Does neutering early affect size?

k9kreationz said:
LOL. How old is Trapp now? Maybe I should've waited until Koji lifted his leg, cuz even though he see's Miko doing it, it's one thing he didn't pick up.
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He will be 7 months old on the 26th~

I don't really know if there is any connection to waiting to neuter versus when they lift thier leg to pee. I think it really depends on the dog.Trapp sees Earnhardt do it,so he decided to try it. Whereas Earnhardt had no one to show him,so it took him longer.

I know Earnhardt still squatted after he was neutered,and he was very close to being a year old.
I do know it was a big deal when he did it for the first time(for Brian).Even though he did it for Brian,it was not something that he did everytime he peed.

At the time,we were walking Earnhardt all the time to potty,as it was at rental house.We did not have fenced yard.
 
mbfrench said:
He will be 7 months old on the 26th~

I don't really know if there is any connection to waiting to neuter versus when they lift thier leg to pee. I think it really depends on the dog.Trapp sees Earnhardt do it,so he decided to try it. Whereas Earnhardt had no one to show him,so it took him longer.

I know Earnhardt still squatted after he was neutered,and he was very close to being a year old.
I do know it was a big deal when he did it for the first time(for Brian).Even though he did it for Brian,it was not something that he did everytime he peed.

At the time,we were walking Earnhardt all the time to potty,as it was at rental house.We did not have fenced yard.
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pretty sure that leg-lifting has nothing to do with being neutered or not - or when the neutering occurred. I'm pretty sure that Danny did it before being neutered. Happy was neutered when I got him and he has always done it. and Cranberry has been doing it for over a month. I think it might be a good role model factor- I know that there were adult males around for Cranberry to look up to before he came home so maybe that's why he's already doing it. I think there was some thread in Jan that mentioned leg lifting which is why I was surprised that he had already mastered that skill- I guess that I wasn't expecting it for a while :wink2:
 
Calliesmom said:
pretty sure that leg-lifting has nothing to do with being neutered or not - or when the neutering occurred. I'm pretty sure that Danny did it before being neutered. Happy was neutered when I got him and he has always done it. and Cranberry has been doing it for over a month. I think it might be a good role model factor- I know that there were adult males around for Cranberry to look up to before he came home so maybe that's why he's already doing it. I think there was some thread in Jan that mentioned leg lifting which is why I was surprised that he had already mastered that skill- I guess that I wasn't expecting it for a while :wink2:
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That's what I'm thinking.
Got to hand it to the big brothers of the house,to show all the habits~

Heck last night we had popcorn,it was Trapp's second time getting a nibble of the snack,but if ya'll could have seen the lineup of pups in front of us,you would have thought Jasper had been eating popcorn all his life.

Every now and then he would look at Trapp,Trapp would look at Earnhardt.
 
mbfrench said:
That's what I'm thinking.
Got to hand it to the big brothers of the house,to show all the habits~

Heck last night we had popcorn,it was Trapp's second time getting a nibble of the snack,but if ya'll could have seen the lineup of pups in front of us,you would have thought Jasper had been eating popcorn all his life.

Every now and then he would look at Trapp,Trapp would look at Earnhardt.
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that must have been hilarious- need some pix :yes:
 
The age old question when is the best time to neuter? I prefer not to neuter or spay any dog before 6 months. However, the biggest difference/problems appears to be with early spaying/neutering(6-14 wks). For the average pet dog anytime after 6 months is fine and before the first heat cycle in girls. If spaying is done before the first cycle, you get maximum protection from mammary cancer. After 6 months,the dogs start developing hormone related behaviors such as increased marking,increased humping, increased aggression with other dogs/people,increased roaming etc that people find problematic. These behaviors are driven by the hormones but can become habits that are independent of them so neutering alone at a later time will be less effective in elimating them. I have alot of clients, who want to neuter earlier because of behavior issues and that's fine.

For dogs that are doing preformance sports, some findings suggest letting them mature will decrease the risk of cruciate injuries. Surgery after 12-14months would be most benefical.

To make the decision,
1. look at your ability/want to deal with sexually driven behaviors some of which may not go away after neutering
2. your ability to manage a heat cycle with the girls(mess and protection from accidental breeding)
3. your ability to manage your male dog to prevent unwanted litters
4. your willingness to accept higher risk of mammary cancer in the girls
5.Look at what your dogs life style(active or not) will be.

And leg lifting, I think that having another male to show them is a big part of it. Justice didn't have any male role models. But, I've had 2 females that lifted their legs, Jo the Lab and Jazz the JRT/Beagle mix. I caught Ember lift her leg once on a post. So I think pack rank and confidence also play a role.
 
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ClantyreSheltie said:
... and bone cancer, and adverse vaccine reactions, and hemangiosarcoma, and fear issues, and ...

http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html

The author of the above article is currently doing a very comprehensive study, and has found some interesting correlations. I can't wait for her to publish her findings.
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I wish I knew about this before I neutered Koji. Now I'm worried what agility will do to his body long term. At least his body is finally filling out (chest).

As for the leg lifting, I was just kidding, I don't think it has to do with hormones. I just wonder why Koji never did it especially because Miko does. Very weird.

I think if I want to do agility with my next dog, I'm definitely letting them grow first. Although, I have no idea if I can handle the humping and marking, etc.
 
we have a plan to try and hold off until Che is 14 month or as long as we see it feasible.
There was a period in medical thought that after female hit her post menopause period they should just go and automatically do hysterectomy, but that though did not last long, there were more changes and challenges created by it than proved useful... hmm, now that I think about it nobody suggested taking care of male anatomical parts in similar fashion....
 
SheltieChe said:
we have a plan to try and hold off until Che is 14 month or as long as we see it feasible.
There was a period in medical thought that after female hit her post menopause period they should just go and automatically do hysterectomy, but that though did not last long, there were more changes and challenges created by it than proved useful... hmm, now that I think about it nobody suggested taking care of male anatomical parts in similar fashion....
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That's probably because most doctor's at that time were male! :wink2:
 
I wish I had come across this thread earlier. Alfie was neutered at 6months, I wonder if he would've stayed in size today if I had waited a bit longer...I always thought neutering earlier would make them stop growing... lol

I think if you neuter them before they lift their legs, they wont be lifting after. Alfie lives with his maltese brother who was neutered at 1yr old and lifts his legs still after surgery. Alfie sees it but he doesn't copy him :/
 
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