When To Neuter?

[Guest cdoss002]

Hello!

 

1st time poster, but long time frequenter of these message boards here. I've had my puppy since he was a couple months old and he recently turned 1. This site helped me learn a ton about greyhounds so thank you all!

 

I'm wondering when I should neuter my pup. I've read that if you do it too soon you could stunt their growth or they won't fill out properly. Any truth to this? He's a little over 60lbs, quite tall, and a twig! What do you all suggest? Does he still have growing to do? Thanks for all the input!

 

Chris

[Guest cdoss002]

Some recent pics of the Eko

 

 

 

 

Edited December 24, 2015 by cdoss002

[a_daerr]

Oh he's adorable! He must be an AKC puppy with those light eyes. I had my Truman neutered at exactly one-year-old, and I don't have any regrets about it. A lot of AKC people will tell you 18 months or later, but at the time, we were doing lots of advanced training. For us, I wanted him neutered ASAP for behavioral reasons. IMHO, there is some truth in that, but after a year, it comes down to your personal preference. FYI, greyhound puppies take a long time to fully grow and fill out. They don't start looking like "real dogs" until 2 or so.

[Guest k9soul]

A lot of what I read suggests around 2 years is good, but as mentioned above it's generally a personal preference thing. I've read it tends to matter more in females and that they should be allowed to have their first heat before spaying to reduce cancer risks.

[Guest KennelMom]

I probably wouldn't neuter unless there was a medical reason to do so or you have an agreement with the breeder or there is any chance he might have access to an intact female. If you do neuter, Any time after a year is probably sufficient. If it were my pet and I were neutering, I'd wait until after 2.

[philospher77]

This is a really difficult question. Apparently, more and more research is showing that there are health risks associated with neutering/spaying pets. What everyone seems to agree on is that the incidence of osteosarcoma is less in intact dogs, and highest in dogs altered before a year old. The links below summarize some of the current research and their findings. I would be talking to your vet about this, and see what they think. If you are doing this just for population control,it is possible to do vasectomies in dogs, which leaves them the benefit of the sex hormones without the risk of reproducing. Of course, you would have to decide if you are willing to deal with the behavior of an essentially intact male. I will say that I am currently very happy that I will not be getting another dog for many years, when there will hopefully be more consensus on when, or IF, a dog should be altered.

 

https://www.avma.org/news/javmanews/pages/131101a.aspx

 

http://www.2ndchance.info/cruciatelongtermneuter.htm

 

This is from Patricia McConnell's blog, and explores the situation in great detail, especially if you read all 173 comments.

 

http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/the-plot-thickens-spay-neuter-effects-the-health-of-our-dogs

[cleptogrey]

wait as long as you can for bone development. the trainer that i was working with and I were really gung ho on waiting.....then along with adolescence came horniness and brain loss. felix was neutered at 9 months. we both agreed that it wasn't worth the wait, he was a good size but they aren't anywhere near mature until 2-3 years of age. hang in as long as you can, you will know when it's essential. but i have had dogs who were fine with out neutering, it's the temperament of each dog and what you and your breeder or rescue group have decided upon. he is AKC, right?

[gazehund]

I have two intact NGA males and a spayed NGA female. My males are clean in the house and well mannered when they are out and about. Peaceful coexistence. For years. So I guess it is up to you whether or not to neuter at all and if so, when.

[Guest cdoss002]

Thank you for all the responses. I am going to wait until he's at least 2. Yes, he is AKC and has a great temperament. He was tough to train in the beginning, but has learned mannerisms and is slowly becoming a very obedient dog.

 

I honestly am even considering not neutering him because he has a great personality and gets along great with other dogs since he was raised with a whippet mix of mine. People are saying that I should though because he will get more aggressive and be prone to cancer much more. Any truth to this?

[Guest cdoss002]

More pictures

 

 

 

Edited December 25, 2015 by cdoss002

[a_daerr]

I doubt there is, but it's a PITA to take an unneutered dog anywhere that neutered dogs are mingling around. We go to a lot of greyhound events and meet-ups. In the past, we did dog parks and obedience classes. Every once in awhile, there's a male who isn't fixed (could be a perfectly nice and well-behaved dog), but something puts off bad vibes to the others. Almost always results in snarkiness. And the people! Until Truman was a year, I dodged so many people asking, 'Why don't you get your dog neutered for X, Y, and Z reason?' It was very annoying.

