Spay or not spay a male dog

[happymoment]

My dog will be one soon. I m not sure to spay or not spay him. He s a very friendly good boy. He humps his own bed every night since he was about 4/5 month old. Other then that he s a very amazing boy. I m worried having him spayed will have negative effects on his personality and health.

Have you ever regretted after you had your dog spayed? Is it really true that they are better at recall after having it done?

Humping is a behaviour that can be learned like any other. I take the approach with my dogs that no humping is acceptable. If you correct the behaviour and ask for another they will learn not to hump. If you take the view they are allowed to do it on beds then it becomes rewarding.

most behaviours people want to solve by neutering can also be solved through training

2 of my dogs are male, one is 8, the other is 2.

On the advice of our vet the older was neutered at 6 months - with hindsight this was far too soon.
On the advice of the same vet, who has changed his opinion over the last few years, the 2 year old remains entire. The dog is very laid back, no behavioural issues at all, and the vet said that if it was his own dog he wouldn’t neuter him.

The vet seems to base things on the individual dog.

Of course I will talk to the vet and professional experts. But it s good to hear people s real life experiences. There are pros and cons about every medical decision and how it affects our everyday life at home that the professionals don’t necessarily appreciate. Also by asking other dog owners ‘ experiences I m doing a bit of research so I can learn about what questions to put to my vet or a dog behavior expert.

If I were to have my dog done I'd try chemical castration first as it can be reversed.

A friend is getting her toy poodle castrated soon on vet advice, the initial advice was wait to 18 months, but he is getting into the habit of humping and trying to dominate other much larger dogs 😁(just over a year) and the vet advised that this is a habit that is difficult to deal with once established.

The health impact between just over a year and 18 months is minimal, the behavioural aspects are much more significant.

We've always neutered our dogs, as have family. Out of those 7 dogs none have ever developed behavioural or physical issues.

Of course it's up to you and your dog, but personally I would always neuter for a healthy dog.

We know lots of people with castrated dogs who are also physically healthy with no issues.

Couldn't agree more.

Mine still has his balls and he's the best dog I've had. My last four dogs were neutered and it changed their personality. One also seemed to have some kind of brain injury because he was neve the same and just seemed disabled after the surgery! (he never was a bright dog mentally but he lost what brains he had after the surgery - would stand and bark at the wall, for example. Was also suddenly extremely greedy and started food guarding.)

I decided I wouldn't get my spaniel castrated as he had no negative traits- he didn't hump, wasn't crazy etc so I couldnt see the benefit. However I changed my mind when we had quite a few incidents with other male dogs going for him. He is very laid back and I didn't want him to become anxious so after speaking with my vet we decided to neuter and have had no incidents since. A shame since its not his fault at all but it's a consideration.

But he is still my lovely boy after his op, no personality changes (which I was really worried about).

Yes! Get it done.

Always used to have my dogs neutered as recommended by vets (and by the way, it didn't stop them humping).
however;

"With many retrospective studies to date, there is no clear evidence which indicates neutering male dogs, especially young male dogs, will prevent future health issues.
In fact, the negative health issues far exceed the benefits.

The following information is taken from a meta analysis preformed by Laura J. Sanborn, M.S. in 2007:

Starting with the benefits for neutering male dogs, the procedure eliminates the small risk (<1%) of developing testicular cancer. However, this is a very treatable disease with a high incidence of cure. Neutering may possibly reduce the risk of non-cancerous prostate disorders, perianal fistulas, and diabetes (data inconclusive).

#1: Most pets are neutered prior to their first year of age which disrupts proper hormonal processes. Removing the hormone generating organs of the body so early in age will impact other essential growth processes.

#2: Hormonal disruption in neutered male dogs heighten the risks of other growth centers. Neutering may triple the risk of hypothyroidism.

#3: Early neutering of male dogs increases the risk of developing bone cancer. Osteosarcoma is a common cancer in medium/large and larger breeds with a poor prognosis.

