[Carina43]

Hi Laurel...the last two males I raised from puppy-hood were neutered at about 18 months old. Both were in classes (Cooper pretty much ongoing) the whole time, and apart from a little extra bullheaded-ness starting at about 10 months old, I had no problems. And I didn't mind the bullheaded-ness really - it was quite manageable and a sign my sweet little puppy was growing up into a mature dog! :)

Cooper even had to do an obedience class where he was the only intact dog & someone had a bitch in heat there...poor Coop drooled a lot and was quite distracted!

I personally think it's fine to wait a bit...opinions seem to be all over the board on neutering. But I think if there's a chance that a dog will get a bit more mature & adult (instead of retaining some puppy traits forever) by delaying neutering, that's my choice - to wait. I also have a dog who was neutered at over 3 years old...he's pretty pushy but I don't know whether that's hormonal or not. He's a great dog...if I wanted dogs with softer personalities I'd have Golden Retrievers instead of Rotties. (I LOVE Goldens, don't get me wrong!)

If you decide to neuter while he's in class, it's no big deal, males are usually back to normal activities within a day or so, it's a fairly minor operation.