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Thread: Neutering Age

  1. #1
    House Broken GrandeLSM's Avatar
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    Neutering Age

    I would like to get everyone's opinion on neutering. Rio comes from show-dog stock and so I want to give him as much time to grow into his body as possible. My breeder had said to wait until at least 2 or 3 years of age to let him fully develop. When I first got Rio I took him to multiple vets to see who was best with him. the first vet I took him too tried to schedule his neutering the first day we met (not neutering right away, but scheduling it). The vet we finally settled on actually told me in his years of experience, he had not noticed, or read any medical reports, linking neutering to a lower risk of cancer (a main reason a lot of people give me to have it done).Obviously neutering would eliminate the risk of testicular cancer (duh), but that with regards to the prostate it isnt proven one way or the other.

    That being said, Rio is almost always an angel, can be a handful at times, but he's still a lab pup (18 months), so its to be expected. I also know that another reason a lot of people have a male neutered is to settle them down, which is not a reason with Rio. My concern is that if I do it, it will change his personality, and not for the better. Is there an age, that after, I shouldnt get him fixed?

    Thanks.

  2. #2
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    There are many good articles in a stickie thread that Snowshoe compiled. Neuter/Spay - Pros, Cons, Risks, Benefits - Research Article Links

    What did your breeder suggest? The 2 breeders from whom I've gotten my labs definitely had their own recommendations. FYI, Chase, now 7, was neutered at age 3. Lark, age 18 months, will be spayed in about 2 weeks, she's had one heat cycle. Chase has always been a sweetheart and that didn't change with neutering. The vet said he might not metabolize calories the way he had previously, but limiting his intake and trying to get him to exercise some have kept his weight between 85-90 pounds. I think PopTop has had some "older" dogs neutered, she only adopts seniors or older adults.
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  3. #3
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    It won't change his personality at all. I fixed Jack at age 4 and there was no difference (except it stopped his house marking). The dog should be fully grown at 18 months, so talk to the breeder and see if they are OK with you doing it now.

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    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    There are some links that people will share (I don't have them) about health. Two to three sounds about right. As long as you are responsible and keep him secured in your home with you and do not allow him access to girls in heat, it should not be a problem. In my experience, intact boys can be a lot more distracted. I had one boy who I neutered around 2 1/2 who you never would have known was intact (I don't think he knew, either) who did not change once he was neutered and and I have a boy now who has been very manly since about nine months, is a leg-lifter, and is extremely distracted when he catches a scent of a dog (girl, boy, intact, neutered, doesn't matter) he likes. I prefer to neuter my guys when they are ready because day cares and boarding facilities around here do not have facilities for intact dogs, unless they are constantly caged. And when I go on hikes and so forth, sometimes we have issues with other dogs not liking the fact that they are intact. For the younger boy now, I'm looking forward to neutering him because despite constant training, he's got too much testosterone for his own good and I have to manage that. They are all different.

  5. #5
    Puppy
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    You have to excuse my forwardness her, but why on earth do you have to fix normal, healthy male labs? Here in Scandinavia this is actually prohibited by law, we need real medical reasons to neuter a perfectly normal dog. Male dogs are supposed to be a bit more work than the bithces, I have a male youngster soon turning 2 years - he has given me headache from time to time, but never in my wildest fantasies have I thought about fixing him, not even when he ate my carseat. Neutered dogs also meet alot of other problems, especially with other dogs, and they loose some of their well-known charm and ekstra vigour. I love male dogs, and I always will. I find the culture in America appaling, to be honest with you (though I'm sure you all love your dogs very much and care for them in the best way possible, but when people think that this is normal, something is wrong with the culture).

  6. #6
    Puppy julia's Avatar
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    @Franz

    I'm no expert, and I'm sure others with much more experience and knowledge will chime in, but I believe in the US routine neutering/spaying is done to reduce the risk of accidental litters. There is an overpopulation epidemic in some areas, with millions of dogs euthanized a year. In a perfect world, all pet owners would keep their dogs confined and unable to accidentally breed, but that's not the reality we live in. Of course, many responsible pet owners successfully keep intact pets from producing oops litters.

    Maybe neutering/spaying is also done for certain behavioral outcomes, but I feel that is a secondary concern. I could be wrong though.

  7. #7
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GrandeLSM View Post
    My concern is that if I do it, it will change his personality, and not for the better. Is there an age, that after, I shouldnt get him fixed?

    Thanks.
    In my limited experience which includes female dogs, both sexes of cats but not male dogs as my two (whoppingly insignificant number statisticly ) stayed intact, no it won't change personality. What I find is it tends to "freeze frame" them in the emotional state and personality they are at when you do the deed. Also the behavioural state, so if they already started marking or humping you will likely have a harder time correcting it. And they might start anyway. But there is some evidence spaying a female who is already showing signs of aggression to her owners is made worse by a spay. It's in our links which was provided to you above. ETA: And this is very unlikely to be the case with a well bred Lab anyway.

    I don't think there is an age after which you should not neuter until you get to extreme old age or have some contraindicating medical problem. The Veterinary profession is pretty advanced these days and neuter is not a greatly invasive procedure. It's not uncommon for dogs retired from breeding to be altered, girls and boys, at maybe around eight years old.

  8. #8
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    I home senior labs and have spayed or neutered from ages 7 to 10. Although they probably did not bounce back quite as fast as a youngster, they did fine. I believe the reason for waiting till 18-24 months to make sure the growth plates have closed. They close too early with an early neutering. Waiting does put the responsibility on you to make sure that he does not accidentally create an oops litter.

  9. #9
    House Broken GrandeLSM's Avatar
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    Thanks everyone for the advice. There is almost a zero chance of an accidental litter. He is almost always on a leash or with me in a fenced in park. Glad this forum is back up and running.

  10. #10
    House Broken
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    They don't change when you neuter them. Energy levels stay the same, personality stays the same, same dog - just missing some organs lol.

    That being said, I'd wait as long as your comfortable waiting. Brady was neutered at age 3, but my next dog will remain intact.

 



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