# Question about neutering male pup



## Guest (Apr 19, 2010)

My male Golden pup will turn 6 months of age on the 28th of April.

I have scheduled his neuter surgery for the second week of May.

My question is: Is there a valid reason NOT to neuter at 6 months? If there is, what is the appropriate age to neuter a male?

The breeder has stated that she wants me to wait. She claims that holding off on neutering at 6 months prevents cancer and some other diseases from developing. She also claims that the only reason to neuter at 6 months is when the dog is having behavior problems.

I want my Golden pup to be able to participate in daycare and training programs. These programs require dogs to be spayed/neutered at 6 months of age.

My Vet also says that 6 months is the right age to neuter the pup. I don't want to wait. Dogs become sexually mature at 6 months. My other 2 dogs are "fixed". 

Thanks in advance for any input you might have.


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## ruckusluvr (Oct 28, 2009)

i have heard that it is not ideal to neuter a large breed dog until he is about 1 yr old. I dont really remember why.... i think it has to do with bone and muscle growth.
and then of course some people do not neuter their working or agility dogs because they supposedly have more drive and work better intact. i have no idea how true this is though.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

I'm not sure about Goldens but I know with Great Danes, it's good to wait until about 18 months or so because the male dog needs the testosterone to build the strong masculine features of a male dog such as a big head and strong muscles.

I had a male Golden that I adopted when he was 1 1/2 years and still intact. He also had a big head and strong muscles. I neutered him immediately.


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## StdPoo Dad (Jun 7, 2009)

Pretty much for *any* dog it's good to wait, let their muscles grow. Otherwise, you stop the flow of testosterone and other needed hormones, basically you get an adult dog with the forever body of an adolescent. Growth plates don't close ,other issues as well. I read a very good article on it, I'm looking for it. I"ll post it as soon as I find it.

I think that I neutered Seamus too early. In the picture of him, note the deep chest. Characteristic of a dog that's neutered too early.



RawFedDogs said:


> I'm not sure about Goldens but I know with Great Danes, it's good to wait until about 18 months or so because the male dog needs the testosterone to build the strong masculine features of a male dog such as a big head and strong muscles.
> 
> I had a male Golden that I adopted when he was 1 1/2 years and still intact. He also had a big head and strong muscles. I neutered him immediately.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Unless you want to deal with an unruly male adolescent I would neuter him sooner than later. There are behaviors that are learned that tend to be undesirable as a male dog gets older and older which neutering doesn't alway take care of. You also don't have to worry about him having sexual drive to get out to find a girl, which a lot of young males do get out and end up getting hurt or worse.

Its just fine to neuter him now. He will grow up to be a happy, healthy puppy with neutering him at 6 months. His muscles will develop just fine because testosterone is also secreted by the adrenal glands. He might just not be as beefy LOL 

The pros far outweigh the cons.

Oh, and the cancer thing is bogus :wink:


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## harrkim120 (Feb 2, 2010)

My Boston was neutered at about 8 weeks old due to an impacted testicle, and he's turned out just fine. He's more lean than a normal Boston is, but I think that's more the genetics from his mother than anything else as his mother is the same way.

I, personally, like the fact that he was fixed earlier. I never had to deal with any of the puberty issues, and he's always had a great attention span which is totally unlike a Boston. I attribute this partly to him being fixed so early. 

So I say do it!!! :biggrin:


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

harrkim120 said:


> I, personally, like the fact that he was fixed earlier. I never had to deal with any of the puberty issues, and he's always had a great attention span which is totally unlike a Boston. I attribute this partly to him being fixed so early.
> 
> So I say do it!!! :biggrin:


I never had to deal with puberty issues with either of my males that were neutered at 18 months. They are and were both beautiful masculine dogs. Not fat by any means but muscular stout bodies with large heads. They definately weren't girly dogs. :biggrin:


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I have seen plenty of male Danes that were neutered before 18 months and they don't look girly at all either. Our local Dane group has ~350 members plus all of the rescue danes that we come across :wink:

Neutering earlier doesn't have much of an effect at all on muscle tone. Maybe some, but not enough to make a difference on a pet dog that doesn't work for a living or show or trial :tongue:


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

Champ was neutered at 4 months (before he was ever mine) and definately did NOT grow up "girly" in the slightest.


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2010)

This comes from "Canine Neuter FAQ" from the Pet Health Library:

*At what Age can Neutering be Performed?

Neutering can be performed at any age over age 8 weeks provided both testicles have descended. Dogs neutered before puberty (generally age 6 months) tend to grow a bit bigger than dogs neutered after puberty (testosterone is involved in causing bones to stop growing, so without testosterone the bones stop growing later). The same behavior and prostate health benefits can be realized no matter what age the dog is. (In other words, a dog does not become "too old" to obtain the same health and behavioral benefits of neutering.)

The traditional age for neutering is around 6 months of age and many veterinarians still recommend neutering at this age.

*

This contradicts statements made by RFD above as well as StdPooDad.


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## spookychick13 (Jan 26, 2010)

I truly believe it doesn't matter when you neuter them.
I don't really like the super early neuters (2 months!) but I understand why shelters do them.

I did Jack at 6 months, Flip was already neutered when we got him, and he is definitely NOT girly in the least. He is as muscled as a greyhound.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Unfortunately there are a lot of myths about neutering/spaying dogs. The above message doesn't contradict what RFD said because he was referring to muscle development and growth and this is about bone growth. While both of these statements are correct, there is no real medical health reason to wait til after 6 months of age.


