Do I need to get my boy castrated? Really?

[MsGameandWatch]

Took him to the groomer today and she asked if I was getting him "done"? And told me how she gets all her dogs done as soon as they hit 8 months. I don't know. Obviously I have thought about but just been delaying really. He's 8 months old and a Scottish terrier. He's obedient and loving though a bit feisty.

I am going to google obviously but have a lot of respect for The Doghouse Collective opinion. So opinions please?

I'm in the same position deciding when to get my boy done as I know the vets at his 6 monthly check up will bring it up which is soon.

I am tempted to not even think about it until he is fully grown.

Yes you should. There's so many unwanted dogs in rescues and it won't be you that has to deal with a pregnant bitch and puppies if he gets loose and an accident happens. Some kennels also won't take intact males so worth doing

I'm waiting to get my female Scottie done once she's had her first season. She's 7 months.

So don't let your boy bump into my lass before hand or we'll have a right lot of feisty Jocks on our hands

Well I have an 18 year old terrier who isn't done and he's never caused me a spot of bother. He's a lovely wee lad. Will be getting the spotty dog done soon though to see if it stops his escape artist antics!

Obviously the ideal thing to do would be to get him done if you dont intend to breed from him just in case he escapes and gets to a female.
My vet recommends waiting until your dog is fully mature at 12-24 months, large breeds mature later than small breeds.

Some vets say not to get them done as theres an increase in certain types of cancers and disease if you do and some vets say to do it to prevent testicular cancer. My vet says getting testicular cancer is easier to treat than those other cancers they become more prone to once they've had the chop.
Its basically up to you but really discuss it with your vet for the best advice.

I'm leaning towards it to be honest, just wanted to get an idea of the best time. Am going to ring my vet in a minute for a little chat about it. For a male dog then, is 7/8 months around the right time?

questionable I never got my schnauzer done either. He was a gentle and peaceful soul and never gave me a moments trouble either.

Family look after him when I go away so I don't need him to go to kennels and our lifestyle is in the city so highly unlikely he'd get out and about alone, he's 100% supervised. I just want to do what's right for him health wise.

For a large/ giant breed, I tend to wait until they are 12-18mths, but in a smaller breed I'd be happy to do him any time after 6 mths. I've always done my own, as I knew I wasn't going to breed, and I think it's often torture for males when there is a bitch in heat within a mile radius- many go off their food, are desperate to escape. theer used to be a statistic that something like 70% of all road traffic accidents in dogs were unneutered males. Add to that the risk of prostatic enlargement, testicular cancer and anal adenomas (tumours at their back end that are testosterone related) and I think they're better off without them!

The other thing that worries me is that scotties are prone to bladder cancer and in neutered dogs it's supposedly 4 x more likely they'll develop it 😕

Oh that's awful platypus was just thinking that about the very busy road outside if he ever did accidentally get out.

Yes.

I've just had my 14 month old GR done and although there were some complications I dont regrets it.
I never wanted to breed from him and I've had GR boys before who haven't been done and when a nearby bitch is in heat its torture for them. it might improve his recall too but that's not my main motivation

I've got a 3 yr old cocker spaniel who is still entire. My previous dog was a lab and their cruciate ligaments went at 8, so when I read about neutered dogs being more likely to have this, I had a long chat with the vet about it and he advised leaving him until he was 2 and then only do it if there were behaviours that caused concern. He's never humped, run off or shown any signs of aggression so basically I've left him be. I would do it if there was reason to, but I think anaesthesia should be for life and death only as it is so risky. It very much depends on the dog and their nature though, my sister had to have her cocker spaniel done at 6 months as he was very humpy with everything and everyone (especially her sofa cushions) and wasn't listening at all to her. I'd talk to the vet and get their advice on it.

I always thought that the best time is when they are 12-18 months old for the op - it is really a fairly minor op compared to spaying of bitches.

The ideal thing to do is to ensure you don't allow your dogs to escape. Surely the far bigger worry is that they'll be run over or stolen, rather than the miniscule chance that they will meet a bitch at precisely the right stage of her season and sire an unwanted litter?

I have kept entire dogs - male and female - for 30 years and never had any issues at all.

Speak to your breeder and check whether there are any coat issues with neutered Scotties that can make them difficult to deal with. Research the cancer risks that increase after neutering, rather than just the ones that decrease (you mention one above).

