I have a 13 month old black Labrador gundog, Toby. My breeder advised if I was to have him neutered not to do it until he was at least 13-14 months old. My problem is this: he is SUCH a happy chappy, obedient and full of life....he makes no attempt to hump things in the house and so far hasn't tried it on his walks. I really need feedback from owners who have had their labs neutered as to any change in their personality. I Couldn't bear it if he lost his character or love of life. I have heard various reports that they can become subdued and lose interest in playing etc., he shouldn't get fat if he keeps his energy levels as they are because he just runs and runs after his ball and has at least two long walks a day as well as swimming when the tide is in. I just don't know what to do for the best, obviously there is no intention to breed from him! Please can lots of people reply in order that I can possibly make an informed decision?? Also, is there an age when it is too late to neuter successfully for their health?
Have you read up on the health, societal and behavioural risks and benefits? The behavioural information done by Duffy and Serpell is very interesting. http://saova.org/articles/Early SN and Behavior.pdf That link is wonky sometimes. If it doesn't work try googling for: Non-reproductive Effects of Spaying and Neutering on Behavior in Dogs Deborah L. Duffy, Ph.D., and James A. Serpell, Ph.D., Center for the Interaction of Animals and Society, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania I can't tell you as Oban is not neutered. Oban is not used at stud. I only know two people who neutered for behavioural reasons at a later age (about three I think, for both dogs) and only one found an immediate change, the other still had to work very hard, but she had a weird little dog in the first place. It's hard to tell if there is a change in personality as the dog might have changed anyway and it's impossible to see the same dog neutered and not neutered, for those done young. Even sexually dimorphic behaviour in an older dog, once learned, might not change. My girl was neutered (spayed) at nine months. She did not get fat, she retained her drive and energy and was active and happy till a back problem slowed her down at age 12.5. If she had been more so if not spayed, who can say? As for age, I know of a couple who did get testicular cancer ( which is quite rare, very small incidence numbers) and had to be neutered around age 8. Their owners did not notice a difference in personality, they say. That's not old, but any operation in old age bears increased health risks of anaesthetic and surgical complications, a bit more so than when young. Good luck it is a hard decision.
All I can say is I have had my two Labs castrated, one at 11 months and one at 19 months and it did not alter their character one bit. It just made the house cleaner as they had a preputial discharge, which went after castration.
I am from the US where it is universally accepted that neutering is the right thing to do. I then moved to Germany where neutering is universally rejected as it is thought the WRONG thing to do. What (your) society finds acceptable makes an impact on what your vet recommends and on what information is most readily available to you. Before moving here and going through the death of my dog from early-neuter linked causes, I had no idea that there was any controversy (or choice, really) when it came to neutering. He was 13, so not as though he did not have a wonderful and long life, but it still was a shock to me that something I thought was beneficial for him actually was linked to his cause of death. Personally, having had my Brogan who had quite a few medical issues that could be linked back to early neuter, my plan is to not neuter my next dog, or at a very minimum consider the OP only after he is completely finished growing (2-3 years old). This is based on my own personal experiences, a study of Rottweilers (not Labs!) where the non-spayed/neutered dogs lived demonstratively longer and healthier lives, and the fact that I now live primarily in Germany where neutering is VERY frowned upon. As to change in personality, I had one dog neutered at 11 months old and he had zero personality change. He was silly, goofy, confident and affectionate before... and he was after. Brogan was neutered before I got him (8 weeks old as per law prior to me adopting him) so no way to see a difference if there was one. A member of my dog walking group here in Germany had her Jack Russell neutered at 3 years old because he was SUPER aggressive with other dogs. That was 1.5 years ago and there is zero change in him. He's still aggressive, but he's also still the high octane goofball he was, too. Really, zero difference. It's great that you are looking at all the options and asking questions. Then whichever way you decide is best for you, you'll feel like you made the right choice for your pup.
Had a older dog who was castrated at a about 9 months. He was great and I wish I'd not neutered him. He went on to develop auto immune problems at 5. Looking back I was encouraged to neuter and I wish I'd not as a feel he may not have had so many health problems if he had been left entire his behaviour never changed he was a lovely dog all his life. He was still interested in females in heat and would still mount females but he was a gentleman. I would just put him on his lead and take him away ftom yhe exciting lady. My 2 1/2 year old male has been left entire. Hes been great too he is interested in girls in heat but we just go away and he's fine . I've not noticed much discharge if any once he got passed about 10 months. I've discussed it with my vet and he agrees if it not broken why fix it. He's fine he's bit of an air head sometimes .
