Neutering Advice.....

[Brooke&Ryan]

Hi everyone!

When we were at the vet the last time having Julius checked out he said that we could have Julius neutered at 6 mo. Our trainer said that she doesn't reccomend that dog's be neutered until they lose their baby teeth. Julius has one left & it should be gone in a matter of days. I'm all for having Julius neutered ASAP....even though I'll be nervous the whole time it's being done. I've read enough posts on the board about doing it soon after 6 mo. so that the hormones don't start flowing. Also it reduces the risk of certain cancers, correct?? And the marking can be another thing, right?

Ryan isn't so sure. (I think it's a guy thing...... ) Our trainer said that putting off having some dogs fixed helps them to fill out more. Ryan would like to wait until Julius is about 8-9 months old.

Please let us know the pros & cons. How long is the recovery period for Julius? He'll be starting agility in May after he's done with obedience & Ryan is concerned about him missing a class or two.....I'm not that concerned. If he misses a class or two it's not a big deal to me. We're not planning on showing him. He's just going to be a family pet. Thanks....any info would be greatly appreciated!

:)
Brooke

[Brooke&Ryan]

Also, is cancer more common in dogs that are not neutered??

Thanks!

Ryan

[spidey]

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.

[Carina43]

Do a search, there's like bazillion threads on when to neuter. :)
Here's a recent one:
http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/sho...threadid=23406
I recall one a couple of years ago that went on for pages and pages...that would be a good one to dig up!

Recovery is fast - a day or so. Some dogs will lick the stitches and have to wear an e-collar or one of those donut things, but most dogs don't need to.

[Brooke&Ryan]

Wow,
18 months is when a lot of people are recommending a dog be snipped. I would have thought that it would be earlier then that. Why do you guys think vets say 6 months? As Brooke stated, I want to wait a little longer just because of reasons here and there. If their are more good reasons to have him done now I want to get him done now. But the main reasons I want to have him done later is:

1) I feel his jewels are their for reasons that will benefit him (he will be able to mature as a normal dog with normal amounts of testosterone).

2) Julius in no way has ever shown aggression and is a very VERY quite docile pup and in some ways shy, I know testosterone (can) help in those area to give him some more male characteristics. Julius is a very happy puppy but if I didn't know him I would think that he would be depressed 90% of the time.

3) We are getting free Agility Training starting at the end of May & we have him in free training now (my aunt trains). I don't think it would hurt at all to miss a week, but I would rather not if we don't have to.

We do not let him roam EVER and is always on a leash. Also, all females he is around to play with are spade. The chances of him getting a female pregnant are very minimal. Yes I know that intact males have the drive to bolt out the door if a dog is in heat in the area, but it’s interesting how many males that I have known that would do the same even though they were neutered at an early age.


I was set on 8-9 months to get Julius neutered, but should we wait a little longer? Can you guys think of any other advantages to waiting? And, most importantly, if we do wait will it do any harm?


Thanks!

Ryan

[Brooke&Ryan]

Does anyone want to reply to my question :(

[marianne]

I do like to see the more mature dog before he's snipped. You seem to have you boy under control as far as making babies. I would wait till he's 18 months old. He will then have his height and only filling out to do.

[Carina43]

I agree.
Waiting will let him mature mentally...you guys appear to have the ability to be responsible and to handle any hormone induced attitude, which I personally don't regard as a bad thing.

Just don't be fooled that because he's docile and unaggressive now, that the testosterone surge won't change that! He may well remain that way - my last late-neutered Rottie was always a very sweet, goofy guy who pretty much ignored other dogs his whole life. Cooper turned into devil-spawn dog at about 10 months old - and he had been a very affable, sweet guy up until then! He was challenging for a while, but he's back on track now. I wouldn't change a thing.

I'm for waiting a bit too.

[chivas]

I agree with Carina and Marianne. Waiting till he is mature is fine but be aware that he can turn from a sweet laid back pup to a MAN in a short time. I worked at a vet for many years and would see these cute male rottie pups come in and they would love to see us and be so sweet and happy then one day BAM!, a MAN! LOL, either way you go - good luck! BTW, I did neuter my now 8 year old sheltie at 9 weeks, he is doing fine, but i have noticed that he never lifts his leg to pee, coincidence? I dunno.
Kim

[spidey]

Vets advise 6 months because that's the traditional age for it, and a shift in thinking toward waiting until 18 months or so (like pediatric altering in rescue situations) tends to take a long time to trickle down (like any other major shift in thinking). It's also the case that it may be better to snip early with a owner who may not be able to manage an intact dog responsibly (not yourself, obviously).

[girlunderainbow]

I'm not understanding why the majority of you ,while feeling that they should wait to neuter him until he's "matured" more..also seem to then say that the testosterone kicking in will also have some not as pleasant effects on his behaviour, perhaps.

And to Chivas, of course it's not a coincidence that your dog, who was castrated before his hormones kicked in fully, does not lift his left to pee. Other than having to neuter males/females for show or breeding purposes I cant see a reason to wait until after a heat has passed to increase the risks to a bitch's health...or after the hormones have kicked in changing a male's behaviour and he's decided to start marking.

What are the reasons for waiting all this time before castrating a male, just the assumption it will make him "fill out more"?

[Carina43]

Personally, I don't mind the effects of the testosterone kicking in...it was a bit challenging with Cooper, but I learned a lot and we had fun going to lots (and lots and lots ) of classes!
Don't confuse my use of the word "challenging" for "unpleasant".. ;)

I didn't do it so much for the physical "filling out" thing, but for mental maturation. Dogs neutered very early are more likely to retain puppy like behaviours (like not leg lifting) - I guess easier to deal with at times, perhaps a more soft temperament. But if I wanted a dog with a very laid back, soft personality, I wouldn't have had Rottweilers for 18 years... :)

I'm no expert on this, certainly...I'm just going by some of the things I've read, and what my breeder & I talked about. Maybe someone else could cite something from an educated source about the effects of neutering pre-hormone surge on mental maturation.

[chivas]

quote
And to Chivas, of course it's not a coincidence that your dog, who was castrated before his hormones kicked in fully, does not lift his left to pee.
unquote

Well, let me add this though. I rescued a german shep 4 years ago and he was about 3 yrs when I got him and not neutered. He has never lifted his leg either.

[girlunderainbow]

I'm not saying every un-altered male dog raises it's leg, I'm just saying most of them do and of course there is a direct link between the two.

I've got a male that was castrated right at 6 months, and there's a certain spot in the yard he started lifting his leg to pee on at about a year old. But he doesn't "mark" like many intact males do. Then I've got female, spayed, Chihuahuas who lift a leg while semi-squatting. They DO mark . They will spend a few mintues sometimes following one another around outside and marking over each other's spots. There are exceptions to every rule.