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

I just had these same debates over Khan with myself and my husband. Our Zeus (RIP) was neutered at 6 months, and at 4 1/2 yrs he died of bone cancer. Do I think that neutering early had anything to do with this? Honestly no; he had 2 TPLO surgeries when he was 2 & 3, so he obviously had some genetic issues, which I'm sure played a part in his problems. However, that did not stop a teeny tiny portion of me from going Hmmmm.
I also had the argument of large breed, and growth plates needing to develop, as well as larger head/chest argument from my husband.
So with Khan I had thought I would wait until he was closer to 9 months. Well at 7 1/2 months he went in. I started seeing behavior, albeit minor, that I was not willing to allow him "get use to" I know training is an ongoing process, and we continue to go to CGC classes, I just really did not want to have to deal with some of those. 
I know that even after the process is complete the testosterone doesn't instantly go away. 
He may not develop the biggest head/chest of other Bullies; but his health, well being, and behavior are much more important to me.
Besides, have you smelled the pee of an intact male...Blahhh :tongue:


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2010)

danemama08 said:


> Oh, and the cancer thing is bogus :wink:


Natalie, would you kindly point me in the direction of some articles on this because I really can't find any. Thank you.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

The reason you can't find any is because it's not an issue. Neutering male dogs early has no effect on cancer rates. Waiting to neuter later in life does open the door to prostate problems and testicular cancer.

Talk to your vet, contrary to popular belief they really do have a lot of knowledge.

I would look for articles but I'm at work and don't have too much free time today. Google Scholar is a great resource for well refereced and peer reviewed articles. Try the key word search "canine" "neuter" "cancer" and see what pops up.


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

CorgiPaws said:


> Champ was neutered at 4 months (before he was ever mine) and definately did NOT grow up "girly" in the slightest.


Same with Aspen. He was neutered at 4.5 months old and is definitely not *girly* looking. Big head, good muscle, big bones...


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

LabbieMama said:


> > *Dogs neutered before puberty (generally age 6 months) tend to grow a bit bigger than dogs neutered after puberty (testosterone is involved in causing bones to stop growing, so without testosterone the bones stop growing later).*
> 
> 
> This statement just makes no sense if you stop and think about it. Male dogs as well as male humans and most other species tend to be larger than females. I suggest they grow larger because of testosterone.
> ...


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## StdPoo Dad (Jun 7, 2009)

I think RFD hit it on the head.
Here are the articles I was looking for. 

Article:  Chris Zink on Early Neutering  ||  TIARA Standard Poodles



RawFedDogs said:


> LabbieMama said:
> 
> 
> > It may be true only BECAUSE vets recommend it. They tend to want to neuter early while they still have the client.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Great article. :smile: I was also wondering this exact question in concern to our future new puppy. I have always felt it's a bit better to wait a while longer before neutering a large breed puppy.

I'm gonna talk to our breeder and our vet. But, I would like to wait until he's a bit older than 6 months to have him neutered.


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## Guest (Apr 21, 2010)

StdPoo Dad said:


> I think RFD hit it on the head.
> Here are the articles I was looking for.
> 
> Article:* Chris Zink on Early Neutering* ||* TIARA Standard Poodles
> ...


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## spookychick13 (Jan 26, 2010)

I know a lot of people on here are vet haters, but sometimes they do know better than breeders.

I can tell you from personal experience that neutering a dog that learns bad habits (marking and humping) after he starts these kinds of behaviors doesn't always solve the problem.

Also bear in mind most people aren't responsible enough to make sure that their dog doesn't run around impregnating everything it can at that age.

6 months of age is more than fine to neuter your dog, but I've said it before and I'll say it again, do what YOU think is best.


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## Guest (Apr 21, 2010)

spookychick13 said:


> I've said it before and I'll say it again, do what YOU think is best.


That, I will do.

I'm keeping the neuter surgery appt.


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

Both of my male dogs were neutered at 6 months of age. My one female was 7 months because we got her at 5 months and she had a bladder infection when we got her my other female 6 months. They all turned out fine no complications and no problems at all. :smile:


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## Guest (May 10, 2010)

Just wanted to post a brief update - the neuter surgery went well. Joey spent the night at the vet hospital so they could keep an eye on him. (that was a long night for me, I really missed him!) He's doing great and seems to be on the way to total recovery. He wants to play and run and be a rough dog but I have to keep him quiet for a few more days.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

spookychick13 said:


> Also bear in mind most people aren't responsible enough to make sure that their dog doesn't run around impregnating everything it can at that age.


I think it's also important to note that there must be precautions out of the norm for a female in heat. For an intact male, "normal" responsible pet owner routines are simply not enough. 

I've seen male dogs tear through "sturdy" wood fencing to get to a female. I had a friend in san diego, who left screened windows open during the day for circulation for her dogs, and came home from work to find a dog she'd never even seen before tied with her female, and a window screen busted in. I've seen male dogs injure themself to get out of what is normally accepted as secure yards because they smell a female in heat. 

It is very possible to keep an in tact dog nd never contribute to unplanned pregnancies, and pet overpopulation, but it DOES take more than the usual precautions. I don't think twice about leaving Annie in my backyard if my husband and I go out to dinner for an hour or so. We have a secure brick wall fencing, and the side yard gate is nice and sturdy. If I had an in tact female (of fertile age, chesney doesn't count yet!) I wouldn't even consider doing this if she was anywhere near coming into heat. (silent heats go unnoticed by humans, but smell just as strong to an intact male! I guess my point is- it takes more than just being responsible. It takes serious supervision, and special accomodations, that some people just don't consider when leaving their dogs in tact.


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