Castration Advice

I'm trying to plan well in advance, so would like some input on when I should get my little Roger castrated. As I would like to take him to a few shows as a puppy (just for fun) I am thinking of waiting until he is at least a year old, and I would like this time to allow him to mature normally. I may even leave it to 18 months or two years, depending on circumstances.

However, I'm always hearing about how aggressive entire male staffies are with other dogs. I'm dubious about it, but is there any truth to this? His socialisation is going well, today he met five different breeds of dog and was very polite, and he'll meet lots of dogs next week when he starts formal training.

So, any advice?

Thanks

Please have a read of the link below, I hope you find it of use:

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t12763-long-term-health-risks-and-benefits-associated-with-spay-neuter-in-dogs?highlight=health+risk

we have a 3 year old rescue dog who has not been castrated yet. He is non agressive with our other dog and with others. We will be getting him done though in the next 3 weeks

It's very sad but another consideration is if anyone should ever want to steal your dog, probably more likely to be gone if he is intact.

Please dont shoot me, just something else to think about.

As Kylie's link points out this is a very well run over and sometimes very hot topic as many vets (including my own) like to neuter early and there are some benefits associated with it but also some downsides. Me personally will definitely be getting my boy done at around 2 years and not earlier . It is a well known and proven fact that early neutering in dogs will promote differences in growth and produce a more leggy dog.

The aggression issue is really down to the individual dogs and cannot be accounted to neutering or not , sorry but the stuff you are hearing is rubbish.

Kylie wrote:https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t15036-spaying-neutering-posts-on-the-forum

I am sorry that was a very abrupt post and my only excuse is it is very late here

I'm sorry I have no actual experience in this subject as I have never owned a male SBT and the only male dog I have ever owned was neutered before 1yr old due to a teste that never dropped..

You will get several different answers to this question!

First of all, you need to read as much as you can, both pro & con. By all means speak to your vet, but bear in mind that most vets, whilst telling you all the benefits of neutering, won't tell you the very real drawbacks.

I don't neuter my dogs at all, unless medically necessary, but if I were to, I would wait for full mental & physical maturity - so for Staffords, that, to me, would be around 2 years old (18 months absolute minimum). But I must stress, that this is my own view & others will come up with equally convincing arguments otherwise!

Early neutering can have some very bad drawbacks. A slightly nervous dog may well become fear aggresive as it will never mentally mature properly. You may also get incontinence and poor growth (the growth plates close at around 1 year old, and if you neuter before that the closure is delayed resulting in a narrower, leggier dog). Bone and prostate cancer are also higher risk in a neutered dog.

We had our first staffie done when he was about 3. He was fine up till then but he developed a fixation on my daugher and would do nothing but trap her under her duvet and try and hump her. We got him done and it all stopped.

Obi we're not sure about yet depends how he is when he's grown up.

There are many reason for and against. I'd read everything you can and see what is right for you and your boy.

It's a very personal choice.

Just my opinion. But i do not neuter my dogs unless they medically need it. My staff is nearly 2 and still entire and has no issue with other dogs males or females.

I do not believe in unnecessary surgery, there are many more health benefits to keeping them entire plus the fact they won't have to have an aesthetic.

If you do want to neuter, i would always recommend waiting until at the very least 18 months but older if possible

I got my boy done when he was 18 months old, only because he started showing signs of aggression. After he was done his mild aggression did not change. Three years after the op he is a lot better with other dogs. I'm not sure castration helps with aggression issues. I would always have male dogs castrated due to health issues but it is really up to you. Castrating your dogs will definitely help with him trying to chase bitches in heat. Entire dogs do stray looking to mate. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Castration fixing aggression Is a load of bull. The hormones may decrease in some dogs but at the end of the day an aggressive dog won't change it's mind because its nether regions have been snipped.

Thankyou all for the responses and links. Obviously, we'll be thinking about what to do over the coming couple of years, but it's certainly reassuring to have the opinions of experienced male staffy owners.

We had buster done just before his 3rd birthday xx

Rocky is from a rescue centre who have all dogs either neutered or spayed before they are rehomed. If they are very young you are given a voucher to produce at the vets to cover the cost of either op done there.