| With a male, there's not usually any harm in waiting for them to finish growing before neutering. The types of cancers and other problems that unneutered males get rarely occur in very young dogs (and yes, certain cancers and conditions like prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate, which can be fatal) are hormone-dependent, so you do not often see them in neutered dogs - obviously you don't see testicular cancer in neutered dogs either ;) ). I in no way wish to dissuade you from neutering him whenever, but waiting until he's a year old may have some benefits and shouldn't have any major drawbacks (assuming you're a responsible owner who doesn't let him roam at large where he can impregnate his girlfriends).
Note that this is NOT the case with females - a female's chances of mammary cancer are almost zero if she's spayed before her first heat (i.e. around 6 months), those chances increase with every heat she has. I see no benefit at all in leaving a female intact unless there is a good reason for it (conformation showing, responsible breeding). I've had a bitch with mammary cancer because of late spaying, it was not fun.  |