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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

can anyone give me info on neutering later please?

32 replies

BooyFuckingHoo · 19/02/2011 21:45

WB is 7 months and i am getting questions now about "shouldn't he be neutered by now". i have chosen to wait til he is fully grown an has passed the puberty stage although i am struggling to explain teh reasons why to people (mostly my parents). is tehre anything i acn read to glean a few facts to back up my decision?

OP posts:

overthemill · 19/02/2011 21:47

as i understand it 7 months may be a bit early UNNLESS he is aggressive already. We got vet's advice and they said we had a dog done at 6 months and he was fine - but we decided with this one not to have him done. he is not in the slightest bit aggressive and only shags the male doggie he loves!

overthemill · 19/02/2011 21:48

ok that was incoherent. try again

we had advice and did our old one at 7 months but regretted it later

our current dog hasn't been done as our new vets said it wasn't necessary unless he was agressive.
only shags male dogg..etc..

Original poster

BooyFuckingHoo · 19/02/2011 21:52

no, no agression. i think people just assume that 6 months is teh age it is normally doen and are surprised when i say he isn't done at 7 months. my daft old mum keeps saying "it'll settle him down" i don't know how many times i will have to tell her that firstly he is actually a really calm pup and secondly he is a pup so he will grow out of any hyperness after a few years.

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kid · 19/02/2011 22:58

I've not got my 8 month old pup done and I won't be getting him done either. If people ask me why, I've got 2 responses depending on my mood!
1 is, mind your own business lol, the other is, my previous puppy died during his op at 7 months old.

I'm so glad I don't have to make the choice again this time about getting him snipped, it's a definite no no for us.

Original poster

BooyFuckingHoo · 19/02/2011 23:15

kid i was actually thinking of you last night after my mum had asked me again. when i think of your little moby it really does strike fear into me. at the minute i am waiting to do it. i may decide never to do it but at the minute it is planned for when he is matured.

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kid · 19/02/2011 23:21

A dog listener visited me recently, she knew Moby and as a result of what happened to him, she isn't getting her dog neutered.
It's really difficult to know what to do for the best. I just know I couldn't ever go through that loss again. It's been 9 months and I still miss him and still cry for him.
God knows what I'd have been like if we didn't get another dog. It's been tricky bonding with teddy. I do love him but I am fully aware he is not Moby who I was completely besotted with.

mmsmum · 19/02/2011 23:57

aww kids that is so sad :(

My dog is 11 months and I've decided to just wait and see how he goes. So far so good. He is a large breed so would have been waiting until after 9 months anyway. Everyone tells me they change after the op and I don't want my dd (dear dog lol) to change.

The only benefit of it I can see is the reduced risk of cancer, or if you have an aggressive dog. I guess you need to ask yourself if the benefits are worth the risks?

It's interesting people are asking you about it, no one has mentioned it to me.

midori1999 · 20/02/2011 11:17

The only thing neutering guarantees is no reproduction and no testicular problems. It will not 'calm down' a dog and will not always stop behaviour such as humping, scent marking etc.

Waiting for a dog to mature prior to neutering means it can grow in the way it was supposed to. Neutering early means the growth plates close later, meaning more growth in the long bones and can lead to a leggier dog that is out of proprtion and if hip or joint problems existed (which you may well now know at 6 months old) it would exacerbate them. There are also some studies that show early neutering increases the risk of certain cancers such as some bone cancers.

Most breeders I know (a lot of them) will not neuter male dogs unless there is a specific reason to do so, breeding and showing aside. Obviously these are people who have vast experience of entire dogs and they feel the surgery is unecessary in the majority of cases.

Obviously if you choose to keep your dog entire (we are keeping ours entire until mature, despite the logistical problems that brings as we have three entire bitches in the house) it brings with it extra responsibility. You need to ensure your dog can't escape and is well trained with a very good recall because some people will still walk in season bitches in areas where you may walk your dog.

Crawling · 20/02/2011 11:42

Just thought I would say I have also left my lab entire until he matures. He only humps his bedding and shows no aggression. I read a little about early castration and decided to wait.

Minimu What age will he start going for bitches in heat?

Crawling · 20/02/2011 11:42

Sorry midori I always get your names

Original poster

BooyFuckingHoo · 20/02/2011 13:47

thatnks midori taht is the sort of info i was looking for that's great.

crawling like your dog WB only humps his bedding so far and has shown no agression. he is nowhere near ready to be off lead in public, his recall is not reliable and he lives in the house with us, our garden is fully enclosed and when he is in it, i am with him so no chance of escaping. i have no reason to neuter him yet.

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Baffledandbewildered · 20/02/2011 17:28

Midori is SO right we bred and show( and saved me writing all the above info!!!!!!) . Never neuter a young dog they need to mature. If possible I wouldn't bother neutering a male dog other than for health considerations. If your dog is not well trained chopping off his bits won't help his recall ect. Just take your time and tell people you are doing what is best for your dog by waiting. Good luck

Original poster

BooyFuckingHoo · 20/02/2011 17:42

thanks baffled. i dont know what it is about people that think neutering is the natural choice for a dog you arent going to breed from. they look at you funny when you say you aren't doing it. it's as if you have told them you aren't naming your child!

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Vallhala · 20/02/2011 18:16

"i dont know what it is about people that think neutering is the natural choice for a dog you arent going to breed from. they look at you funny when you say you aren't doing it."

