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Thoughts on neutering?

Teddy560

Teddy560

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Not wanting to open a can of worms, but I'm really interested to hear of people's opinions on neutering a male dog? Teddy is 6 months at the end of June and is not KC reg so will never be a breeding dog and he was bought as a pet. Does it make sense to neuter? And if so, at what age? I've heard of things about it affecting their growth etc but if left too late they can assume behaviours like roaming for bitches in heat. One vet here said that she neuters her male pets but it's up to me. And another, at his vaccinations, said to get him neutered at 6 mos as it "prevents certain tumours etc."
 
Latest thinking seems to be to delay at least until they are physically mature. Neutering early seems to result in dogs growing taller than later neutered /entire dogs which may lead to later joint problems.

Harri is 11 months and my vet hasn’t even raised the question of neutering yet. It’s not on my agenda at the moment either as I can’t see any reason to yet.
 
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Pardon me, but "growing taller" is a side-effect of PEDIATRIC neuter, :lol: - that's desex done between 8-WO & 12-WO, to clarify. :D It also doesn't happen in all M-pups who are snipped before 3-MO; plus, per research, the difference in height is within the random variation between littermates - it's not as tho a Labrador shoots-up to reach Great Dane size. :p

Teddy's way-past that; desex after 12-WO & before 20-weeks is generally defined as "pre-pubertal".
Desex between 5-MO [20-weeks] & 7-MO or 8-MO is pubertal - which is where the OP's dog is, currently.
So he'd be getting snipped as a fertile teenager; his long-bone epiphyses are already closed. :)


If he were mine, I'd definitely do it B4 he's 8-MO, to skip the super-male period, when he'll secrete at least 5X the amount of testosterone that's circulating in the bloodstream of a 15- to 18-MO, intact-M dog. :eek: All the behaviors stimulated by androgens go off the chart, in intensity & frequency, during that time; it lasts approx from 9-MO to 12-MO, then the androgen levels drop to "adult". // The problem is, any behavior that he learns during this time won't be snipped away if they take his testes, later. Stuff like mounting & humping estrous Fs, escaping to hunt estrous Fs, posturing at other Ms [especially intact Ms], & so on, won't be "forgotten" when / if he's later neutered.

Also, other dogs will treat him differently when he reeks of testosterone - he won't be popular at the dog-park or beach, anymore. He'll be perceived as having a chip on his shoulder, & he's liable to be picked-on & blamed for things, even when he didn't do them. If a scrap starts & he's present, a dog near him may snap at him just 'cuz he's standing there. :( It's not much fun, for the teenaged-male. Adult Fs, especially, are liable to dress him down.

If the dog is a potential sire, it's worth it to go thru the super-male period, IMO; if he's not even a potential candidate, why bother? It's a considerable hassle, & all for naught - or that's how i see it. :)

- terry

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Thank you everyone for your insights. I will give that a read later Joanne. When my ankle biters are in bed :D Tbh, an easy life is what I need. We constantly move house (for hubbys work), the fencing is NEVER great, when we visit home alot of our family we stay with have F dogs... Teddy goes to work with my husband (when he's here) and there are quite a lot of other dogs about there. My children are so little as well, that I don't need extra problems when we're out walking or with life in general. He's been humping things since he was 3 mos so don't want that to get worse. He is booked in next month so think I'll keep that appointment and do it as extra stress all round isn't needed for nothing. I'll continue to research it though.
 
Most vets will try to get you to castrate around 6 mths old, it’s all down to income, they are a business remember and spay and neuter is a good income. Why should your dog roam to seek out bitches just because he is entire, do you have a secure garden , Would you allow him roam the streets anyway so why should he roam , unless you let him.

Yes young adolescent dogs can have a testosterone burst at that teenager age, but all dogs are different , some you won’t see a difference, others like my boy can become a flipping nightmare, but it does settle down.

I am not against neutering him, but my advice would be to allow him to mature both mentally and physically , then make your own mind up, he’s a small dog so he will mature physically around 12 mths of age, and for some dogs leaving them entire will be beneficial for their mental well being, you need to see how his temperament develops, castrating a nervous , insecure dog can make their issues worse, and you need at least 12 mths to see how he develops.

Yes some male dogs can be a pest, they can switch off and follow their hormones on walks, or have problems with other entire dogs, and castration may or may not help the situation, the only health benefit for castration is he won’t get testicular cancer, castrTed or not he is open to all other illnesses .

In short,see how he develops and then make the right decision for you and your dog .
 
