can anyone give me info on neutering later please?

[BooyFuckingHoo]

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?

We recently got a dog from a rescue home.

He is 4 & not castrated & I have been wondering if we are totally mad/irresponsible to be thinking about not having him done.

He is very calm/placid, hasn´t humped anyone or even jumped up at anyone.

He doesn´t bark when someone rings the doorbell.

He hasn´t barked/growled/jumped at/pulled towards any dogs-or people.

Admittedly we have only had him 3wks so things could change.

He was at the vet last night for his rabies vac & the vet said it´s up to us & perhaps wait & see how he is when any nearby bitches are in season.

He also mentioned an implant that last 6months, but would imagine over the course of say 10yrs that wouldn´t be cost effective compared to the op.

Am also terrified of something going wrong & us losing him & the thought of aftercare now that we are in a routine of walks/playtime etc.

At what age is a large breed dog sexually mature enough to successfully mate with an in-heat bitch?

We won't be getting ours (large LabX) done until at least a year on breeders' advice, but recall isn't great so am obviously worried about that. To be honest even if his recall was very good, I don't think I'd ever trust it to recall a young, excited dog off an in-heat bitch, surely those urges are just too strong?!

"We recently got a dog from a rescue home. He is 4 & not castrated "

Unless that's for medical reasons, as is the case with one of my dogs, who's epileptic, that's a bloody disgrace. It's "rescues" like that which get responsible ones a bad name.

Either that establishment is not a reputable rescue, diddl, or it's a dog pound, maquerading under the title of "rescue" or, as Battersea does, "Dogs Home", although at least Battersea is more responsible in its rehoming policy than this one.

I would be questioning/worried about their other policies, such as whether they vaccinate, whether they have a no-kill policy, whether they offer adequate ongoing support and a take back at any time contract together with that no kill guarantee, whether they assess and vet check their dogs and whether indeed that they homecheck/homecheck properly (no slight to you intended).

Hi,
I'm new around here, but I have some experience with dogs. We had our lab done at 9 months - he was booked in the day after he tracked down a girl in heat - it was the only time his recall has every failed (he's now 2). Fortunately the other dog was a Bichon Fraise and the owner could pick her up.
Anyway, the main reason I've heard to wait is to make sure that young dogs have enough testosterone in their system. A young dog needs that testoserone to build up his confidence. If you neuter him too young, you may end up with a nervous dog, and a nervous dog can end up aggressive as a result. You probably know your own dog pretty well. Does he seem nervous? If so, I'd wait a bit longer. If not, then get him neutered.
Behaviour wise, the only change with mine was stopping the roaming. His recall has always been good, but now he doesn't really need it since he never leaves me anyway. Do remember that it can take a few weeks for the hormones to leave his system, so any changes aren't obvious straight away.
My other piece of advise is to try and get your vet to give you some painkillers to take away with you after the op. My poor boy suffered more than he needed to because we didn't do that.
Hope that's helpful!

I too am surprised that you have a rescue dog who hasn't been done! At the very least you should have signed something stating that you will arrange to have him done a.s.a.p. and they ought to check that at your home visit (assuming they do one). Are you sure it wasn't part of the agreement that you get him the op?

Well, Vallhala, maybe we didn´t get from the best place.

We are in Germany & it doesn´t seem standard for all dogs in rescue places to be spayed/castrated tbh.

It never occured to me to ask about a "returns policy" if we didn´t want him.

He had been with them 2yrs, so don´t know how long any dogs are kept.

He is microchipped & has been vaccinated annually since they had him-against rabies, various worms, and a multivac against parvo/distemper/kennel cough & Hcc.

I will admit they let us take him without a homecheck-although they do know the area & the size of our house.

But they have been since we´ve had him.

I think that th

Missed a bit-I think they may have been guilty of taking on trust too much of what we said & checking later.

Not that we told any lies to get him-let me reassure you of that.

We were told about them by a local animal home that didn´t have anything suitable for us.