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Thread: neuter question

  1. #1
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    neuter question

    Hello everyone,
    im hoping you could give me some advice here. I took my dog to the vet a few weeks ago and my vet doesnt recommend getting him neutered until a year old (he is 5 months now) a lot of other people are saying i should get him fixed now. I know there is research on waiting till he is older but i would like your opinions. what to do, what to do.

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  2. #2
    Senior Dog zd262's Avatar
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    This is just my take, but I think the simplest answer is, if you're able to wait then you should wait until at least a year old, 2 better (and some never neuter). If there are things in your life that make it hard for you to wait (ex. your apartment complex requires it, the only way to exercise your dog is at the dog park and they require it, etc), then try to wait as long as you can but neutering your dog earlier isn't the worst thing that can happen.

    The analogy that I like to give people when they ask why you should wait, is imagine if you removed the source of testosterone from an adolescent/teenage boy when they were still developing. They would probably have dramatic physical consequences. The longer you can let your dog fully mature to alter him the better.

    In my situation, we wanted to wait until Bubba was two, but he was viciously attacked by a loose dog on one occasion, and had several other close encounters. It was making his and our life too difficult because we could barely leave our apartment because the leash laws in San Francisco are so relaxed there are loose dogs everywhere. We neutered him when he was just over one. Now there are many other dogs who don't face any dog aggression so I am not saying this will happen to you (it most likely won't), but I wanted to give you an example of how to weigh the pros and cons of neutering.
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    Best Friend Retriever ronmcq's Avatar
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    Yes a difficult question. We just had our 3 1/2 year old Buddy neutered last week. We wanted to wait till all his skeletal structure and development had finished to help avoid problems in his senior years. If I'm not mistaken that happens around 2 years old in our dogs. Good luck with your decision.

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    Senior Dog windycanyon's Avatar
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    I believe there are stickies here on the board w/ articles on why it's better to wait. Your vet is correct, but of course you have to be a responsible owner in the meantime! Like having a teenaged kid.... OYE!
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  6. #5
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    Wait. Who are the people telling you to do it?

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    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Pretty nice to have a Vet who ISn't pushing for neuter at 6 months. Have you read here?


    Neuter/Spay - Pros, Cons, Risks, Benefits - Research Article Links
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  9. #7
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    The debate as to the optimum time to spay or neuter a dog has been debated for much longer that I have been in practice, and that has been a lot of years. When I first got into practice, most dogs were neutered at around six months. The reason was because that was the age that we gave the rabies vaccine at that time. So, most vets coordinated getting them fixed when the rabies shot was done. Easy record keeping, etc. Then, studies started being done regarding optimal time with concern on the health of the dog as well as benefits of neutering/spaying vs. not doing it at all. Controversy, controversy, controversy. One side would say their research suggests this and the other would say something else. The reason that most people get their dog neutered before sexual maturity is because they don't want to take a chance at him developing bad habits driven by testosterone (marking, humping, escaping, etc.). Most male dogs become sexually mature between 8-10 months, depending on breed. I personally have not seen studies that indicated that neutering before maturity inhibited maximum muscle development. I remember years ago that a study was done on field trial Labs that compared muscle strength and endurance between intact Labs and neutered Labs that indicated there was none. However, I don't recall if it discussed age of neuter but I suspect it was around six months of age. Now, we have a lot of people who are opting not to neuter or spay their dog at any age. That is fine, but like mentioned above, you must assume the responsibility for having an intact dog. I personally believe that it would be best to let the dog develop to its fullest before neutering, but you will always have some physiological changes occur after neutering no matter what age (body fat, etc).

  10. #8
    Best Friend Retriever Snowco Labradors's Avatar
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    You want the growth plates to close prior to spay or neuter. That is more important than muscle strength. 18 months is best to know growth plates should be closed by then allowing the dog to mature to the proper standard and not end up with long bone growth.

    It is my understanding that years ago vets were taught 6 mnths in vet school to prevent the overpopulation of dogs in shelters. I believe that thinking has changed - at least for some vets.

    I have a clause in my contract to prevent early spay/neuter.

  11. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Snowco Labradors View Post
    You want the growth plates to close prior to spay or neuter. That is more important than muscle strength. 18 months is best to know growth plates should be closed by then allowing the dog to mature to the proper standard and not end up with long bone growth.

    It is my understanding that years ago vets were taught 6 mnths in vet school to prevent the overpopulation of dogs in shelters. I believe that thinking has changed - at least for some vets.

    I have a clause in my contract to prevent early spay/neuter.
    A puppy from Mulder’s other litter (not Chloe’s) was spayed at 6 months due to behavior issues and he is SO long and leggy - looks more like a “field” line dog in body shape/type even though both parents were from conformation lines. His skull is also much more narrow than would be expected from his breeding.
    Annette

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    Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015

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    House Broken jules's Avatar
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    I also waited until 16 months to fix Packer ,They say that you should wait until they are matured before neutering,my 1st chocolate I never neutered ,my 2nd chocolate I neutered as a puppy ,my current chocolate Iwaited until 16 months ,1st lab passed at 14y/o my 2nd made it till 10 y/o ,I don't know if it had anything to do with the neutering but packer I waited he's 21/2 now

 



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