To neuter or not to neuter

[Nikki & Charlie]

I`m on the fence with getting Charlie neutered. After reading up about it I have mixed feelings. He`s 7 months old now and he`s on the Ontario SPCA waiting list which will be 2-3 months before he gets his appointment -- as a side note, for those of you living in Ontario, the ontario SPCA charges between $80-$110 for male dogs depending their weight and this includes the medicine needed. 

Anyways, what I want to know is if your dogs are all neutered? From my understanding the main reason behind doing the procedure is for population control which I completely understand, BUT Charlie will never be in the presence of a female dog long enough for them to mate, our backyard is closed off and no other dogs have access to it, and there are no un-fixed female dogs on our street. So, aside from population control, what are the medical reasons behind getting this procedure done?

He hardly humps anything. His behaviour is fine and I have read that that getting a dog neutered does not really change their behaviour anyways, so what is the reason for doing it? What I have read is that getting it done may prevent testicular cancer and prostate cancer, but doing the procedure could cause many things... here are the links I've read by Dr. Karen Becker

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/17...

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/09/30...

So I would love to hear your thoughts on this. 

[Patti Golden]

I had Boone neutered at 8 months.  I was going to do it earlier but one of my best friend's husband is a small animal orthopedic surgeon.  He says the longer you can wait it is better for the hips.  He even suggesting waiting 18 months.  I didn't want to do that so compromised and neutered at 8 months.  He wasn't humping or showing any signs of "maleness" but I just felt it was good pet ownership and responsibility to neuter him.  I didn't have any plans on breeding him and only wanted him as a pet.  I didn't want him to develop any "male tendencies" and that's why I neutered when I did.  Just my thoughts.  Good luck with Charlie!

[Nikki & Charlie]

Thanks for the reply! I think I will neuter him. He will be around 9 or 10 months by the time he will get his appointment so I think that is a decent age to get it done.

[Lisa Koch]

I would check the contract you signed with the breeder. Ours says we have to get the puppy spayed or neutered by 12 months. I really don't know how they can enforce this but I really wouldn't want to be sued because of breach of contract or have them try and take puppy back. Plus I honestly feel like it is the responsible thing to do as a pet owner. What if your dog was to get lost and come into contact with another female dog. It's really just a safe guard.

[Nikki & Charlie]

That's actually a really great point. I completely forgot about the contract an dnow that I think about it, I think it did mention I needed to get it done. Regardless of the contract I think you're right, it's the safer and more responsible thing to do. I was just freaked out about the complications that apparently come with having it done when they're too young but Charlie will be around 9 or 10 months so I think that's a decent age for it to happen. Thanks for your reply!

[Deb's Yarrow and Schatzi]

Interesting article. My daughter has an English mastiff who was neutered at 5 months and, by the time he was two years old, had over $10,000 in orthopaedic surgeries with no known injuries. (Luckily she had just won the early bird prize in a children's hospital lottery) All the months in recuperation has made him extremely timid.
In the past, before the Internet and all the research and articles available, I always let my pets grow to maturity (2 years or more) before spaying. I felt so guilty having Yarrow spayed when she was just shy of 6 months. Obviously, the jury is still out on the merits and risks of early sterilization. I'd say go with your instinct. The heart generally knows best, IMHO.

[Nikki & Charlie]

Wow!!! That's terrible. So expensive. That's my biggest worry with getting it done, is him having complications later down the road. I'm going to think about it but I think I am going to end up getting it done seeing as it apparently protects against certain cancers. I didn't realize this was such a tough decision!

[Tracey & Spike]

I'm in Ontario too. Totally didn't know about the SPCA doing it. I will look into it as well. I've been quoted at over $500 for my 30 lb Spike.
As far as getting him fixed. He's 10 months now. We are going to have him done but we are still going to be waiting until sometime early next year. Like you we were on the fence about having him done.
I too did research and we are going to have him done not only because it eliminates the male cancers but also because he will be welcome anywhere we go. Our vet offers doggie daycare services but if your dog isn't fixed and there is a unfixed puppy female there they will isolate the older one in favour of the too young to fix pup. Same goes for an older female and an about to mature male.
Plus if we go to someone's house who has dogs we don't have to worry that there could be mischief. Plus it will lower our city licensing fee.

[Nikki & Charlie]

Wow $500! That's ridiculous. Absolutely look into the SPCA. They only have certain locations... I am going to do it at St. Catherines because that's the closest to me but it's definitely worth the drive. That's another great point too. Some places don't accept un-fixed dogs.. and I definitely do not want to run into that problem. Thanks for your reply.

[Minga & Malu & Costa]

Actually, I would say the best reason to get your dog neutered is for health reasons. The incidence of testicular cancer is quite high in intact dogs. There really is no reason to keep them intact if you're not going to breed them. Testosterone is responsible for sealing the growth plates in the bones, so for larger dogs this is why it is recommended to neuter them a bit older, to limit their growth (as they will continue to grow a bit taller if neutered for a period of time). This is really more important in very marge dogs, i.e., Akitas, Great Danes, etc etc. 

FYI - dogs will either express "male" tendencies or they won't and this has very little to do with whether they are neutered or not. Malu was neutered by the breeder at 7 weeks and he fully enjoys humping any dog he wants to dominate. As well as small children, lol. I obviously do not encourage this. the point is, if your dog already shows these signs, neutering them won't stop it, nor will it prevent it. 

It also has nothing to do with whether a male dog hikes his leg to pee or not. Contrary to popular human male belief. 

[Nikki & Charlie]

Thank you for your reply! You're right, I did not realize that having the operation done helps with cancer in dogs so that reason alone makes me want to do it. He'll be around 9 or 10 months when he has it so hopefully that's old enough to not cause any problems.

[Kaitee and Orwell]

I am also on the fence about when to neuter Orwell. I do want to get it done eventually because one of his testicles took more time than the other to descend and the vet was worried about it. I want to reduce the risk of him getting cancer later in life, while still keeping his bones in mind.

My boyfriend's family also had a Mastiff that was neutered at 4 months in a shelter and he had problems his whole life (orthopedically). Orwell is going to be a rather tall dog and I'm concerned that the vet is perhaps ignorant that different dogs take longer or are quicker to mature. She said that they were pretty much full size at 8 months, but I don't think Orwell is going to fill out until about a year. He may be as tall as he's going to be by then, but he has a super fast metabolism. 

Any thoughts?

[Nikki & Charlie]

Is it in Orwell's contract? Another person replied and mentioned that to me, and now that I think about it, it is in Charlie's contract. Also, the surgey helps with testicular cancer in dogs, which is another great reason to do it. I definitely think waiting until he is a year old is the best thing to do! Overall, I would say get the surgery done. Read some other replies on this thread, it may help you make your decision. Goodluck!