Teddy560 said:
Thank you everyone for your insights. I will give that a read later Joanne. When my ankle biters are in bed :D Tbh, an easy life is what I need. We constantly move house (for hubbys work), the fencing is NEVER great, when we visit home alot of our family we stay with have F dogs... Teddy goes to work with my husband (when he's here) and there are quite a lot of other dogs about there. My children are so little as well, that I don't need extra problems when we're out walking or with life in general. He's been humping things since he was 3 mos so don't want that to get worse. He is booked in next month so think I'll keep that appointment and do it as extra stress all round isn't needed for nothing. I'll continue to research it though.
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Insecure fencing and children leaving doors , gates open will be a problem for any dog regardless of him being castrated or not .

Humping cushions is not down to him being entire, that is a trading issue, castrated and entire dogs love humping things, you need to make it clear it’s not acceptable .

Are all the female dog in your family entire, if not then there is no issue there,
 
I personally would always neuter my dog if I wasn’t intending on breeding. Especially after what happened recently with the dog fight.

I can’t stand going out for walks and owners going ‘is he full male, is he full male’ because their dog is and they don’t want a fight. It puts me on edge after what happened and I think it’s unfair to other walkers.

I also know lots of people who say to me ‘my dogs fine! It’s other full males that are the problem and he just reacts to them now’..... eye roll.
 
I wouldn't tell him that humping is unacceptable, but I'd give him his own special 'humpy' toy/cushion that you redirect him to, maybe in another room so he can do what a lad has to do in privacy. Though the only thing I wasn't keen on was when Jasper would hump his bed, grab hold of its 'neck' and grind a hole in it.

One advantage of neutering a male dog is so that other dogs (both entire and neutered) won't be inclined to take an instant dislike. This should be the other owner's responsibility, but it's difficult when their dog only goes for one dog in 20 or whatever and they can't predict it unless it's smooth coated and they've got good eyesight.
 
Crossposted with Josie!

Even unneutered males can dislike neutered males, so I'm often asking people if their dog is a young unneutered male so I can take avoiding action. He's pretty reliable not, but there's still the odd one where he wants to make it clear that his are bigger, he just doesn't know where they are...
 
My children aren't old enough to leave gates open but the fencing between the houses is quite low and wire which bends. I think it would be high enough for a dog not that bothered about getting out (which he isn't so far) but I don't know if it would be an issue if there was say an entire female a few houses down or whatever. Which with constantly changing neighbours and houses could be an issue. I don't knoe if he would grow big enough to jump it. We've only ever had an issue of dogs jumping the fences with an old neighbour with a very bored husky x gsd (we had no dog then) and current next doors akita and now I've put extra fence in on that side so she can't jump over anymore. But they are both twice the size of Teddy.

I've just ignored his humping so far. He only does it to his bed. I would tell him it was unacceptable if it was the children's legs or similar. I think I'm leaning towards getting it done as he is not a show or breeding dog. We just want a happy, family pet and to do what's right for him.
 
We haven't had Dillon done, we nearly did when he was a troublesome teenager but the vet said he would necessarily change him. So we didn't have it done, his 8 1/2 now and still intact, never regretted it.
 
To be honest, Teddy's behaviour has been less than stellar today. It has very nearly made my mind up. He'll be 6 months old on the 27th.
 
Teddy560 said:
To be honest, Teddy's behaviour has been less than stellar today. It has very nearly made my mind up. He'll be 6 months old on the 27th.
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Please don't get him neutered because of one bad day. As I said in your other thread, dogs are normally a handful during adolescence, just as teenage humans are - it's normal, and something we should expect and manage. Neutering is unlikely to have an effect on any behaviour that isn't testosterone-driven, and could have a detrimental effect.
 
Won't be getting him neutered just because of today, sorry if it came across like that. I'll be getting it done due to reasons I said earlier in the thread :)
 
We had Marley neutered due to health reasons, Oliver is intact and so will Rolo be. Marley is coming 5 and still humps me and Oliver :oops: so getting him neutered made no difference.
 
Teddy560 said:
To be honest, Teddy's behaviour has been less than stellar today. It has very nearly made my mind up. He'll be 6 months old on the 27th.
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We had a dreadful month with Harri at around that age. He'd hump anything in sight and his long suffering girlfriend Bella took the brunt of it. I kept reminding myself it was puberty and a hormone surge and he did grow through it. He rarely humps anything now. Ironically Bella now humps him.......
 
Caro Perry said:
We had a dreadful month with Harri at around that age. He'd hump anything in sight and his long suffering girlfriend Bella took the brunt of it. I kept reminding myself it was puberty and a hormone surge and he did grow through it. He rarely humps anything now. Ironically Bella now humps him.......
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Did he have any other teenage behaviours? Are you in Wales? Just wondered by your name. I've lived in Aberystwyth, Neath, Newtown, Cardiff and Brecon lol.
 
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