# When's the right age to neuter your pup?



## TubbsMom

I apologize in advanced if this topic is else where, I couldn't seem to find another thread clearly marked. 

When we visited with the vet for the first time he said 9 months old. To me that's a really long time to wait. I did some searching online and it seems to be the average is 6 months old. Which is what I thought was normal. 

So my question for all you fancy people would be, when do you think is the best time and do you have any medical stuff to back it up? I just want to make sure we make the right decision. 

Thanks everyone!


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## dmgalley

Our vet told us they would not do it before six months and that six months is right around when people do have it done. I am starting to notice some new behaviors in Jake that I am not a fan of so I am glad we are doing it at 6 months (which is next week) 
He is not cocking his leg yet, but he has started humping and he is becoming a bit aggressive. He has always been very laid back so I can only attribute it to his getting his big boy bits on so to speak. I want to stop that in it's tracks.


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## TubbsMom

okay, so that's decent info. Believe it or not, Tubbs started humping at 8 weeks old...he still does. Obv doesn't know what the heck he's doing but we've been discouraging it. 

He still squats to pee...but that's good that it's getting done. I'm wondering now why the vet would have said 9 months. I think my hubby asked but I honestly forget. 

I fear that waiting 8 or 9 months will kick in behaviors that I'd rather not have to witness...


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## Jen62

Hi, Harley humped from 8 weeks too - actually did a forward roll once he was humping that hard - hilarious!!
He hasn't been done yet, but our vet said they will from 4 months for small dogs, but 6 for big dogs as they take longer to mature. I was like you and wanted it asap in the hope it may help behaviour, but he has changed as we've discussed on other posts, so will leave it till it feels right.
Someone else on the forum advised to wait until they start cocking their leg... not sure why.
Jen x


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## cockerpoo61

TubbsMom said:


> I apologize in advanced if this topic is else where, I couldn't seem to find another thread clearly marked.
> 
> When we visited with the vet for the first time he said 9 months old. To me that's a really long time to wait. I did some searching online and it seems to be the average is 6 months old. Which is what I thought was normal.
> 
> So my question for all you fancy people would be, when do you think is the best time and do you have any medical stuff to back it up? I just want to make sure we make the right decision.
> 
> Thanks everyone!


We asked on Monday at the Vet at what age to get Jack neutered and they said 6 months was fine as i had heard it should be left later. We had Bayley done at 6 months and he has been fine though he didn't **** his leg until he was 18 months old but that didn't bother me him squatting!! So think we shall be booking Jack in March 13 though i shall feel guilty on that day


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## Anna

We only just had Rufus done an he is a year! 


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## Smallears

My vet said 6 months but as a small dog he could be done at 5 as long as he has his balls!!! I'm happy to say I noticed that as from last week muttley does have his balls! Not for much longer tho lol


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## DB1

There are a couple of different schools of thought, If you google it you will find some interesting articles, quite a few people now believe it is better to wait until later to allow the dog to develop and mature a bit longer. 
If your dog is a little on the shy side and lacking confidence it is definitely better to wait as neutering young can make that worse, my vet preferred a little later than the usual 6 months, I decided to have my boy done when he was 8 months, I don't know if it was coincidence but he seems to have become a little more anxious at home (barking at every little noise), although still very confident around all people and dogs.
I didn't wait any longer as I hoped it would calm a little of his general cockiness, may have a little but not enough that I would say there is definitely a difference. He had started trying to hump one or two other dogs, and I also hoped it would make him less likely to be the target of aggression from other male dogs. The humping has pretty much stopped.
A couple of articles I read suggested waiting until they had been cocking their leg for at least a month, my boy had been doing that since 4 months. I think behaviourists are starting to link some problem behaviour to too early neutering, so I think that maybe why your vet said 9 months. Also i've read that spaying a bitch young can actually make aggression in them worse, although it does seem to help males.


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## susanb

We are having Gisgo done next week - just over a year old.

Our vet strongly advised waiting until a year old to give him time to mature....and we thought the best thing to do was to go with that advice. 

I don't suppose we will ever know if it would have been better to do it at 6 months or not!