#4: Male dogs who are neutered are more likely to develop other orthopedic diseases. The potential for hip dysplasia and cruciate rupture rises when male dogs have inadequate time to fully hormonally develop and grow healthy bones.

#5: Neutering male dogs increases the risk of cardiac hemangiosarcoma. The likelihood of developing this common cancer in many breeds after neutering rises by a factor of 1.6 and has a very poor prognosis.

#6: Male dogs neutered during their first years have a tripled potential for obesity. Similar to humans, overweight dogs are more susceptible to numerous other health problems.

#7: The originally small risks for prostate and urinary tract cancers increase for neutered male dogs. The risk for urinary tract cancer doubles (<1%) while the risk for prostate cancer quadruples (<0.6%).

#8: The vaccines recommended to pet parents may result in adverse side effects in neutered male dogs. By decreasing the immune stimulation and protection from the testosterone surges during puberty, negative reactions to vaccinations are more likely to occur.

#9: Neutering male dogs may negatively impact their quality of life as they age. Testosterone soaks the brain and provides protection from amyloid deposits, protein deposits that clog brain pathways. The risk of progressive geriatric impairments rises in neutered male dogs.

#10: For the behavioral symptoms pet parents believe will be helped by neutering male dogs, other negative symptoms in behavior may develop. Studies indicate neutered males are susceptible to anxious or fearful behaviors, noise phobias, aggression, and undesirable sexual behaviors.'

Will your dog run away to sow his wild oats? Yes, if he smells a bitch in heat. My parents had a jack Russell in the 70's who eat through a garage door to get out, he vanished for weeks, my father was in a town 20 miles from home when he spotted the dog who jumped into the car when called, his feet had to be bathed and bandaged because the pads were bleeding from walking/running. It was a constant job keeping that dog safe.

We’re having our 13 month old dog chemically castrated next week. The vet said they prefer to do this and see how their behaviour is afterwards - if they tolerate it then we can either castrate in 6 months or get the implant again. If it doesn’t suit him then we can keep him intact.

I didn't. He's 6 now. His breeder didn't recommend it as his breed is known for being a bit grumpy and she said she had seen neutering make that worse. I'm not convinced I would ever neuter a male dog unless there were real behavioural issues. I'm told dogs are not routinely neutered in other many other European countries and many dog owners there find it baffling that we do it as a matter of course. I don't know how true that is.

Isn't walking them a nightmare if they're not neutered? You'd only be able to walk them off lead when in isolation?!

No, it wasn't a problem with either of our dogs.

To your question 'have you regretted it?' .... not for one minute. We have two cocker spaniels, brother and sister. I got them both done at the first opportunity as with two kids and a work away husband, a litter would be way too much. Behaviourally I noticed no difference but he was done at 7 months. I have no regrets about having it done but if I hadn't, I'm pretty sure I would have regretted not doing it!

Neutering will not stop humping. Young dogs males and females will hump, often blankets their beds or cushions for example.

They will grow out of it , remove items they will hump or distract when they are doing it.

We decided not to neuter our male working springer. He's a gentle sort who is slightly timid around other dogs, so that was one reason. He's also from a particularly good line, so that was another. He does sometimes try to hump our female springer, but she's well able to deal with unwanted advances and soon puts him in his place. We always spay our females after their first season.

My major concern is if he will run away to look for mates! He s a very gentle little boy and very friendly to everyone he meets. I don’t want to change him.

I walk mine, off lead, in busy London parks with multiple different dogs every day.

I would wait and see. I neutered my dog at 5 because he would run off if he could smell a bitch in season (even if they were not nearby) but not all entire male dogs are like this. It has made him quite timid and defensive around some dogs. And he has put on weight.

@LondonWolf do you have a male dog that has not be neutered?
Sorry it sounds like silly question.

Spay, it's cruel not to.

@LondonWolf and he doesn't try and mate with unspayed females? Or spayed females!