I'm shocked and disgusted at the words of overthemill's vet who appeared to be actively discourahing neutering. Surely he should know about the enormous amount of healthy dogs which are killed each week for want of homes?

Original poster

BooyFuckingHoo · 20/02/2011 18:23

very good point val. i guess that explains it. i accept it can be a hard decision to understand but for the time being it is one i am sticking with. i consider myself to be an extremely responsible owner and as i explained, WB is never out off lead nor can he escape from my house/garden.

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JaxTellersOldLady · 20/02/2011 23:07

We got our boy done in Feb last year, just before his first birthday. I wish we hadnt done now, because I strongly think that may have lowered his immune system and was the original cause of all his problems. Cant prove it, but my vet has said the same.

I think if you are not going to breed or show most people get their dogs neutered.

I wont be getting my puppy spayed until she is fully grown, just incase.

Baffledandbewildered · 20/02/2011 23:32

Just because a dog is entire it does not mean you are going to let it loose to go forward and multiply we have 9 un neutered dog and have never had an unplanned litter and if the girls are in season common sense they do not go in the park without a lead . The boys are trained in recall and don't just mate anything going. Yes stray dogs being destroyed is horrific but thecpeople who throw them out cause the problem along with people who don't consider what they are buying when they get a dog . Responsible breeders check very carefully who their pups are going to and most would not recommend early neutering . They need to develop . We also take back our dogs if the owners can't keep them so again no problem.

mmsmum · 21/02/2011 00:13

I think people are funny with you isn't just because of all the unplanned puppies around, but because they think that a male dog with all his bits is going to go tearing round the park killing everything in sight. I just remembered a lady, about two weeks ago I think, there was my puppy playing away with her bitch when another dog came over to join in. She literally stepped back about 6 feet because she 'knew' that these two intact dogs were going to fight. My jaw was on the floor and the dogs played just fine.

Baffledandbewildered · 21/02/2011 00:34

Mms haha you are right it's a mad assumption but people think it's a fact. I have always found it's bitches who are more likey to fight! Again it depends on temperament and you were lucky that while your jaw was on the floor the mad testicaled monsters didn't bite it LOL

JaxTellersOldLady · 21/02/2011 10:51

I do think that dogs are more placid in most circumstances, bitches are rather err bitchy.

My friend has a number of dogs and there are 2 bitches that cannot be left together. They fight, proper fight. 1 is neutered, 1 is not but that is an aside. No idea why, but they just done seem to 'like' each other at all.

Original poster

BooyFuckingHoo · 21/02/2011 12:32

i suppose it is just like to humans who rub each other up the wrong way. there are always going to be people we will never tolerate and as humans we can keep ourselves away from them, dogs need us to make sure tehy are kept away from each otehr if tehy dont get on.

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Original poster

BooyFuckingHoo · 21/02/2011 12:32

two

OP posts:

midori1999 · 21/02/2011 17:17

Bitches are worse than dogs for fighting and holding grudges, certainly. I have two bitches here that just will not tolerate each other. We have got them to the point where we can walk them off lead together and they are fine, but if they are in the same room or in the garden together at home, they react very badly to each other and although we are past the point of them fighting on sight, but they get defensive on sight and one will shake and growl. They are both absolutely fine with all other dogs, even poorly socialised ones, just not each other. I'm hoping it'll change at some point, but I'd never leave them together unsupervised again.

I have heard of/know of several similar or worse situation with bitches, whereas dogs tend to fight, get it over with and forget about it.

I also agree that entire dog/bitch doesn't equal allowed to breed willy nilly. Out of all the people I know with entire dogs, there has not been one accidental litter between us. Managing a dog properly prevents unwanted litters just as much as neutering does.

exexpat · 21/02/2011 23:45

I had my terrier done at about 20 months - had been planning to earlier, but DS kept begging me not to (pubescent boy with fellow feelings for boy dog ) so I waited until he was out of the country for a week...

There weren't any noticeable behavioural changes, as he wasn't much of a humper or a fighter anyway. I have found other dogs (intact and not) have been keener to hump him since he was neutered, though. There was also one dog he had problems with since they were both about 4 months old - took a serious dislike to each other, and would really go for each other (teeth bared, snarling, very aggressive) every time they saw each other on walks. That calmed down a lot when the other dog was neutered, and has now pretty much gone - they are still wary around each other, but can be trusted off lead near each other again.

Quite apart from the unwanted puppy issue, most dog walkers/dog sitters round here won't take unneutered dogs, and I don't have family or friends who can take him for more than a couple of days at a time, but we do travel quite a lot. There is a lovely dog sitter near here who has dogs in her house (on her sofas, on her feet under the desk - a real home from home) that I wanted to be able to use.

GrimmaTheNome · 22/02/2011 00:05

We didn't have our first dog done till he was 3 - by which time it was apparent that he was never going to be more than monoorchid so it was def a good idea on health grounds, plus he was a humper (only of legs, never got a chance with other dogs)

It did reduce the humping (he'd start and then look puzzled like 'this used to be fun', poor lad) and his fussy eating was cured. So, no problems with doing it late but watch your dogs waistline!

Current dog still entire, nearly 5 and only just started mild attempts at humping (again legs only, maybe its a dachs fetish?)

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