When to neuter?

[YoureAllABunchOfBastards]

BastardPup is just over 5 months old. Initially we were uncertain about neutering as he has a very good blood line, but a) he's a pet and not a show dog and b) his stumpy tail would be a dealbreaker anyway.

So, we need to plan to get him neutered, but I have no idea when we should be doing this. Previous DHounds were adopted intact aged 5 years and neutered within a month in a vain attempt to calm them down.

What is the current advice?

What breed is he?

Different people (vets included) will advise different things. In New Zealand there is a chemical castration you can try first to see what they're like, not sure if we have that here.

Personally, I prefer to wait until they are mature adults, so with a bigger dog, that is a longer time. I have golden retrievers, and I wouldn't neuter before 2, maybe even waiting until 3. I got my eldest done at 10 months and it was too soon. I have a bitch who is 2 at the moment and am torn on spaying her. I think pyo scares me too much but she's such a baby still, I think I might wait until she's had another season and is closer to 3...

The current advice is when they have finished growing. This is very much dependent on breeds as the larger breeds take a lot longer to finish growing.

The other advice is not to neuter if there are any behavioural problems such as being very fearful as the lack of testosterone can make this worse.