Best age to Neuter

[WendiS]

We neutered Riley at 3 and haven't seen any particular changes in personality or behavior except he stopped marking everything in sight. Which is a good thing because I only turned my head for a moment and he had his leg lifted and ready to pee on a bag of dog food at our local Grange Co-op, he did pee on the vets reception desk while I was writing a check and was becoming a serial 'marker'. I was really tired of being the pee-pee police. One of the reasons vets are so determined to have you neuter early is because so many people try to breed their dogs "just once" because he's "such a nice dog". We all know, or know about, enough backyard breeders to sort of understand the logic. Then there are the people that project their own masculinity issues onto their dogs. My breeder left the decision of whether or not to neuter (dog was sold on limited registration but no spay/neuter contract) but did ask that I wait until he was at least 18 mos old if we did. We have the same vet and she knew our vet would push for 6 mo's. Another reason vets like 6 mo's is because males dogs become more mature and can test owners and become a little ahead of themselves without an owner that can competently handle them.
Unless you've had behavior issues that need to be addressed (in which neutering can be one small tool, not the fix!) wait until your dogs is physically mature.
But of course that's just my 2 cents.
Wendi

[MarleysMama]

Yea, we are 2 classes in to our very first obedience class, and Marley and I LOVE them. He's such a smart boy and he really picks up everyting very fast..and we want to continue training, maybe even get an obedience title:) I don't plan on stopping his training...I want to keep the two of us learning and I am hoping that enough consistant training will *hopefully* keep any behavioral issues to a minimum, or nonexistant. This is also my first rottie so I have no idea if the marking everything is something they all do reguardless of training...lol

I really understand vets not wanting dogs to be breed, b/c so many of them are practically disposed of b/c they fell into the wrong hands...but at the same time, I really wish the majority of vets understood that every breed IS different and one size does not fit all....

When my vet first saw Marley and asked if I was planning on neutering him, I told him upfront that I do want him neutered but not until he has stopped growing, and he realy didn't argue with me...I guess these vets know that we sometimes know whats best for our dogs, not the other way around.

[WendiS]

In my limited experience once your vet knows you have a good head on your shoulders and aren't in the "I have a nice dog and my friends want one of his/her puppies" camp they do relax a bit.
But they can still get a bit hyperventilated over the Rottweiler At 6 Mo's issue. But after they figure out you can handle your animal appropriately into adulthood they tend to relax.
It's always nice when you find a vet that doesn't give in to breed hysteria. But I actually I think what they react to isn't so much the breed as it is the tendency of many owners to be so ill equipped to raise a good rott. Why they persist in believing neuter= trained, calm & socially acceptable is still a mystery.

[webangel2b]

Limited experience here too.

I have issues with fixing a dog before they are mature. However, it's really only personal preference here. I think they should become sexually mature - Dixie had a heat before I would have her spayed, a male should also reach their maturity.

I do hope for the sake of the owners who've recently lost dogs/bad experience from fixing early in life that is the answer. I know Jesse, our first Rott was never fixed/in fact she was breed twice (before me). She lived to 13+ years old, weighed about 150 pounds (on a diet), and died of old age. She never had hip or cancer issues, stats are confusing and misleading. I hope we all get to own an old, healthy, happy, rott.

[WendiS]

We inherited my mom & dads bullmastiff, he's 13, outlived both of them and he's working on us. He has arthritis but other than that he's in great health. He wasn't neutered until about 8, had few if any shots (my mom & dad took a sort of a country, survival of the fittest approach to animals) He did have to be treated for heart worm so I'm not advocating for that mind set but there does seem to be an argument for a little neglect. Goodness knows our dogs lived longer healthier lives before we became so concerned with their well being...or is that just my imagination? I've had a similar discussion in regard to horses. Not so much about altering but maybe a less is more approach.
It's something to think about

[Janus'sMom]

I was thinking of having Janus neutured when we got to Florida next month. He'll be 8 months by then. But after reading all the posts on this thread, I'm now going to wait till he's fully matured sexually. He can wait till he's 2yrs old. And he just got up and I told him he was lucky cause he'll be able to keep himself intact till then, and he just looked at me and gave me a great big smile... I know he doesn't know what I'm talking about, but the timing was priceless

[hennie400]

The orthapeadic issues are results of surveys just focusing on sterilised vs unsterilised and includes bitches and males. One comment by a reviewer was that the sterilised animals are often heavier which may influence the cruciate results, but weight was not one of the variables. Animals may have been sterilised because they were not condsidered as suitable for breeding so had poorer conformation than the unsterilised sample.

The two rotties I know that blew their cruciates at a young age were both related unsterilised bitches owned by a breeder. Conformation was definitely an issue here but the breeder was not keen to recognise this fact, so I would be avoiding pups from these dogs.

I am certainly not opposed to sterilising once the animal is mature for some responsible people who can deal with unsterilised animals. I know that many are not so on the ball and have seen many oops breedings happen where people have waited.

One needs to read the information and question the scientific and statistical rigour with which it was done.

Most of our 17 dogs over the years have been sterilised between 6 and 10 months and I have never had any problems and all lived to very old age. The one cruciate problem I had was in a bitch with a very straight stifle and carrying a bit of extra weight. I dont believe age of sterilisation was an issue here.

[VioletAndRose]

Younger dogs recover faster from surgeries. They are also under anesthesia for less time in most cases. Also I find more complications post surgery in older dogs, longer healing times, sutures torn out, swollen scrotums, longer anesthesia recovering times.

[grewals]

I've just started some research into the best age to neuter or spay a puppy and the information I am finding is priceless...

If a puppy is fixed before maturity then they are likely to grow taller, leaner in which case they may end up with medical issues that will be similar to the situation at hand. Of course, the owner of the puppy will have to maintain a constant supervision of the puppy until the date of the operation however, I feel this course of action is in the best interest of my puppy. My vet informed me that the earliest age to get her spayed would be 5 months. And that is exactly what I had planned on doing until I started my research. Now, I'm thinking I'll be waiting until about 20 months. At least thats the plan for now...

Hopefully this helps a little for those still trying to decipher what to do for the welfare of their puppies.