when to castrate male dog, vet says not yet, am confused.

[ditavonteesed]

to much info, the internet does not help make decisions it confuses thing more. Eric is just over 6 months old, soo I have been ringing round the vets to get prices etc today, one vets said that because he is not yet cocking his leg it woulld be better to wait a few months. he is becoming a little bit dominant but nothing major (keeps mounting cherry) he is not showing any other sign of problems at all. really what is the best age to csatrate a small dog (cocker spaniel) I know larger dogs you should wait until they are nearly grown.

Eeeerrrrmmm bollocks to the cocking leg thing. My vet did my Doodle with no problems and he still doesn't do it. Just doesn't want to.

We had both dogs done at around 18 months (Staffy and Doodle). We wanted to wait till mostly fully grown.

I didn't know there were guidelines for when to get them done. My vet said whenever suits you.

As you know, Jasper was castrated last week at 6 months old. My vet will castrate from 5 months, dependent on breed. I mentioned the leg cocking thing and was told it's total (pardon the pun) bollocks, as some dogs never do it. I think there are advantages for waiting a bit with large breeds (something to do with long bone growth), but according to my vet it makes no difference really. The benefits outweighed the risks for us, so we went ahead. And now, you wouldn't know he'd had anything done

I had Harvey (cocker spaniel) done at 6 months and he never cocks his leg, he's 8 now!!
I've got an 18 month old JRT and I'm hoping to get him done this summer,

The jury is out as to whether early castration affects physical and mental maturity.

I know several breeders who would be very unhappy with a puppy owner castrating before 18 months and preferably not before two years.

Personally without serious behavioual issues that would actually have a chance of being resolved by castration, I would not do it at all, but I am aware that is not a popular view on here.

I would put it off as long as possible unless you are having major marking issues or frustrated humping. However humping is often made better by castration anyway.

Lots of dogs don't raise their leg (though you'd have thought Cockers jolly well should!). And some bitches do. As everyone else says, that's irrelevant.

I would leave it as long as possible if you are not having problems. Why do you want him castrated?

thats fairly unanimous then. cherry cocks her leg and has a beard, eric doesnt and is really pretty it is all a bit androginous round here. I just want him done because thats what you do IYSWIM, he is a very placid, freindlly dog and certainly has no aggresion problems or anything like that.

I didn't get Jasper done for aggression or behavioural reasons. I got it done because I don't want him adding to the dog population when off lead. Also, he stays with a boarder in her home, and him not being castrated would cause problems for her boarding other dogs. Plus my vet mentioned it helped protect him against some cancers.

i got my boy done when he was around 13 months old to try to help with his epilepsy- he started cocking his leg about a week afterwards

my girl occasionally cocks her leg- i think it's just a case of some do, some don't, tbh.

I think 5 - 8 months.

I had mine done at 9 months. Vet said he had to be fully grown and should have been cocking his leg for a while.

I had him done because my mil has a bitch puppy and I didn't want to risk it, otherwise I would probably have left it longer as he wasn't marking or humping.

The science says we should wait until after they are 5.5 months of age as there is some evidence that before then it can affect skeletal maturity. There is no rush with dogs as there are no clear benefits of reduction in disease by neutering before a certain age or stage unlike in bitches.
As a vet I did my mobile mop at just under 6 months of age as he was giving my DD's large ladybird soft toy a really hard time. He was not cocking his leg and only started doing that at 19 months of age and now does it all the time.

Second dog was at 6 months because I lived on a farm with a 3 foot garden fence topped with barbed wire. Didn't want to risk him trying to escape to visit neighbouring bitches, which he would have done judging by his affection for my cushions and other dog.

I've got an appointment at the vets in 2 weeks time for a consultation about neutering (something our vets book you in for for free when you get a puppy). They're going to see if he's big enough I think to book in for when he's 6 months, he'll be 5.5 at the appointment. He's not crazy or anything but has started to hump a lot and even tried to mount my MILs male 8 year old lab last night . Some people have said 6 months will be too early for a larger dog (he's a lab too), what do people think? My husband and I have already had to defend our decision over doing this, we have been told we're selfish and should let him be studded but there's enough dogs in the world without Barney doing his bit to add to the population, and that's not the reason we got him

Humping is normal adolescent behaviour. Unless you have major problems there's no reason to neuter boy dogs. Almost all girl dogs are spayed so you won't be adding to the dog population unless you're a professional breeder.
Spaniels are one of the breeds whose coat can be ruined by neutering.

what about testicular cancer, winterreise?

from the health point of view there seem to be more cons than pros for neutering male dogs

Our vet was happy to castrate our Border Collie at 6 months. He was humping a lot and spunked on my carpet so it seemed the right time. The humping has reduced massively.

He wasn't cocking his leg to pee at the time but he does now - mind you so does our neutered bitch

My beloved childhood dog died of testicular cancer. It metastasized, spreading to his lower bowel and so was totally inoperable. My grandad didn't believe in neutering dogs; I never quite forgave him for that one.

Lop 'em off, 6 months for smaller breeds, 12-18 months for larger breeds if you must.

My pup came to us already castrated at eight weeks (the rescue policy is that no pets are homed entire). As our pup was the result of unplanned breeding and the rescue centre had plenty more I don't think you can really assume that every bitch out there has been spayed (we are in Canada, but UK rescue sites have plenty of puppies too). He cocks his leg and enjoys the occasional hump too. As he is a mixed breed it's difficult to tell if he would have been any different if it had been left later.

My mother always had unnuetered dogs and one of them in particular was always getting out and disappearing for ages. It was a major nuisance. Once he was neutered (in relatively old age) he became much more settled.

Testicular cancer in dogs is rare. Are we to lop off every bit which could get cancer in later life?
There's no reason not to have your dog castrated, at the age your vet happens to prefer. There's equally no reason to have it done in most boy dogs.

Very sad for dog to die of testicular cancer but also very rare as its one of the most curable cancers in dogs and tends not to spread. There are other more fatal cancers where the risk is increased by castration, eg risk of osteosarcoma is doubled. I think castration has to be based on individual situation and I suppose there are other things to consider apart from health. After much pondering I've decided not to have my 16 month lab castrated unless something changes, as there are no problems. Will check his testicles regularly.