To neuter or not to neuter?

M

Mewshep

Forums Novice
Hello everyone

I'm new here so hello! I have a beautiful 7 month old blue Merle boy named Django. At the moment he is not displaying any unwanted behaviour & is incredibly calm and mature for his age. I have been told that this will change unless I have him neutered. However, the breeder I got him from said not to neuter him until he was 18 months as it would change his coat condition. I love the Sheltie coat and don't want to affect it but we are not showing him (he has a hernia). I wondered if forum members have experience of neutering early/ late.
 
I can already tell you there will probably be a lot of varying opinion on this.

In my experience, neutering (and neutering in puppyhood) has been the way to go. My first dog was a yorkie, and I was unsure whether to neuter him or not. By the time I decided, he was almost two years old, and by that point he had started marking his territory frequently, as well as exhibiting some common male dominance behavior that occurs when male dogs aren't neutered. Neutering him at that point did not do a whole lot of good, he marked and humped and had some territorial issues for the rest of his life.

The next dog I had was a pomeranian, and I neutered him by the time he was a year old (he was probably around 11 mths when I neutered him). He not only had a full and quite glorious pomeranian coat, but did not mark or have any other negative behavior issues.

My current sheltie, also a boy, was neutered at six months. I just didn't want to take any chances because his behavior and temperament were so, so good. And he has maintained that. He doesn't yet have a full coat, part due to age and part due to his genetics, his mom and dad were not particularly fluffy. He will have a more silky and less fluffy coat.

You'll get a lot of opinions on this, and I'm no expert, so it will be interesting to read.
 
Neutering at around 6 months of age helps prevent prostate cancer. If he is not to be bred, I would neuter him.
 
Bradt9881 said:
Neutering at around 6 months of age helps prevent prostate cancer. If he is not to be bred, I would neuter him.
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I believe that "they" are now finding that it's just the opposite; that neutered dogs are at a higher risk for prostate cancer, although, overall, the risk for all dogs isn't that great. On the other hand, benign, non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate supposedly occurs only in intact dogs.

My take on the whole issue is that you should leave Mother Nature to herself wherever possible. One needn't be an expert of any kind to understand that removing part of a delicately-balanced system is bound to interfere with the system as a whole.
 
I had Laddie neutered at 6 months, it has not phased him a bit, and his coat is as lovely as his brother's, the one the breeder owns and shows, who is not neutered. The breeder actually stipulated in the contract that I had to sign that I had to have him neutered at a certain time, so, I did; I would have anyway however.
 
I'm a strong advocate of delayed neutering. If you look through the threads, you will find many that detail the pros and cons, and many posters have provided excellent studies to back up their arguments (both for and against). Ultimately, it came down to the research for me. I'm a researcher by nature (it's also part of my profession), and, for me, the research clearly indicated that neutering (especially before 18 months) would result in far more risk (physical and behavioural) than reward. I had the breeder's support and permission in making this decision. He is currently four years old, and I continue to be very happy with my choice.

Here's one article that recently came to my attention, but again, if you look back through the threads, I'm positive you can find actual studies.

http://speakingforspot.com/blog/201...ions-about-current-neutering-recommendations/
 
Sigh...I had reworked my reply above and put more thought into it...but it was past the 60 minute limit. So here's the quick summary:

Here's two threads that may interest you as you are making your decision. There are pros and cons no matter what you decide, but as long as you are acting in the best interests of your dog, the choice you make is the right one for you. I think between these threads you'll get the information you need to make an educated choice either way.

Best wishes!

http://www.sheltieforums.com/showthread.php?t=19665

http://www.sheltieforums.com/showthread.php?t=17932
 
We didn't get Wally fixed and he never tried to mate. One time he did and never tried it again. I guess it depends on the dog.
 
Bradt9881 said:
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/how-will-neutering-change-my-dog

Some more decent info....
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Generally anything the ASPCA has to say should be taken with a grain of salt.

I would listen to your breeder if nothing else it may void the guarantee for health if you have it done too soon as early spaying/neutering has come to light to cause a lot of problems in dogs. I have a video a vet did on a study of early spay/neuter. Its rather lengthy as its around 30 min long. But eye opening non the less..
 
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