Coco was neutered at 14 months - he's a rescue - they neuter all dogs as a matter of course. I don't know what he was like before, but he's certainly full of personality and has a real zest for life. He's playful, he's energetic, he's easy to train (most things!), he's affectionate.
i totally agree with neutering if your dog is a crossbreed or being kept as a pet there is a lot of unscrupulous breeders out there who put A to B just for the money and have no concerns for the pups or the mothers welfare but if your someone as I am who wants to improve the breed and keep the labrador going forward and breeding a selected bitch with outstanding qualities to a dog with likewise working qualities then I'm all for that the labrador is a beautiful loyal best friend and I'm proud to be part of there lives and around the people who love them as much as me
When I visited the vet's with Loki last week, the vet asked if I was going to have Loki castrated to which I replied I was not sure. He said if do then they would do it around 5 months of age. When I asked the dog behaviourist about he he said if I was to get Loki castrated to wait until he's fully grown first. He did recommend it though as he said most problem behaviour he sees in dogs is in un-neutered males. Just his opinion of course but I guess he has seen a lot of dogs. His 'dog rehab' is always by positive and reward based methods
I tend to subscribe to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" school of thought. I have an entire male and it causes me no problems. Why would I have him neutered? Just because you don't want to breed from your dog, that doesn't mean you have to have him neutered. I have no plans to breed from Shadow. None. That is not going to change. It doesn't mean he needs his bits chopped off. I don't let him roam, so he's not going to "accidentally" impregnate a girl. My husband and I don't want to have children, but it doesn't mean I'm going to chop his bits off, either I'm not saying neutering is the root of all evil, but if your dog is happy and doesn't have any over-sexualised behaviours, I don't see why you should feel you have to do it. I will add to this that it's not as if my dog is perfect - he does have problems with other boys. But I've learnt from his body language that that is borne of fear rather than any ideas of dominance. He's a work in progress there. But removing his testicles is more likely to exacerbate that problem than fix it. If you are under huge societal pressure to have him neutered, you may be interested in using chemical castration first, to see what impact, if any, it would have on him. I would definitely go down that route if I was considering it. Kate @Beanwood has used the suprelorin implant with her dog, Benson.
If you can, why not try chemical castration? see if it changes your boy in a way you're not happy with.
If he keeps his energy levels as they are and you continue to feed him the amount you currently do after neutering, then he probably would get fat... it's nothing to do with how energetic he is, but with how much you feed him compared to his energy requirements. Neutered dogs need less food or more exercise than their entire counterparts. It's energy out vs energy in at the basic level. So, if you choose to have his bits removed, you'll need to reduce the amount of food you give him, even if he's the most active dog in the world
My vet knows Rory well and he said as he a very sensitive boy castration would just make it harder for him to get to be more confident.
Personally I would only castrate for a medical reason. My Pointer was castrated at 3yrs old when he developed an enlarged prostate that was causing bladder problems and back pressure on his kidneys. It didn't affect his character, weight, or energy levels at all and despite my Lab still being entire the Pointer stayed top dog until he died.
I would like a pointer what are they like to live with .? Are yhey very different in temprement to labs
Yep it does take a while to get to the ideal food intake. they do need watching just after as it takes a while to adjust. They have a different size and shape of muscle too. Uncastrated boys often look a lot more buff
Neither of my boys is neutered although I never say never. Riley is five and not the boldest of labs so I felt leaving him with his testosterone would be better for him. He does mark a lot out and about but no problems at home. He won't be used for breeding. My spaniel may well be used for breeding so obviously he has his bits, he's two. I would go down the chemical route before neutering and I would also consider vasectomy rather than full neuter.
Is a vasectomy in dogs safe and available then? I remember thinking it was a mad idea, but now I've got an entire male and female I feel a bit more open minded. Obviously, would still have to keep them separated, but as a risk management thing might be worth mulling over....
It is available but only some vets do it ast can be a little unreliable. I'm sure I've seem somewhere can't remember where that they a researching coils for female dogs
