Hello, So my pup is 8 months right now. When we first brought him home the advice was to neuter at 6 months, but the vet told me that it's better to wait for even a couple months to help with skeletal development. Especially with a lab and their hip issues. She suggested 8 to 10 months or even 12 if we could wait. I don't mind waiting unless it will be more painful/ traumatic for him if he's older. Now that he's in the age range I was wondering what the experiences are here on the forum. Thanks in advance!
I would just go with your vet's advice. If you are having no testosterone-related behavioural issues (like running away looking for bitches) it won't hurt to wait till he's 1 year old.
I don't think it's a problem to wait for a few more months, I don't think it would be more painful or anything. In the UK the norm is to wait until they are fully grown - which would be 12 months for a medium sized dog and maybe a bit longer if your boy is going to be big! Here in Germany, with my 20kg mix breed, the vet said to wait until 12 months. In the end I didn't have him neutered - he's 3 now.
My boy is three and entire. He has no sexually-driven behaviour issues, and we don't use day care or other facilities where it's mandatory, so there is no need to neuter him. If I were neutering, I would wait until 18 months or so, if possible.
We look after Zaba a lot. He's four years old and entire. No behaviour issues at all. He was here for the first week of Mollie's season and he was a perfect gentleman, he helped keep the floor clean and that was it, no stress - he did just as much sleeping as usual.
I've had a neutered male and unneutered and to be honest there's not been a great deal of difference in the boys behaviour. both have been loving kind happy dogs. Neither exhibited any of the behaviours like mounting etc. I spoke to my vet about Rory and his boys and my vet said if it's not broke why fix it? He's nearly 4 and is intact and I just haven't seen the need to castrate him. He is a sensitive dog and Me and my vet though he would be better more confident dog if had time to mature slowly with the benefit of his boys.
I had Sam castrated at around 12 months of age , then reading about the benefits of leaving it for longer before castration, or not castrating at all , I began to regret it but too late , what`s done is done , I did what I thought was the right thing at the time . Now with his lymphoma which could possibly be hereditary , I am glad that he is done because accidents happen and he was getting very interested in the ladies just prior to his castration so it was, for me, the right thing to do .
Fred has all his equipment and we have never had a problem with him. You must do what is best for you and your dog.
Hi, my last male died intact at 13....never had an problems with him. My current male was left until age 9 when we got a bitch and it was all a bit too much for him. My vets won't castrate unless there are testosterone related behaviour issues. It is not done routinely. You have to do what you think is best at the time
You are very lucky to have such a Vet. So many push for before 6 months. Google up on the risks/benefits and pros/cons of neuter. At a young age or any age. I did, there were behavious I did not like but they started at a very early age so certainly were not sexually dimorphic meaning highly unlikely neuter would change them. My boy is still intact. There does seem to be a definite correlation between joint injury and neuter before puberty starts or even before it's finished. One behavioural issue you may encounter with your boy is not in him but in other dogs. More so in other intact males but some neutered males can be really bad. Dogs are a funny species. Unlike people, at puberty their testosterone can soar to as much as 7 (SEVEN) times what it will be in adulthood. This is like waving a red flag for some other dogs and they may want to put him in his place. They can be pretty rough and for some it will last. Our worst fights have been from neutered males, not intact males. The puppy testosterone is explained in the link, about half way down at Puppy License to Misbehave. The whole article is good. http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/dog-communication
I've always had male dogs and have only ever had one of them neutered and that was for a medical problem. (enlarged prostate causing back pressure on kidneys.) The one disadvantage of having an entire male is that some, not all, do tend to drip a bit of willy juice that is very difficult to clean off the walls! Please tell me it's not just my dogs!
My first male was neutered at 10 months, the second was a rescue and neutered per local laws (CA) at 8 weeks. The second boy had lots and lots of physical and behavioural issues that are correlated (but not necessarily directly caused) with early neuter. After researching the health pros and cons, I've decided not to neuter my next puppy as to me, the risks of neuter far outweigh the benefits. But I think everyone must weigh up the decision themselves, and where in the world you are located also makes a big difference. No matter your end decision, waiting longer is a plus. In terms of pain and recovery, I used to foster for my local Humane Society and they'd neuter at 8 weeks and it was super easy on the puppies. They'd wake up raring to go. Older dogs (like my 10 month old) have a rougher time, but I don't know why there'd be any difference between a 10-12-16-20 month dog. I hope you find a solution you are happy with. And I also wanted to say that your avatar pic is adorable.
I don't have that problem with Oban, but, how does it get on the walls? Floor, bedding, chesterfield, I can see that, but walls?
Pongo is three and a half years old and is not neutered. He doesn't have any behavioural issues, and we are working on the basis of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Our local daycare wanted us to neuter him at 12 months, but his breeder wrote a letter for us saying that she might want to breed from him in future so we got an exemption. The conventions are different in different countries. You will find the right solution for your dog....but in general I believe it is better to wait until they have absolutely finished growing before you interfere too much in their hormone levels. (Pongo is a huge dog - 42kg - and didn't stop putting on muscle and bone til he was about 2 years old.) Your avatar picture is gorgeous!
All three of my male dogs had this problem, hence I had them castrated! So no, it isn't just your dogs I began to wonder if my dogs were the only ones to have preputial catarrh! I certainly wouldn't have had my last dog castrated, but couldn't live with all that stuff up the walls and doors!
My lab will need to be neutered for medical reasons, but I'm holding off until he's 1.5 years old. He's a year now. I want to make sure he has time to develop, while also balancing any risks he might have (he has one undescended so increased chance of testicular cancer).
