is it bad NOT to neuter

[ricojsuave]

Hi,
I have a long winded question about neutering:


Chili is 4yrs, unaltered and goes everywhere with me. We live alone and he is a true companion. Until recently if I needed to leave town for a few days I left him with friends, a married couple with spayed female labs. They get along great with Chili. Now I need a boarding place for Chili for the special occasions that I do NOT take him somewhere for a weekend.
(yes, I promise I am getting to my question.... ;)

There is a nice place I found in town that comes recommended and they are reasonably priced. However since he is not fixed, Chili could not get the "playtime" with all the other dogs, he would have his own area and all, but for obvious reasons.

Now, I have no intention of breeding my good friend but have never wanted to get Chili neutered. He is lean, athletic, and full of energy. He is a great watch dog, but not out of control. He plays great with the little neighbor girls, aged 4-8. (supervised of course) I am afraid of Chili losing some of his spirit I guess. So, my question finally boils down to: Would you just let him hang out by himself when he gets boarded a few times a year? You know, he is a dog and all, he will be just fine at this nice place. OR, .. does Chili get altered so that he CAN play and have a great time with the other doggies at the place? And does he then lose interest in being active and turn into the chubby rott that is all too common??

Any and all input is appreciated,

Rico

[SABELLESMOM]

Is trhere a reason you hesitate to have him neutered in the first place? If you're not breeding, get it done. It has nothing to do with the other part of the equasion:

I'm sure you'll have much diversity of responses regarding whether he should play or be solitary. Some like the idea, as their dog seems to enjoy the play idea and always gets along. Others will caution you against it as outbreaks can not always be successfully prevented. Another reason might be whether they have shot/immunization requirements and which ones they require...so your dog doesn't get sick.

[Sansano]

1) If you neuter him, he will not become inactive and chubby unless you let him.
2) No need to neuter if you don't want to. As long as you keep him from procreating then I certainly don't have a problem with it.
3) If it was me I would let him hang out by himself when he is boarded. It won't kill him PLUS I would never let me dogs get involved in any type of playtime with other dogs I don't know. Much too much chance of a bad scene.

[Carina43]

I'd say let him chill alone on the few times a year he is boarded...I would not let my neutered dogs play in a group of unknown dogs anyhow. He may not enjoy being boarded alone but you know he'll be safe and there's zero chance of incidents. Do you have a friend who can house sit, or someone responsible who can care for him instead? That's another option.

I personally don't see a real reason to neuter if you are very responsible & he is well mannered. At his age though, I don't believe it will dampen his spirit or change his personality. One of my dogs was about the same age when I got him intact. Even though he's neutered now, he still hates other males and hikes his leg every few feet (if I let him.) Ditto with my other male, who was neutered at about 16 months old, & both have lots of spirit!

If I ever have another male, I may well decide not to neuter though. Not to breed - I'll never do that - but just because why lop something off when there's no sure reason to? :) I think I'm a very responsible owner, so just a personal decision.

[spidey]

I also wouldn't have my dog playing with other dogs unless I was there to monitor it, neutered or unneutered. I definitely wouldn't neuter him just so he could play with dogs while boarding, since I don't think it's a good idea in the first place.

As others have said, if he's neutered now he won't become fat and inactive unless you let him (although he may need fewer calories).

That said, I don't think you need to neuter him as long as you're very responsible, but do keep in mind that in a few years he'll be getting into the risky age for problems that unneutered males can get, like prostatitis and testicular cancer, many of which can be fatal (I have personally seen more than one otherwise-healthy dog die younger than it had to from problems directly related to being intact), so there are some health benefits to neutering. Personally, I will consider neutering my male when he hits 8 or so, depending on what our situation is then (he's a show dog at this point), but he's of a breed that tends to be long-lived (especially when compared to Rottweilers, sadly). I don't know that I WILL neuter him then, but I'll consider it.

[GenHannibal]

Thru recent experience, I would neuter your dog before he gets much older. Here's why. Having just gone thru this with my friend, your male can develop prostrate issues. It can be very costly and, very painful for your dog. During the check-up they found other issues that made him a risk for anesthesia....ALL related to his painful prostrate problem. They were concerned he may have have prostrate cancer, etc. etc... Fortunately, the tests of this dog came back all negative. Dog survived the surgery and is recovering. His bill, needless to say was extremely high, like 10 times the normal neuter! Up to that point the dog never had any issues, and was very healthy. If your not planning on breeding your male, neuter him. It's healthier!

As with the others, I wouldn't want my dog to be able to have play time with other dogs at the kennel, either. He's better off hanging out in the kennel,

[Brooke&Ryan]

I agree with the others. Your dog doesn't need the "playtime" & when he is boarded he'll be more than okay to just hang out on his own.

I wouldn't want Julius playing with a bunch of dogs that I didn't know. At the place where we will board Julius when we go away we can pay to have him take a walk with one of the kennel workers. Maybe they have that option there???

Brooke

[samanthac]

Originally Posted by Sansano

3) If it was me I would let him hang out by himself when he is boarded. It won't kill him PLUS I would never let me dogs get involved in any type of playtime with other dogs I don't know. Much too much chance of a bad scene.

TOTALLY agree. Don't want my pooches running free in a pack type environment. That could turn ugly at the drop of a hat.

[Jaegergirl]

Originally Posted by samanthac

TOTALLY agree. Don't want my pooches running free in a pack type environment. That could turn ugly at the drop of a hat.

agreed. in fact, if i ever have to board maverick, i will tell the facility that i DON'T want him to play with other dogs.

[ricojsuave]

Thank you all for your input. I want the best for my beloved companion and just wanted to be sure it was NOT cruel for Chili to be intact and to be by himself when boarded.
I think I am convinced that since he is well-behaved in general, there is no reason that I NEED to neuter him. I will reconsider when he is older.

Thanks again to all.

Rico and Chili
http://www.ricojsuave.org/chili.htm

[jakesfostermom]

Rico - off topic - I checked out your link to Chili's photos - beautiful dog!!!

[Cassandra]

Originally Posted by jakesfostermom

Rico - off topic - I checked out your link to Chili's photos - beautiful dog!!!

No kidding! Chili is really handsome.

[ricojsuave]

Originally Posted by jakesfostermom

Rico - off topic - I checked out your link to Chili's photos - beautiful dog!!!

I had to take a minute to say thanks to you and to Cassandra for commenting on my boy. I think he is very handsome as well, but a bit biased of course. Here are a few higher resolution pics, http://www.pbase.com/ricojsuave/chili_von_rottenweiler