Opinions on when to neuter your dog

[Sabrina and Bentley]

So Bentley is five months today which brought up a conversation between my fiance and I about getting him neutered next month based on the vet's recommendation.  I've never had a dog before so from what I've read and based on the vet's recommendation, I'm prepared to do this next month.  He's hell bent against it...for a number of reasons:

 

• His gut tells him it's a bad idea (I love men and the way they think. lol)
• He already feels that Bentley is going to be smaller than we expected and feels that taking his testosterone away from him is going to slow down his growing.
• His previous dogs were not neutered until 12 months and did not have any complications or challenges with the procedure.
• He wants to stud him out...but I don't.
• Most importantly, he lost a puppy at 9 months old due to Blue Mountain fever (I think that's what it's called) and another puppy of his at the same age who wasn't neutered was able to fight off the sickness.  The vet told him that he may have been able to fight it off if he was not neutered.

So I wanted to reach out to ya'll to get some opinions on this.  I told him I may be willing to compromise and meet him halfway at nine months.

 

Thoughts??

 

Thanks!

[Adina P]

 

I think the only opinions you'll find here are "Get'r done" =)

A lot of men have a 'gut' feeling about this only because the only thing their gut can imagine is themselves getting neutered. 

Every single responsible, reputable breeder out there has in their contract with the buyer that the buyer MUST neuter the dog by a certain age or void their health guarantee.  If your fiance is considering NOT neutering him that tells me that either he is willing to violate that contract with the breeder (that either you or he signed) OR that Bentley (despite his fabulousness) didn't come from a very reputable breeder.  I don't mean that to sound harsh.  LOTS of awesome dogs have come from less than ideal breeding programs, but I'm serious when I say that ALL responsible breeders only sell pet dogs on a neuter/spay contract.  They simply do not allow buyers to indiscriminately breed pet dogs. They don't.

 

Now if Bentley did not come from a very reputable breeder, then he should not be studded out because his parents probably didn't come from responsible breeders and thus weren't health tested and you are taking a gamble on what he will pass on to his pups.  If he did come from a reputable breeder then he still should NOT be studded out without the following completed:

-- Permission from breeder and change in breeding contract

-- Full health testing for Bentley which includes: DNA testing for genetic disease, OFA or PennHIP testing on his hips done by specialist, CERF testing for eyes, heart testing by a veterinary cardiologist, and brucellosis testing to rule out this awful doggy STD.  The bitch you breed him to should also have ALL of this testing done to give the highest chances of creating a healthy litter of pups.  I would also NOT breed him till he's at least 2 years old to rule out any conditions that show up around that time but do not have tests (i.e. various skin and allergy issues, confirm his adult temperament, etc). 

 

Breeding responsibly is a MAJOR big deal.  If you want to find a female to breed him to that is WORTH breeding to (healthy, from a responsible breeder, tested, etc) then that female will be owned by someone who will demand the same high standards of testing, etc.  You definitely don't want to be classified as a "backyard breeder" who is someone who just breeds for the heck of it, for 'experience', or to make 'easy money.'  Here is what we encourage all doodle buyers to consider when purchasing a pup from a breeder...it behooves you to set the same standard for yourself if you breed: 

What To Look for In a Breeder

 

Let's assume that all is perfect and he's fully health tested and you wait the appropriate time, etc.  Your fiance will need to think about what kind of bitch to breed to.  What are the goals of his breeding?  What kind of pups does he want to produce?  And if one or more of the pups can't find homes, would he be willing to help house them until they do?  What if someone decides to return one of the pups at some point..is he willing to step up and help foster that pup if the owner of the bitch can't/won't?  These are all things to think about before embarking on a breeding program--and even breeding 'just once' is a program because it has the same results: a bunch of pups that need forever homes.

 

Sorry to spend so much time on the 'studding out' part of your dilemma.  But it's a big deal to a lot of us.  There are a ton of doodles in rescue now for so many reasons, one of which includes people breeding just for the heck of it or to make money who aren't ready to be fully responsible and don't know enough about the breed to sell pups to the right people with the right info.

 

Get him neutered soon as the vet says.  There is little downside unless you have a dog to show in obedience or conformation and are a skilled handler who can control the most unruly unneutered dog.  You definitely don't want to contribute to an 'oops' litter of pups if your boy gets loose and 'studs' himself out =)

 

 

[Sabrina and Bentley]

Thanks Adina.  I don't plan on letting him stud him out.  it's not why I wanted a dog to begin with.  It's way more work than I would ever want to do. :-)

[F, Calla & Luca]

Adina, so good of you to write such a complete, fair explanation!

[Ginny Nightingale]

Adina is so good at saying everything that needs to be said!!  AND get'r'done!

That said, i DO have a pup that is not neutered BECAUSE he will be part of a responsible breeding program (with my breeder) AND he will be health tested AND he will be neutered if he does not pass those tests. He was picked from a litter by the breeder to start a new line with his markings otherwise, we would not use him. But again, he will be thoroughly tested, which costs a LOT of money to get done. 

[BG and Gavin]

This is a comprehensive answer.  Thanks to Adina for taking the time to write it.  I have nothing to add except that Gavin was neutered at 6 months with no issues and he is plenty big :)  I also do not understand the point that a neutered dog is less able to fight off infection?  That makes no sense to me.

[Adina P]

Also quite often neutering a dog before puberty actually will make them grow a bit taller (not visibly so but significantly per studies).  So it won't stunt his growth at all!

[Chelsea and Bailey]

We waited up until as close as I could to 8 months for that reason. I found and read a reputable study that was done on early neuter vs waiting till a year on large breed dogs.  It said a whole bunch of things but the jist was that the early neuter pups (if large breed) had a greater chance to grow taller, thus increasing bone and joint problems, and also greatly increasing risk for bone cancer.  I tried to wait a year, but with a female dog I was scared about going to the dog park and the park in general so we got'er done at 8 months.  We just contacted the breeder, let them know what we read and the vets recommendation and they were fine with it.

[Sabrina and Bentley]

I don't understand it either, nor do I understand why a vet would say that.  Unfortunately it's embedded in his head, so it's hard to get him past that.

[Camilla and Darwin]

I think Adina's answer sums it up, but basically I just wanted to say that your fiance's concerns really don't outweigh the positives of having him neutered. I had Darwin neutered at 5 months old and he still turned out a little bigger than what was predicted. And he's totally healthy. My preference was to have him neutered BEFORE the  humping became a habit. :-)

[Elizabeth & Cosmo]

For a dog intended to be a pet, I think neutering is very important. Cosmo's breeder does early neutering, so he was neutered before he came home with us.So I think it is definitely not too soon for Bentley.

Cosmo is an incredibly mellow, laid-back dog; and he exhibits none of the less-desirable male behaviors (for example, he hugs with his forelegs, but he _does not_ move his pelvis). My husband is a little concerned that Cosmo sometimes pees "like a girl," but he lifts his leg most of the time. (That's Cosmo lifting his leg, not my husband! *^_^*)

Cosmo is, in short, the perfect companion. This is mostly due to his breeder's extreme care in breeding for temperament and health, but I think the early neutering helped a great deal, too.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

Adina sums it up perfectly! Breeding has its own complications (health wise and contract wise) and if I had a male dog I would want him to get fixed before humping became an issue. There are too many unwanted animals out there, dont let YOUR dog add to it. Imagine if he humps some random bitch thats not fixed and they come after you wanting you to pay for half the medical bills - yes its their problem, but its yours too

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Adina said it all as far as I am concerned. We had Vern neutered at 6 months and he is now almost 100 pounds. He missed the memo about the stunting your growth part....LOL!! Good luck!