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## Minnie

Have seriously thought of having Merlin done because he's becoming a bit aggressive which is not like him at all. 
In the evening is worst when he keeps humping my son and when he tells Merlin to stop or tries to distract him Merlin shows his teeth and growls and lunges at him and has bit him a few times. 
Took him a few days ago to visit a neighbours puppy and he growled and snapped at the puppy quite bad. I was really shocked and upset and I came away after apologising to my neighbour. 
Will having him neutered stop this aggressive behaviour ?


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## TubbsMom

@Jen62: I'm glad we aren't alone on the humping thing. Our trainer was in shock when we told her. And actually, my parents dogs hump all the time (male and female) so I thought it was normal. We just laughed it off. When the trainer heard it she laughed of course but said to discourage it lol I had no idea. The feeling right thing seems best. Thanks!

@cockerpoo61: If it's all worked out well then that's great, I can only hope for that myself! hah

@Smallears: When we saw the vet on Nov 24th he said he could only feel Tubbs one ball, possibly the other. I'm really hoping the other one shows by the end of this month. 

@DB1: I think I really like the whole "cocking his leg for at least a month" idea, it makes sense. I never thought of it that way. Come to think of it, I do believe that's what the vet had mentioned. He suggested waiting that long so that he can mature. 

@susanb: Well before this I never thought to just go on instincts or when is best in our eyes. I think I'm going to go with that =P 

@Minnie: Wow that's a big change! what I can add to that is this. My parents maltese was done when he was about 6 because she bred him, I can certainly say we all noticed him being less of himself in general. I can also say that plenty of dogs I have known to get fixed don't change at all. So unfortunately you'll just have to see, and I'm hoping he will calm down for your families sake. I really hope our guy calms down as well *crossing fingers*


Thanks to everyone for the advice and comments. This has been bothering me for a little while. I know Tubbs is super young but I like to make informed decisions about important things like this. Your help is really appreciated


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## Janev1000

Humping at a very early age is not always a sexual thing and is often what puppies will do in a litter to exert dominance over each other. Biscuit used to hump toys very early on and then seemed to grow out of it. He cocked his leg at 6 months and we had him neutered at 10.5 months and only because we were getting a new female puppy. Otherwise I would have waited until he was over a year. I personally like to see them mature first. Our vet said not before 9 months to allow his hormones to develop which would help his body to mature properly, together with muscle development in his legs, etc. The only annoying thing Biscuit used to do was to mark constantly on walks but this stopped as soon as he was neutered.


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## DB1

Yes - very early humping when excited is common and they have no idea why they do it, humping later in life is often dominance - there is a big lab we see quite often who will always start humping Dudley when he is getting fed up with Dudley leaping on him in play mode. Last time someone was saying 'he's a boy you daft thing', I couldn't be bothered to explain that day, the dogs owner and I know exactly why he does it.


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## Jack Spaniel

Oscar is now 6 months and not yet cocking his leg. He has been humping for at least three months and will have a go at anything that moves.
Asked my vet and she has said leave until 1 year old to let him fully mature, so I guess I will take that advice.


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## dmgalley

I don't find the humping such an issue. I tell him to stop and he does. I am having an issue with his new found "severe assertiveness". Maybe we need puppy class after all.


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## Florida Cockapoo

Just came across this link. I follow Dr. Mercola a lot due to his views on health. Well they have a great pet section. Here is a link on what we are talking about and gives good data. 

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/17/dangers-of-early-pet-spaying-or-neutering.aspx

A least one of the comments address the whole aggressiveness in dogs. And he said that was about who was "alpha" male. If you let you dog be the alpha male there will be more control issues versus the owner being in charge. That makes since, I know I plan on doing training classes with our dog. 

I have been trying to figure out what we want to do. I know I did get our female cat done at 6 months and she is 7 years old now. We have had no health problems with her so far. But also she goes out side and I don't know where she goes.. So getting her done early made since. But the dog I'm less inclined to get him done early. As he will never be out of my control. At least that's what I deciding to do. Based on this thread but also some articles I have read. I do plan on calling some holistic vets also.

