Any input on neutering a dog?

[Midwayman]

I'd have an ultra orthodox jewish rabbi do it with their teeth.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

Start with a small incision just above the scrotum.

 

[thedarkwolf]

All of my male dogs/cats have been neutered and I've had a lot over the years. None of them got fat or lazy because of it. If your dog gets fat it is because you are feeding them too much. None of them had any personality changes either. If they were friendlily out going dogs before they still were after. If they were assholes that didn't like other dogs before they still didn't like them after. The only real difference was they didn't produce sperm anymore and I didn't have to worry about screwing up once and creating more unwanted mutts to be gassed at the pound.

 

[Markbnj]

Our female Goldendoodle is spayed. Our male Lab is neutered, but they had that done (too young) in the shelter in Tennessee before he was shipped up to Noah's Ark where we adopted him. If they hadn't, then I probably wouldn't have. All the females around here are spayed, and he's a yard dog and doesn't leave other than on a leash, so I doubt the necessity of cutting his nuts off. On the other hand, he does have a sweet, mild personality. Maybe I should get my nuts cut off.

 

[bignateyk]

It's best to wait until after the dog has fully mentally and physically developed to neuter it if you are going to do it. Otherwise it affects the hormone levels required for the dog to properly develop and can lead to all kinds of problems like hip dysplasia, etc...

edit: We had ours neutered because he had an undescended testicle which would likely become cancerous if left in.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

It's best to wait until after the dog has fully mentally and physically developed to neuter it if you are going to do it. Otherwise it affects the hormone levels required for the dog to properly develop and can lead to all kinds of problems like hip dysplasia, etc...

edit: We had ours neutered because he had an undescended testicle which would likely become cancerous if left in.

I'm fairly sure he is fully grown.... Size-wise he hasn't gained any weight in at least a month or so.

 

[bignateyk]

I'm fairly sure he is fully grown.... Size-wise he hasn't gained any weight in at least a month or so.

Does he still act like a puppy? Most dog's don't mature mentally until at least a year and a half. Another way to tell when they are maturing is when they start to lift their leg to pee. If he still squats to pee he's not matured physically or mentally yet.

I'd say wait until he's a year an a half old. You'll lessen the risk of medical problems and still get the benefits of neutering.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Does he still act like a puppy? Most dog's don't mature mentally until at least a year and a half. Another way to tell when they are maturing is when they start to lift their leg to pee. If he still squats to pee he's not matured physically or mentally yet.

I'd say wait until he's a year an a half old. You'll lessen the risk of medical problems and still get the benefits of neutering.

He does sort of have that puppy mentality. I actually just called and cancelled the neuter. I'm going to wait until he's about 12-18 months.

 

[DrPizza]

Yesterday, I made the appointment to have one of my dogs neutered & one of my dogs spayed. When one of my other female dogs is in heat, my little dog probably loses about 15% of his body weight from not eating. He doesn't sleep for a week while the other is in heat. He's got one thing on his mind 24/7. It's kind of funny watching a 15.5 pound dog attempt to mate a 124 pound dog.

 

[momeNt]

Neutering would help get rid of the tendency towards aggression that Shibas can sometimes have. So could proper parenting and making sure you aren't endorsing overly protective or territorial behaviors that could end up giving you a big headache down the road if he ever were to attack a neighbor or something.

 

[UnklSnappy]

I had my Shiba neutered at a year old. There was no change in his behavior or personality and he didn't get fat. Unless he's a show dog and going to be bred get him fixed.

Oh, and pics damn it preferably of the pup and not his balls.

 

[trmiv]

We waited until our german shepherd was about 18 months before we neutered him. I really noticed no change in behaviour at all. He was an overactive nutcase before we did it and is still an overactive nutcase now.

 

[nickbits]

Help control the pet population. Have your pet spayed or neutered.

-Bob Barker

Seriously, all pets should be spayed/netured.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Neutering would help get rid of the tendency towards aggression that Shibas can sometimes have. So could proper parenting and making sure you aren't endorsing overly protective or territorial behaviors that could end up giving you a big headache down the road if he ever were to attack a neighbor or something.

He has no aggression whatsoever.... No dog aggression, and while he's a bit shy around loud/obnoxious people, he doesn't default to being aggressive in any way.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

I had my Shiba neutered at a year old. There was no change in his behavior or personality and he didn't get fat. Unless he's a show dog and going to be bred get him fixed.

Oh, and pics damn it preferably of the pup and not his balls.

Hah, I will post some tonight. We actually took him on a canoe trip last weekend and have some excellent video of that as well.

 

[Murloc]

My issue is that neutering has apparently been shown to significantly increase the incidents of certain types of cancers, bone, and ligament issues.

most people spay their dogs and they still reach old age, all GSDs in my life reached 14+ years which is normal for dogs this big.

I don't think spaying will help with the running away issue unless it's exclusively due to female scents. You have to fence your garden.

 

[Dumac]

Neutering is kind of messed up if you think about it. We mutilate the genitalia of our pets and force them to forever stay in a child-like mental state just so that they are 'easier to handle'.

That said, I've neutered all my pets.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

most people spay their dogs and they still reach old age, all GSDs in my life reached 14+ years which is normal for dogs this big.

I don't think spaying will help with the running away issue unless it's exclusively due to female scents. You have to fence your garden.

I have a huge fenced yard... The times he has bolted were "our" fault, not really his. He doesn't have any innate desire to run out the door.


And I'm not concerned about him dying early, more about him having ligament/joint issues and being miserable.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

...

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I have a huge fenced yard... The times he has bolted were "our" fault, not really his. He doesn't have any innate desire to run out the door.


And I'm concerned about him dying early, more about him having ligament/joint issues and being miserable.

He has a greater likelihood of contracting rabies from a rabid squirrel/rabbit while running around your backyard than contracting cancer from being neutered.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

He has a greater likelihood of contracting rabies from a rabid squirrel/rabbit while running around your backyard than contracting cancer from being neutered.

It's not just the cancer thing... It's development without the same hormones, and an overall personality change. Primarily, if he's pretty much the best dog as he is why cut the nuts off when I can have a vasectomy done.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

It's not just the cancer thing... It's development without the same hormones, and an overall personality change. Primarily, if he's pretty much the best dog as he is why cut the nuts off when I can have a vasectomy done.

None as long as you're good with paying a premium. However, a dog's personality doesn't stay frozen, it changes and grows like yours. I can't say I've known anyone who's had their pet given a vasectomy. Let us know how it goes.

 

[datalink7]

Most vets want you to do it at 6 months. Personally, I'd wait until the dog is fully grown, which is around 1 1/2 to 2 years old. That way it gets all the correct development. I waited and neutered my dog at around 22 months old. Most breeders recommend this.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Well I'll add this too. At the dog park if there is going to be a problem between dogs 90% of the time one of them is a intact male. Just had another one today with two intact males trying to hump each other and getting into a fight.

 

[Skillet49]

I have a 12 month old yellow Lab. Our vet recommended waiting until he was fully grown (around 18 months) before we neuter him. We're still unsure if we're going to or not because he hasn't displayed any unwanted male behaviors yet and it seems like he would be displaying some by now if he were going to. He's only humped dogs and he's not really that bad about that even. So we're just going to wait and see what to do.