Vet suggested puppy neutering 5-6 months?

There are also some breeders who write into their contract that the dog must be spayed/neutered by a certain age. I would think that most breeders would listen to any arguments to prolong that time period, but I just wanted to caution everyone to pay close attention to the fine print and talk to your breeder if you have any concerns or if your plans differ from what you see in writing.
 
i would say if you want to performance sports (agility, flyball, etc...) with him, wait until he's a year old to neuter.

neutering young affects growth plates, growth plates affect health in sports. therefore if you want to do sports, wait until he's a year.

if you just want an around-the-house companion, it might be okay to neuter younger. i can't offer much input here. my dog is training for agility, so he's not getting fixed before 12 months.

spaying a female is a different procedure than neutering a male, so different concerns apply to each.
 
corbinam said:
There are also some breeders who write into their contract that the dog must be spayed/neutered by a certain age. I would think that most breeders would listen to any arguments to prolong that time period, but I just wanted to caution everyone to pay close attention to the fine print and talk to your breeder if you have any concerns or if your plans differ from what you see in writing.
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I just read our breeder contract and it simply states to spay/neuter at an "appropriate age". I also emailed them asking for their input since they have been helpful with everything else :smile2:.
 
Mine had to be spayed/neutered by seven months, or they would be considered a show dog and I would have had to pay much more money for them. Liam I didn't get until almost 10 months, so he was not neutered until after that. Emma, due to medicine issues, was almost seven months, but the breeder was aware of the issues and was fine with when it happened.
 
Emmasmom said:
Mine had to be spayed/neutered by seven months, or they would be considered a show dog and I would have had to pay much more money for them. Liam I didn't get until almost 10 months, so he was not neutered until after that. Emma, due to medicine issues, was almost seven months, but the breeder was aware of the issues and was fine with when it happened.
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Our breeder recommended around 7 months so I guess will aim for that..
 
There is a link I found on spaying/neutering thats pretty eye-opening and relatively recent as well.

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

Our dog is mainly a companion, and not going for show or agility, at least by me....
However he's just had a development spurt the past week or so. Finally started being more assertive with other dogs at the park, and willing to stand up for himself even to somewhat larger dogs than before when he was more avoidant.
Also learned humping at the dog park, and has been doing that quite a bit more, though he oftentimes does it from the side, which I assume is more dominance in practice. Seems to love the ladies, though the past couple of days he's been put in his place by several older females, so I'm waiting to see how he is at the dog park today.
Also just saw him lift his leg to pee the other day. Though he's still not got it quite right, as yesterday he was walking and went near a tree. Only missed it because he was 2' in front of the tree, but we're sure he'll figure it out.

I'm a bit torn on what to do though. While I know the easy out would be to get him neutered now, and -might- reduce some assertiveness thats popping out now, I also think its not the right thing too do as there seem to be so many physical growth related issues from the article, not too mention as yet undiscovered mental ones.

I'm going to try and hold off for 2 more months until he is 9 months. Not sure from the article, but its not clear if there is any distinction between larger/giant breeds and smaller. Though the Goldens mentioned are considered Medium, while Shelties are Small-Medium which often times mature faster, yes?
So hopefully 9 months vs 6 months will mean a significantly greater amount of maturity can occur, which seems fairer to him by far.
 
Our current Shelties were "fixed" at 6 months, as was our previous Sheltie. They are family pets and not in any training for agility. Our first dog was a Spitz and he was "fixed" by 8 months. The Shelties are more docile ... but the Spitz was a bit more dominant ...and we used to laugh at him every night as he humped a plush doggie and raced around the house after coming in from his late evening pee!
 
if you think about it... neutering is not very common in Europe and dogs there allowed into restaurants, buses and trains, how those people and dogs survive????:eek2::yes:
As usual US making big deal out of nothing. Medically I would wait til dog is mature enough and no earlier than 12 months old, and does not matter whether you planning on sports or no sports. It will help with proper bone development which means that doggie will have a better adult life and less arthritis problems which will save you a year or two on vet visits:yes:
 
To me because I didn't want any marking issues I had alfie neutered at 6months. Now that I think of it I would definitely not do the same with my next dog.

His coat is not as full as his brother from the same litter. Not sure if he might have stayed in size if I neutered him later. Hes 16 1/2" tall. And I'm pretty sure his temper would've stayed the same even if Neutering did not take place.

I would wait til 12 months or so.
 
SheltieChe said:
if you think about it... neutering is not very common in Europe and dogs there allowed into restaurants, buses and trains, how those people and dogs survive????:eek2::yes:
As usual US making big deal out of nothing. Medically I would wait til dog is mature enough and no earlier than 12 months old, and does not matter whether you planning on sports or no sports. It will help with proper bone development which means that doggie will have a better adult life and less arthritis problems which will save you a year or two on vet visits:yes:
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I have never looked into European standards on animal and pet care, but I would venture to say its not nearly the same standards we in US have.
 
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