But I thought the article from Mercola site was good.

P.S. We had three female dogs when I was younger.. The smallest one which was a 3 pound Chihuahua (female) that's always humped. LOL so the humping thing wouldn't bother me, but the aggressiveness would.


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## TubbsMom

I know it's not a sexual thing at his age, as I said I just laughed it off but when she mentioned it can be a dominance thing later on and to discourage it we have been. 

Thanks Florida Cockapoo for the link. I was also looking for medical articles on this to get a better understanding. I def want him done at some point. I'm thinking the 8-9 month mark is good (as my vet suggested) so long as he's cocking his leg instead of crouching still. I don't want to stunt him in growing


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## DB1

Yes its interesting how many vets seem to be suggesting later now, they must all be reading up on these articles which promote leaving it.
dmgalley - I would always suggest training first rather than using neutering as a cure but I do have to admit that was the reason I got Dudley done at 8 months rather than leaving, he had always been a cocky little whatsit anyway and i'm not sure neutering has made a difference, but he has definitely not worsened anyway. - training is definitely a good thing, i've done that too common thing of doing a couple of courses then thinking we'll have a little break, then leaving it too long.


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## Lovecockapoo2

I just fount out last week when we took Thor for a checkup that my vet says for me to do it at 4 mths. When he said that I immediately thought 'No that's WAY to soon!' And I still feel that way. My husband agreed with him immediately and said yes that's what they say to do. I don't think so and from what I read on here and from others is to wait till at least six mths or a year. I thought for sure that's what he was going to say but he didn't. Can some of you please give me some advice as what to say to the vet and my hubby on why we should wait. My husband I know won't mind if we wait I just want the vet to know that I don't like the 4 mth idea and I need good tips on what I should say. Thank you so much!


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## SadieB

Beth...we just brought Sadie in the other day for her next round of shots and they told me to have her fixed around 6 mos. which is April. Not sure if it's different for boys vs. girls but they go said she will go into heat around 8 mos. if I wait. And she is definitely humping all of our legs...horrifies my kids (LOL!) but I just say "NO" and she stops. Vet said it's not like a typical hump when in heat but a dominance thing at this age. Like she's trying to say "I'm in charge here". Hope Thor is doing well. We are loving Sadie!


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## Lovecockapoo2

Hey Mel, Thor is doing great! I think I'm going to wait till 6 mths also. When do they stop growing and are full size I wonder? I would hate to stunt his growth. Do you use training bells for Sadie? We do and Thor hasn't mastered them yet. Hopefully soon


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## Florida Cockapoo

Lovecockapoo2 said:


> Hey Mel, Thor is doing great! I think I'm going to wait till 6 mths also. When do they stop growing and are full size I wonder? I would hate to stunt his growth. Do you use training bells for Sadie? We do and Thor hasn't mastered them yet. Hopefully soon


From the research I have done, most say a year old is the average. For bigger dogs it may take up to 2 years. So I guess Cockapoo would fall in the 1 year age and be consider full grown.


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## SadieB

Beth (Thor)...this is the bell we hang on our door. From Petsmart


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## SadieB

Lovecockapoo2 said:


> Hey Mel, Thor is doing great! I think I'm going to wait till 6 mths also. When do they stop growing and are full size I wonder? I would hate to stunt his growth. Do you use training bells for Sadie? We do and Thor hasn't mastered them yet. Hopefully soon


Beth (Thor)...this is the bell we hang on our door. From Petsmart


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## Lovecockapoo2

Those are nice! We are using what Linda gave us but when I head to petsmart next I'll be picking those up  how is she doing with potty training and her bells?


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## SadieB

Lovecockapoo2 said:


> Those are nice! We are using what Linda gave us but when I head to petsmart next I'll be picking those up  how is she doing with potty training and her bells?


oops...sorry. Walmart, not Petsmart. Here is a link online to them but I got them in an actual store.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Out-Housetraining-Bells-1ct/16664913

I messaged you privately with how she is doing...it said it went through...check your messages on here...totally trained with the bells! Last few days. Woo Hoo! There is a light...hang in there.


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