# When did you neuter, & why?



## beckymnd (Oct 17, 2017)

Dexter is due his 7 month check up at the vets on Thursday (we get them each month for free until he's 1!) & they've been asking me each time we've been in about if I'm going to be neutering him. I've been under no pressure whatsoever which is really great of them, but it has lead me to think of it a little more.

Before I got Dexter, I always said I would definitely get a male dog neutered at 6 months, but now that I have him I'm completely on the fence now!

He's such a loving, great little bundle of fur at 7 months. His recall is 99% of the time perfect, and he has absolutely no unwanted behaviours at this age I would consider neutering an option to aid with. A friend's doodle pup has been excessively humping since 2 months!

As it stands, I've made the commitment to decide by the time he is 2 years old, and I am swaying more toward having him neutered between 1-2 years old. I'd like to let his hormones do their job with his growth and development, but not leave it too long before potential behaviours arise. I also have 0 intention on breeding from him.

Out of interest, when did you have your pup neutered? (If you did!) & at what age did you have them neutered?
If you didn't, what was your reasoning?


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

We did Rufus when he was six months. To be honest I gave it zero thought. It was what the vet said to do so I did it. The city of Ottawa had posters up in the libraries at the time that said "real men neuter their dogs". If I recall there was a thug with his dog on the poster, the kind of guy that keeps a dog as a weapon. I guess the implication was that only problem people don't neuter their dogs and I bought the message 100%.


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## Jackson2017 (Jul 4, 2017)

We had Jackson neutered just over a month ago

To be honest we never planned to breed him and growing up we always got our dogs neutered so it was always going to happen. We asked around ( I work in the vet industry) and also asked on here and off course google searched, it was all mixed info, even the vet wasn't for or against

To be honest the biggest change after has been less humping of things which has been a blessing!

His character and temprement which were great anyways haven't changed a bit

I think it's all down to personal opinion and reasoning


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## Milliesdad (Apr 24, 2016)

The sooner the better, as with all operations they heal quicker when they are young, it's such a quick simple op for the vet to do.


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## Ericmummy (Feb 8, 2017)

We had Eric done at 18 months but was unsure for along time but only due to worrying about recovery. He loved his collar and was super happy the day after. He was honestly fine and I am glad he had it done now


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## beckymnd (Oct 17, 2017)

We had our 7 month check up today & the vets very relaxed about it. I think I will have him done between 12-18 months, but as it stands I have absolutely no reason to other than I have no intention on breeding from him, so I'm a bit reluctant to have him done ASAP 'just because'.

He's never been a humpy puppy, I think I've caught him humping something, twice? I have noticed he's DEFINITELY pulling on the lead a little more lately to sniff things, but he's not cocking his leg & marking yet. 

My theory behind it is that you wouldn't get a male child 'neutered' at the age of 12, just because you don't want him to potentially grow up to be a testosterone driven yob with many children from many lovers. So why neuter a dog at 6 months before adolescence on the assumption it'll stop 'potential' behaviours. There's no strong scientific evidence anywhere that it 100% 'cures all'. 

That's my 2 cents, at least, and why I'm not jumping to get it done ASAP  Interesting / Interested to hear other opinions!


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## cfriend (Dec 22, 2016)

Hi I don't have a male dog but it's a very similar discussion with female dogs as well. I just wanted to give a perspective without judgment of any sorts because I know there is so much information out there and it's really hard to know what to trust. In Austria there is a strong movement away from neutering specifically by vets. This doesn't mean dogs aren't neutered (people still do it at all different ages) but here most vets at least will highly recommend to wait until the dog has finished peuberty before neutering because it is very important for the development of the dog that it is able to go through peuberty. Just giving a perspective from a different country.


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## beckymnd (Oct 17, 2017)

That's very interesting cfriend! It's really great to hear there are places that have a different stance on it. I think neutering at 6 months has just become the 'norm' with no real thought put into it. 
Puberty in humans is one of the most important growth phases in life, so I can imagine it's not too different in other animals & I'm keen to not interfere with it with Dexter. The vet seems to understand my opinion & I'm under no pressure which is great


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## cfriend (Dec 22, 2016)

Definitely sounds like an excellent vet. In dog trainer school we were told of some anecdotal evidence that dogs who were neutered "too" early tend to get bullied by other dogs more. The discussion is really interesting and it's also surprising that there isn't really much good science on what the best time is. Just recently they've started doing some long term studies.


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## LuckyCockapoo (May 29, 2017)

Lucky is being neutered tomorrow! 😭😭😭

To be honest the only reason we are having him done is that all the local dog daycare places require them neutered. We’ve been ok up to 1 year old. We occasionally need to use them and he loves going too. So I’m not exactly happy about it.


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## beckymnd (Oct 17, 2017)

LuckyCockapoo said:


> Lucky is being neutered tomorrow! 😭😭😭
> 
> To be honest the only reason we are having him done is that all the local dog daycare places require them neutered. We’ve been ok up to 1 year old. We occasionally need to use them and he loves going too. So I’m not exactly happy about it.


Ahhh nooo that's a shame! I've noticed a lot of the doggy daycare places only take neutered dogs! I've been thinking about popping Dexter over to a daycare once a week perhaps as he's very clingy with me I think it'd do him some good!

Dexter is 7 months now, did you notice much difference with Lucky between 6-12 months of age while he's entering his teens? I've noticed Dexter's found an 'off' switch for his ears he likes to play with!  But other than that he's not changing much at all, hasn't cocked his leg to pee yet!


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## LuckyCockapoo (May 29, 2017)

1 day after op Lucky is doing ok. And behaving so no need for a cone of shame.

All my local dog daycare places require neutering. Which I don’t agree with but I’m otherwise stuck.

Yes, in the run up to 12 months he did change. He certainly developed selective deafness and less consistent obedience. Occasionally seemingly wilful disobedience to his pleasure. But none of this seriously and absolutely no excuse/reason for neutering. 

At around 10 months he also started to get fussy with food. Only eating kibble if mixed with a topper. Then only wanting wet food and picking at kibble. I ended up moving him to a commercial raw food, which he totally loves. 

At doggy daycare (half day a week), they said he got more humpy with other dogs. I’ve not seen that myself and he’s fine on walks but can get obsessed with some bitches. Teenager... 

He’s been cocking his leg up since 6 months if I remember 

He’s done half day at daycare since 13 weeks. It’s made him very confident around other dogs and I’m happy with that. With selective deafness on walks he can head off to play so his recall isn’t what I’d like. He’s still generally clingy to me, or more that he doesn’t like to be separated and will always come back


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

The reason most daycares will insist on neutering is that even if your boy is mild mannered an no trouble he is likely to be targeted by other males if he is still entire. It can also happen out and about and I know of male dogs who are fine with any dogs apart from entire males.

I had Chance done at 6 months - it was a very small quick operation she recovered from really quickly. I would have preferred to leave her until older but the dogs she mixed with included an entire dog and bitches who would have been quite likely to react badly to her in season


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## LuckyCockapoo (May 29, 2017)

2ndhandgal said:


> The reason most daycares will insist on neutering is that even if your boy is mild mannered an no trouble he is likely to be targeted by other males if he is still entire. It can also happen out and about and I know of male dogs who are fine with any dogs apart from entire males.


This is the only reason I’ve heard for neutering that I don’t feel I can argue with, and in combination with needing to use daycare occasionally, why I had Lucky done.


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