A balanced decision that only you can come to, but please make it on the basis that it is responsible dog ownership that prevents unwanted puppies.

In the past I've had my male dogs "done" as soon as they hit six months (apart from the first one, who was such a sex-mad monster that I was determined never to endure the horror again!).

None of them have ever suffered, as far as I am aware - but having said that, the more I have read about the effects of castration, the more I think that if I ever go another male dog I wouldn't have him castrated unless he made a nuisance of himself.

I know a number of dogs which haven't been castrated, are no problem and the owners haven't seen any need to mess with their hormones. (Mind - in these days when most dogs are castrated, it is quite odd seeing a dog with bollocks - they look terribly "male" )

BTW - neutering usually ruins the dog's coat - but so does clipping.

If you have your dog professionally stripped, and he is no bother, you may not want to have him castrated if you want to keep him in good coat.

On the other hand, iff you get him clipped, his coat will go soft anyway so neutering wouldn't have any further effect.

Unless it's for serious health reasons, please please please never get any dog done before at least 1 year, but ideally not until they have fully matured!

Getting them 'done' before they have fully matured stunts their growth, not just physically but mentally and emotionally.

You will be told horror stories about how if you don't get your dog done they'll develop cancer etc but trust me, as a veterinary assistant, we see more dogs with health issues due to early castration/neutering than we do dogs who have problems because haven't been done.

Our pitbull cross was neutered before 8 weeks (he's an RSPCA dog) and we've had terrible problems with him as he wasn't physically mature when he was done. He pees on everyone he loves through excitement and was recently rushed to the emergency vets as his foreskin got stuck behind his knot. Very painful and expensive.

Our 7 year old papillon was neutered at 7 mths and his coat is wrecked :( he also scent marks in the house and isn't great with other males.

Our 18 mth old papillon isn't neutered and we don't have any problems with him. His coat is perfect, he doesn't scent mark and we've never had any problems with wandering or aggression. He does hump everything that moves but is easily distracted. We're using him at stud later this year so don't tell him off for humping.

In my experience I wouldn't recommend neutering a male dog, but that not say everyone should keep their dogs entire. What works for some people doesn't work for everyone.

Getting them 'done' before they have fully matured stunts their growth, not just physically but mentally and emotionally.

That's what I learned recently Raspberry, and why I wouldn't be in such a hurry to get it done now.

The first (our sex-mad staffie) was castrated at 3 and a half, and could still "do the business" afterwards, but of course, couldn't produce any puppies, The vet told me this shouldn't be happening, but it did!

The other three males I've had have been neutered at six months. two lived to 18 and one to only 12 (he was a yorkie - I expected him to live longer).

My daughter's great dane was castrated at 14 months. We'd hoped to wait until he was two, but he was so "humpy" and so bloomin' big, we really had to have him calmed down.

I think that nowadays, most bitches are spayed so therein less to tempt a male dog, and also very few dogs are allowed to roam the streets so there is less likelihood of them getting out and laying siege to a bitch at her back gate, risking life and limb in the process.

The health benefits for neutering dogs are much less than for bitches (I've had a botch with pyometra - it was nasty).

BTW - 6 months for neutering was the received wisdom at that time.

Our pitbull cross was neutered before 8 weeks (he's an RSPCA dog)

That's shocking Maitland - is it because of his breed (pitbull) or is this standard RSPCA practice now?

How can any vet justify taking vital hormones out of the body of a BABY? He needs those to mature and to protect him against all sorts of health problems.

I may be wrong, but I'm sure that I read somewhere that very early neutering is now the norm in the USA - some breeders have puppies neutered before sale to ensure that they won't be bred from.

I would hope that most vet's wouldn't do it - I know ours certainly wouldn't.

My cairn was neutered at 1yo - he's six now though and I believe advice is changing.

Did absolutely nothing for his feisty terrierish-ness though!

Thanks for all this. So informative. Definitely going to wait until he's a year old at least. Am seeing the vet next week. I'm not convinced it's necessary to be honest. Might have to get another groomer as she was really pushy about it being done.

*Our pitbull cross was neutered before 8 weeks (he's an RSPCA dog)

That's shocking Maitland - is it because of his breed (pitbull) or is this standard RSPCA practice now?*

It's standard policy for all puppies to be neutered (males and females) that are adopted through the RSPCA here in Australia.

He really is a big, dumb baby. 40kgs of puppy who loves nothing more than sitting in your lap having a cuddle!