to wait.

I could have kissed her. I'd been worried that they'd recommend early neutering which given pup's timidity could have been disastrous.

[mckenzie]

My little fella is definite not timid, in fact I've just been saying to RL friends how i need to go back to basics with recall as he is getting cocky and overly confident and not fussed about coming back to me.

[TallulahFallula]

Which is a training issue.

[SweetAndFullOfGrace]

Specifically in my dog's case, testosterone was linked to other dogs attacking him in the park which I believe caused a degree of his territorial behaviour. He's a very sweet natured dog, but he is a guarding breed so has form for reacting by barking etc (My garden, My house &c). The various incidents had nothing to do with training (not my dog's training anyway)! As soon as we had him neutered the other dogs' aggression reduced.

[Floralnomad]

We had our patterdaleX done at about 8 months because he was a humping nightmare .

[LokiBuddyBoo1]

Had my chihuahua x Jrt done at 9 months due to marking in the house which stopped immediately after neutering.
Other than that no change in his personality or behaviour.
my sisters dog though that was done at 6 months has become afraid and fear aggressive with unknown dogs before being neutered he was really social and loved being out and about but since neutering is afraid of almost everything when outside the house on lead and becomes fear aggressive if he encounters another dog he do'snt know.
So I would wait till your dog was between 9 months to a year before getting him done so as not to get him neutered during a fear period.

[Lilcamper]

When physically and mentally mature.

[mckenzie]

But where am I going wrong TF?
I recall occasionally during a walk for just a bit of fuss and cuddle nd sometimes a treat. I don't always recall in the same place. I'm very vocal and smiley. I don't think I overuse his name and call him unnecessarily.
So why has he suddenly stopped coming?

[mckenzie]

And thanks for all the posts everyone.

[TallulahFallula]

Dogs often "forget" their education around this age. Several possible reasons:

We get a bit blasé and lax about training. Perhaps we stop reinforcing so much, or as often. We might stop paying so much attention to our dogs on walks, starting to take for granted that they'll recall.

Dogs enter adolescence and become more confident about approaching things and getting further away from us.

It's not always possible to pin down the precise reason for training breaking down.

The answer - as you said - is to retrace your steps:

Back on a long line (with harness) so that they can't practise bogging off/not coming when called.
High value reinforcement for recalling.
Make yourself more appealing than anything else in the environment. Etc etc.

My dog lost her recall at about 9 months. Pretty much over the course of a week. From turning on a sixpence to race back to me, she reverted to behaving as if she'd never heard a recall word in her life.
It was very disconcerting.
Back on the long line she went and there she stayed until she was reliable again.

[mrslaughan]

Talk to your breeder.

I seem to remember you were concerned about how one of your puppies litter mates was moving? Then you need to do some research. My understanding is that (and this was the advice from our breeder) you need to wait for your dog to be fully mature before you neuter, this is especially important for the development of bones. Although a Tibetan terrier is a small dog, I wouldnot have thought it is mature at 8 months.

Neutering so young, is - my understanding, quite an old fashioned approach.

[mrslaughan]

Your dog has lost its recall because it's a teenager!

[insanityscatching]

Eric was a PITA at 8 months, just like a petulant teen.He improved from 12 months and now at approaching 18 months he's a lovely dog. He hasn't been neutered, he doesn't hump, he's not scent marking so haven't felt the need tbh.
We put Eric back on a longline until he became reliable again but the recall came back once his teenage spell was over

[SistersofPercy]

Mine is going in next month. He'll be 18 months. His behaviour has always been really good (aside from the standard teenage hiccup) but he's now started excessively marking outside the house, which as he's straining to do it isn't really very good for him.

Like insanity we never really felt the need to do it and said that unless a particular behaviour came along we probably wouldn't, but sadly this marking had to stop.

[MartyrStewart]

Watching with interest. We have a GSD who was neutered at about 9mo I think? It had to be done as he had an undescended testicle. Our vet advised against having our black lab done as he can be a little nervy and we had no behavioural reasons to do it.

However at the age of 5 he has just started to turn in to a sex pest so now we are considering it.

[mckenzie]

Thanks for the extra posts.
Re marking, is this where he lifts his leg at what seems to be every tree, even though no wee comes out?

[Whatamuckingfuddle]

We neutered ours around 7 1/2 months, he was having humping issues. Re recall it made no difference. It's the age, I used to shout his name and hide, it might sound a little mean but he would love coming to find me and I usually had a treat so he would get quite excited about his 'game' of recall.

[Helgathehairy]

My golden retriever is 3 and I still haven't got him done. At the moment I just don't have a reason to.

[SistersofPercy]

Mckenzie yes thats marking, most dogs do it but Murph does it excessively. You can almost see the strain on his face as he desperately tries to pee out the tiniest drop. It's literally every other blade of grass with him now, but the issue came to a head at the weekend in Pets At Home where he actually dribbled as he walked he was so desperate to mark.

Fortunately he doesn't do it in the house but its gotten to the point where I don't trust him in places like Pets At Home etc and walking him is more of a dragging him along.

[nellieellie]

Wait until he is hormonally and skeletally mature, otherwise you risk joint problems as neutering stops the hormonal messages that 'tell' the bone plates when to stop growing. Teenage dogs, after 6 months commonly start to ignore their owners and become more interested in other things. This period passes though. I have a large breed, and would not consider neutering until he is at least 2 or more. He is 15 months now and I see no reason for it as yet.

[mckenzie]

Thanks for the posts. Woody is definitely marking plenty and today went back on the long line.
Castration on hold.