To NEUTER OR NOT TO NEUTER, THAT IS THE QUESTION?

[Julia Vandra]

vinnnni.jpg

HI Doodle Lovers,

I've run into a dilemma. My puppy is now 8 months, male Goldendoodle named Vinnie.

I go back and forth on a daily basis if I should neuter or not my puppy.

Reasons why I don't want to neuter him:

Currently, I live in an apartment, and Vinnie is my only pet. I do not want to get another doodle at the moment because I feel wrong to put two babies in one apartment. I have a few more years of dental school, after we will be buying a house and I would have room for another doodle. I would like to breed Vinnie in about 3 years and have one of his offspring. .......the main reason why I don't want to neuter him is because I want one of his puppies.

Reasons why the vet said to neuter him:

If he does not get access to a female, it will make him be on the edge and have these hormones build up inside him, that he is unable to release. And she mentioned another whole page of health reasons.

What do you guys think? TIPS? RECOMMENDATIONS?

Does anyone have a female doodle that is looking for a male companion? :)

xoxo! Julia & Vinnie

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Did you buy Vinnie on a breeding contract? 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here are some past discussions on the topic of breeding your dog that you will find interesting. 

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/am-i-crazy-to-want-to-bree...

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/breeding-doodles?commentId...

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/2065244:Topic:4652?comment...

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/breed-goldendoodle

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/trying-to-breed-my-beautif...

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/standard-or-miniature-doodle

If you get the idea that the great majority of us here (I'm guessing 99%) have neutered and spayed our doodles, and that we take a dim view of casual breeding, you're right. Unless your doodle was purchased on a breeding contract, please do not breed him. The fact that you even have the option of not neutering him means your breeder does not have a spay/neuter clause in the contract, which is a huge red flag; it means that his parents probably did not have genetic health testing done, which is an absolute must before breeding any dog. Your doodle will be much happier neutered, and so will you. 

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I think you are going to find that you opened a whole can of worms. If you check out the help guidelines for new members one of the best links included is "What to Look for in a Good Breeder."

http://www.doodlekisses.com/notes/What_To_Look_for_In_a_Breeder

Loving your dog and thinking he is wonderful is no reason to breed your dog. Look over these guidelines and ask yourself if you meet any of these requirements. If you bought your dog from a reputable breeder almost all of them include a clause in their contract that you must have your dog spayed or neutered within a specified time period.

Neutering your pet is, in my opinion, the responsible thing to do. Your unneutered male dog might also develop some unwanted behavorial problems (marking, roaming, mounting, dog aggression) and many doggie daycares and dog parks do not allow intact males.

Since you asked...my recommendation is for neutering.

[BG and Gavin]

Vinnie is super-cute and I love his name.  I think it is best to leave the breeding to the professionals.  There are all kinds of different tests that both parents (and their parent and grandparents) should have gone through before considering breeding.  Unfortunately both Goldens and Poodles are carriers for a number of genetic diseases (hip dysplasia, cancer) and you want to stack the cards in favour of the next generation of puppies as best you can.  Love on sweet Vinnie and cherish him everyday and get him neutered - he will be happier for it and so will you.

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Are you willing to spend the money on all the health certifications ...eyes, elbows hips, heart? Breeding healthy puppies is not just throwing 2 dogs together. And raising a litter correctly is very time consuming and expensive. Consider 8-12 weeks of cleaning up constant pee and poop of an average of 8 puppies and keeping their area clean. And giving, sometimes, multiple baths to all those puppies every single day, since no one likes to love on a dirty puppy that has just slipped and slide through all the pee and poop. Consider the fact, that for that 8-12 weeks the puppies are with you, you can not leave the house for more than a few hrs. If you do...you will pay dearly for it! Lots and lots to clean up. Do you have an area suitable for puppies to be raised? There are so many factors people don't think about when they think they want a litter. Think long and hard on your decision. And this is all only if you have Breeding Rights as Karen pointed out.

[Kyoko]

Vinny is super cute!!!  However, I am wondering what would be the reason that you would like to have his puppy? If you love his personality and charactor, will it be safe to say, may be you can purchase a puppy from the same breeder? May be even from the same parents? I think it takes a lot of knowledge, effort, work, etc... to breed healthy puppies. Unless you are planning to become a breeder and invest your time, effort, etc.. in learning to become one, it may not be wise to try breeding your pet because of his characteristics, temperment, etc... Plus, chances are, there will be more than one puppy being born. Then you will have a group of puppies who do not have health certification, testing, etc... and are sort of back yard breeder puppies, which will be so unfortunate for them...and kind of irresponsible :-(  I hope you dont take this wrong....

[Sally S Miles]

Have your dog neutered, you will both be happier - he will be healthier and that will save your nervous system.  By all means do save breeding for the pro's and enjoy your dog - it's wonderful that you have a dog you love so much, but frankly my best piece of advice is to enjoy him and perhaps plan on an addition in a couple of years, perhaps from your same breeder.

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

We spay/neuter any pet we get.  Several years ago when we were much younger and not thinking we did breed one of my danes before having her spayed.  It is not as sweet as it seems from the outside looking in and the mom really does not do all the work, she feeds them and helps them go potty as infants, the whelping box takes a lot of cleaning and once you start adding puppy feed the mess really escalates.  Plain and simple it is a lot of work and if you work already, well, enough said.  The second part is finding homes for all those pups, there are lots of people that want them but don't want to pay a fair price or they don't want them right then.  I don't recommend breeding for anyone that is not a pro at it and those that stay at home to do the work.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

All of us love our dogs so much that we like thinking about another one in the future, but since you asked, keeping an unneutered male will create more headaches in training and behavioral issues than you can imagine.  And because we love our dogs, we want to see only dogs that have documented health testing (that means the parents of your dog and your dog) bred for health and temperament. Others have made the point about the breeding contract from your original breeder.

Vinnie is adorable, and I wish you all the love in the world with him.  But breeding first generation goldendoodles is tricky.  You may not get the kind of pups you expect. So my advice is neuter him.  Maybe you can get another pup from the same breeding when you're ready or a relative, if this is a responsible breeder. 

[Lynda Kamrath]

I definitely am in favor or neutering, and it will be very easy to get another goldendoodle when the time comes that you are ready for a second dog.  All of my dogs (all males) were neutered but a female in the neighborhood came into heat and my dogs dug the fence posts and under the fence until their pads were bleeding to get out.  They do not know they are neutered and will respond to the call of nature.  My friend had several dogs and the female was not spayed but all the males were neutered.  She would come into heat and they would all be taking turns with her, but to no avail because they were all neutered.  I recommend neutering and spaying all dogs (unless you are a breeder and have done all the testing on your animals).  Another neighbor had a female he wanted to breed (labrador) but she went into heat and became pregnant.  They put up some notices to sell these beautiful pups and the animal control came around upon seeing a notice for a puppy sale  and gave him a fix-it ticket.  He had to have the dog spayed to fix the ticket.  So, as you can see, it is more of a problem than it is worth to try to breed your dog, no matter how much you like him.

[Breanna]

I second what everyone else said. I'm all about spay and neuter.