To neuter or not to neuter? That is the question.

[DICarter1]

Our wee boy is a small poodle. He’s nearly 16 months and we are wondering whether or not to get him neutered. Our vet suggested quite a few months back to get him done.

And as a side note, all of my cats are neutered - that is a no brainer to me.

When our cocker spaniel got to 18 months, we had a very long and thoughtful chat with our vet. As he'd never shown any sign of sexual behaviour or dominance, the vet was perfectly happy to leave him entire. Our last dog had had issues with their cruciate ligaments, and for that reason alone we wouldn't have considered it before 2 anyway.

However, I do now regret it as it's made my darling boy a target for other male dogs. Unfortunately we live in a small village with only a few dog walks, and we've got 3 very irresponsible dog owners amongst us who have got incredibly dominant aggressive dogs (one very big lab, and 2 springers). All of these are also entire. Two years ago, my dog was so badly attacked by one of them that he ended up needing 3 weeks of treatment for a nasty bite and blood clot to his chest...... and the other owner got taken to court by the Police as I got bitten trying to separate them. It took 4 people to get this dog off mine, and I will never forget the screaming that mine did. I didn't sleep for weeks after as I couldn't stop hearing that noise

I think we've been unlucky, and we are desperately trying to move out of this godforesaken place......... but I do feel very responsible too.

Toria70 this is not your fault and is entirely the fault of the useless owners of these dogs. Your poor boy. I am so sorry that happened.

This question is complicated. I spent a lot of time trying to find out the pros and cons. It seems that the answer depends on what breed of dog, its age, and gender. You can read about it here - trainingyourpuppy.net/should-i-neuter-dog/

@Stellaris22

I'm sorry but I do think it's 'black and white'. Around where I am few people neuter their dogs and are then surprised when females get accidentally pregnant, and litters are never terminated. I get waiting for dogs to fully mature first, but never neutering is not ok if you have no intention to breed. Just look at the amount of unwanted dogs in rehoming centres.

I have kept both males and bitches entire for 30+ years of dog ownership and have never had (or allowed) an unwanted pregnancy. Irresponsible dog ownership is responsible for unwanted/ill-advised litters, not the keeping of unneutered dogs.

As others have said, there are medical arguments for and against elective neutering, and responsible owners weight these up against the breed and the individual dog.

@Darklane

It isn’t black & white. There are genuine reasons against neutering in the case of some cancers in some breeds & coats can alter significantly. Someone up thread said that many working & show dogs are not neutered. I would like to add that KC rules mean that you can not enter a dog into a show that is neutered unless you have proof that it was done for purely medical reasons. All dog breed standards state that a male dog must have two descended testicles that can be felt in the scritum so if you have any plans at all to show neutering purely from choice will disqualify you.

It is no longer true that neutering needs to be for medical reasons, you can neuter and show any dog - you just need to advise the KC (not request permission, as it was historically).

There is no getting away from the fact that there with males is a contradiction between this and the breed standard requirement for normally descended testicles though, and it would be a waste of time/money with many judges! 😆

Any responsible dog owner neuters their dog.to be frank,unneutered dogs are the biggest pest on my walks.both my girls are spayed and owners and dogs of unneutered dogs are generally regarded as irresponsible dig owners.we all hate them in and around our big park!

My 11 month old bitch is currently in season and will definitely be spayed as soon as I can arrange it. She’s a rescue pup and I have absolutely no hesitation in doing so.

I used to think neutering was 'gold standard' and was a strong advocate of it until our last dog died under the anaesthetic of his neutering procedure. It still breaks me that we chose to get him neutered and although the risks of death are rare - they do happen.
Our current dog is not neutered. He has excellent recall and we have the option of a chemical castration should this be necessary at a later date.

One thing that occurred to me as a Dr is why do we castrate as standard and therefore remove all the dogs hormones rather than do a vasectomy or a tubal ligation in females as we do in humans? That way they could keep their hormones but have no chance of a pregnancy. That's what we do in humans after all.

Ours is a rescue pup and I accepted that he should automatically be neutered as advised by the rescue but lately I am questioning that after both my vet and dog trainer advised against it. They both independently said definitely not under 1, ideally not under 2 and maybe never.

We have no intention at all to breed from him but he is a big dog with a double coat and apparently it can affect their bones, coat, weight and personality negatively and I feel sorry for him about that. I like him as he is.

My MILs little sausage dog is much fatter with a less attractive coat since having him done and if anything his behaviour is worse and he is more annoying and whiny than he was before.

I am definitely going to hold off until after a year/ 18 mo or longer and I might ask the vet about a vasectomy or hormone implant so it can be reversed if it has a negative impact on him.

[quote DICarter1]@JuanSheetIsPlenty, I know we need decent recall. Believe me I’m trying. Hence the long line. We started him when we got him home. Lots of work in the garden, hide and seek, a special exciting toy when he was out, special nice treats only given when out. We’ve tried sausages, cheese, ham. All of which he’d love at home. But outside he couldn’t careless. Dogs and the environment far surpass us. Mainly other dogs. He adores other dogs. Because of his lack of return on quite a few occasions he’s either on a lead or on a long line. I know it’s a problem. Suggestions very welcome.

Thanks all. A lot to think about. He’s not huge and I’ve had a look at neutering his breed and it’s very 50/50. He’s not a nervous dog, no aggressive and minimal humping.[/quote]
We have the same problem with our poodle. His recall is bullet proof when there are no other dogs around to play with but is non existent when he wants to play. He just loves other dogs too much. We also use a long line and our trainer has advised us to work on training our dog to ignore others by treating him when one walks past and he focuses on us with good eye contact. Also, to get eye contact from him before we unclip the lead and "allow" him to run off to play. Also to only allow 5 minutes of play and then to leave, so that he doesn't get over excited, refuse to come back. She said the more to happens ( refusing to come back from play) the harder it will be to fix.

• the more this happens

I was always pro - but I genuinely wish we’d left mine entire. He’s a small dog and became a little fear aggressive after neutering (and it was done late), and also became far more greedy with food.

Next time I will think more carefully as I think it hugely depends on the dog.