Neutering - reassure me I'm doing the right thing.

[harryhausen]

I have a beautiful 9 month old border terrier. He's a really handsome lad, very long legged and lean. I have made an appointment to have him neutered this Friday.

In the past few days however I heard from some friends and the odd person I meet on a walk etc that there's no need to neuter. I've been told that it'll change his personality, ruin his coat and make him inevitably put on shed loads of weight

How true is all this? I thought I was doing the responsible thing. I don't want to breed from him. He has just become interested in 'lady' dog smells. He has been known to escape the garden (he can weave his way through a dense box hedge!). Also, his recall is good but when there's a lovely smelling girl-dog there he goes off on one! My vet is very much "it's totally up to you" attitude. I know that all rescue centers neuter etc.

Have people just given me horror stories? At the moment I feel like I'm going to ruin my dog!

We had our labrador neutered at 5 because he was becoming more and more aggressive with other make dogs. He was absolutely fine, I promise you. It hasn't quite cured his aggression but he has calmed down a little, and there were absolutely no negatives to neutering. I wish we had done it when he was much younger, and would definitely do it with a future dog as soon as possible.

Thanks for your reassuring reply Thickandthin. That's good to know. I'd hate for him to get aggressive or other male dogs aggressive towards him. I think I'm just having a wobble as (obviously!) I think he's gorgeous and hate the thought that somehow this will change him completely.

I know, and it's horrible to think you have decided to have bits of him lopped off! It is an easy op though, and recovery is very quick. My boy honestly didn't seem to miss them when they had gone, and he had been used to them for 5 years. Personally I haven't heard of a dog changing for the worse, although I guess it must happen in a small number. Good luck with your decision, and hope it goes well if you go ahead.

You are definitely doing the right thing - 9 months sounds about right for a dog of that size. My crossbreed lad was done at 10 months, and my lurcher will be done at 12-15 months as he's a bit bigger. As long as you're sure he's physically mature - i.e. he's stopped growing, and

Yes, you will want to keep an eye on his weight post-castration, but it's not a big deal to cut his daily food a little bit if he starts to get a bit round, but it's thoroughly dependent on his activity levels, and his metabolism. I've not noticed any lack of quality to my crossbreed's fur. He's half samoyed and so has big floofy fur and he still looks pretty much as he did before. He's got no new temperament issues, and in fact the nerves and anxiety he exhibited before castration are improving - not because or in spite of the castration, but just because I've continued to gently expose him to different situations.

We have a 15 month old spaniel. He's had a rough start in life and was neutered just before we brought him home (he was about 7 months old at the time, personally I would've waited until he had reached maturity but the charity that rescued him had him neutered so we had no say in the timings). When he came home his coat was dry, he lacked any shine, he was quiet, withdrawn and scared. Six months on and he is funny, loving and confident, he's lost the aggression he had around food and possessions, he loves other dogs and hasn't got an aggressive bone in his body. His coat shines and his eyes gleam. He is who he is, neutering has no bearing on his personality.These are his before and after photos, the photo of him in the red coat is him the other photo is about 3 months after coming to us, people struggle to believe it is the same dog but it is.

Thank you for being a responsible dog owner,

For your dog's sake this is by far the best choice, he will be a lot more popular with other dogs, and avoid lots of health problems.

For you it will mean he will be more focused for training and better accepted by other dogs.

We are only in January and I cannot begin to explain how many Christmas mistakes are now needing rehoming.

Never ever breed a dog unless you all ready know at least 12 people who need, want and have the ability to do dog ownership justice. You also need to know what all the prior generations (including all litter mates of prior generation)of that K9s family died of, going back at least eight generation anything else is totally irresponsible and selfish.

Anyone spotting the shit that dogs do not need to be sterilised can start by giving homes to all the hundreds of health dogs put down daily in this country.

Thanks for your answers everyone. Hellhathnofury, what a gorgeous boy and what a difference!

Ok, I feel more ok about it now. I'm pretty certain he's reached maturity. He's very tall for his breed, cocking his leg etc. I've already had to strip his coat once. He gets nearly 2 hours of exercise every day! Lots of running and socialising with other dogs. I was pretty certain of my decision until this weekend when lots of people seemed to tell me it was unnecessary. He has a great pedigree (I have a birth certificate longer than the Red Sea scrolls!). I've had a few people tell me it's a 'shame' etc.

Anyway, now I'm reassured he don't turn into a completely different dog then I'm happy

This is a useful summary I think - there are pros and cons.

As someone who is heavily involved in dog rescue I respect Quoteunquote's position but for individual pet dogs it's best considered on a case by case basis IMO.

My middle dog was castrated today. He is fast asleep with the cat on my bed at the moment. He is almost a year old.

I also have an order dog of a year and a half who was castrated at ten months and a six month puppy who is too young to be neutered yet.

Regarding my older dog, he is loving and excellent recall. However before he was castrated we were out and about and there was a female bitch in heat in a garden. My dog went beserk, absolutely hell bent on getting to the bitch! Never seen him behave like that before! My daughter and I had to physically restrain him by clicking him up and outing him in the car as he was a danger to himself and would have run blindly across a road or in front of any other danger in order to get to the bitch.

He was castrated at ten months. He is the same dog as before but has ever so slightly filled out which is no bad thing for a whippet x greyhound. He is in superb shape.

We are now assured he won't put himself in danger if he meets a bitch in heat.

Thank you all again. Slightly scared reading all the cons on that link However I think I'd feel more relaxed going ahead.

My dog is normally good at recall too but we've already had a few instances of him just incessantly following a bitch and he's completely deaf to my calls. Considering his ability to escape too, I just think it's best. The putting on weight thing is worrying me most, however we'll just have to watch his food and carry on exercising him a lot!

Not all neutered dogs put on weight - my dog is 2 and a half and was neutered shortly before his first birthday (medium rather than large breed so had stopped growing). He's not put on an ounce - in fact he's at the bottom end of the weight range for his breed and we struggle to keep him from dropping further - more food merely results in more poo! He's very active though and seems to burn through calories at an astonishing rate (unlike me ...)