Whats your view?

While at the vets today with Alfie we spoke to her about neutering and what her opinion was. Our previous vet was the one that told us about it and was very much for it but our new vet was on the fence. We have been told if we do want it done it should be done between 5-6 months. It would be great to see how he is when he grows as to size and looks as a friend of mine has already said she would love to mate him with her Blue but that's not why we got him.
So I just want to get other owners views.

Cheers
Iain

It's a topic that always raises debates and many times gets a little heated

Personally Tilly was done at about 18months old after her 2nd season, there are lots of reasons for doing it / not doing it but it is known to cause potential problems in growth if done early

i agree with dave ^

Yes the choice really is yours and you will find as many arguments for as to against.

For a male i would never neuter before he is fully mature, it cane effect growth and he may look lanky. Its up to you at the end of the day. As for your friend, just tell them you are not interested in breeding.

I'm not going to neuter Loki. After all the pros and cons were weighed out, I decided there's no point in getting him neutered at all. I have no female dog living with me and have no intention of breeding him, so no point in my opinion. But it's a personal decision.

I think that is too young for him to be neutered in my opinion. If you have your heart set on doing it I'd wait until 18-24 months and give him a chance to fully grow. Everyone has different opinions on "when is right" though to be fair.

I've decided that i won't be neutering Logan. I won't be breeding or showing either. But, I'm happy the way he is. Plus he is never off lead so he will never get his paws on a girlfriend

I don't have anything against neutering at the early stages of puberty, so long as you are aware that you'll need to wait longer before starting activities such as agility. I'm against neutering earlier than six months (later in some breeds) as it is simply unnecessary.

Loki was done at four months...three days after being found. It just seemed a bit silly to put such a baby through that. I don't really mind keeping puppy characteristics, but that's just me.

Myself, I'm always going to neuter any boys I have, simply because it's the only 100% sure way of keeping him from fathering a litter. I plan on waiting until he's roughly a year old as I'd like to take him to a few KC shows first, and also make sure he grows how nature intended.

i had rocky done when he was a year old just after i had him i was thinking of getting missy done after her first season or is it better to wait ? she is nearly 6 months

I do not believe in routine neutering whether for males or females, and only if they medically need it and even then i would wait as long as possible i.e over 2 years minimum

ella wrote:I do not believe in routine neutering whether for males or females, and only if they medically need it and even then i would wait as long as possible i.e over 2 years minimum

Same here.

I know that early neutering reduces the risk of certain cancers, but the incidence of these cancers is pretty low anyway. I've had 9 dogs, all except one were left entire. The one that was spayed was because of pyometra and she was about 4 years old. None of the others had any issues related to leaving them entire.

I'm not against neutering (although as I say, I won't get it done myself), but I would always advise waiting for full maturity (mental & physical) before I would consider it.

My decision with Rolo is this.. He will be neutered but.. I am leaving it till he is somewhere between 18 months and 2 years. I do not want to breed him, I do not want him getting cancer in that region. If he is done he is less appealing to some of the chav's that give him far to much attention, and that is a sad but true fact He is my work dog and my pet and I believe it is part of being a responsible owner, especially in this day and age with so many staff's in rescue. It's just what is right for him in our family, and you must do what you think is right for you and yours

So after chatting with the wife about it we have decided that Alfie can keep his nuts and be a real bloke. As said above he will not be aloud a girlfriend and nor will he be going out on the town and sowing his seed. Cheers for all your views they were very helpful.

Iain