[gazehund]

Thank you for all the responses. I am going to wait until he's at least 2. Yes, he is AKC and has a great temperament. He was tough to train in the beginning, but has learned mannerisms and is slowly becoming a very obedient dog.

I honestly am even considering not neutering him because he has a great personality and gets along great with other dogs since he was raised with a whippet mix of mine. People are saying that I should though because he will get more aggressive and be prone to cancer much more. Any truth to this?

Lots of debate on the cancer yay or nay. In my experience no truth at all to the aggression question. I travel a lot with my dogs. We meet lots of other people and dogs. Do I let my dogs run with dogs they don't know? Ummm, no. Your dog, your decision.

[philospher77]

Lots of debate on the cancer yay or nay. In my experience no truth at all to the aggression question. I travel a lot with my dogs. We meet lots of other people and dogs. Do I let my dogs run with dogs they don't know? Ummm, no. Your dog, your decision.

 

From what I read, it seems like neutering/spaying helps some cancers and makes others worse. Which is where knowing breed and bloodline tendencies would be helpful.

[GeorgeofNE]

There is no rational reason to leave a dog intact unless you plan on showing him with the ultimate goal of breeding him. If he is your pet, get him neutered when you want to. The only dog I got as a puppy I had neutered at 4 mo. because he was half pit bull and I lived in the city and I didn't want him to ever get that rush of hormones.

 

Having said that, I grew up in a houseful of AKC dogs (English Setters) and a father who didn't believe in neutering. It was honestly never an issue with our dogs. We did have one who went on a few walkabouts, and I imagine in that neighborhood their might have been a few puppies (this was in the 60s--spaying and neutering wasn't done as a matter of course like it is now) that looked like him!

 

Our dogs were never aggressive or even horny. One of them was a show dog who was also used to hunt pheasant and quail.

[Banjoman]

Out of four male whippets that I have owned only one was neutered and he put on weight around his middle and was always after food. It was really difficult to keep his svelte figure. The neutering seemed to make him dog aggressive, maybe because he felt more vulnerable than before?

 

I have had up to four entire dogs at a time and they were all OK together.

 

As I would rather not have my dogs have any operation under anaesthetic unless it was absolutely necessary I wouldn't bother with neutering as long as you are very careful to keep him safely under lock and key at home so that he cannot escape if he is aware of an in season bitch in your locality!

[NeylasMom]

What Kennelmom said.

 

Thank you for all the responses. I am going to wait until he's at least 2. Yes, he is AKC and has a great temperament. He was tough to train in the beginning, but has learned mannerisms and is slowly becoming a very obedient dog.

 

I honestly am even considering not neutering him because he has a great personality and gets along great with other dogs since he was raised with a whippet mix of mine. People are saying that I should though because he will get more aggressive and be prone to cancer much more. Any truth to this?

Newer studies are showing there may be an INCREASED risk of bone and other cancers in dogs neutered at a younger age. The study that showed a decrease in cancer risk was related to BC. Given the breed tendencies I would be much more concerned about the risk of osteo if anything.

 

As for behavior issues, there is no evidence of a link between aggression and neutering. The only scientific support for behavior change due to neutering is a reduction in roaming and to a lesser degree mounting and marking.

[burnttoast]

Came here to ask this question. Our boy is almost 9 months, and almost 60 pounds. Vet recommended waiting until 18 months to 2 years, but we are seeing some issues and wondering if it would be better to do it sooner? As someone else said, other neutered male dogs sometimes get more aggressive, we've noticed. He was bitten by another male dog at the park a few weeks ago requiring stitches. We have an almost 3 year old female (spayed), and in the last month or so he often tries to mount her, usually when he's wound up. She's pretty tolerant but has growled and snapped at him when she's had enough and he backs off. He is also very high energy, and is a lot to keep up with. While he's not neutered he can't go to day care, which is pretty disappointing. We have a wonderful day care that our female loves, and I really wish he could go. So we are contemplating perhaps having him neutered around a year. I have been reading about the more recent research on this issue, and I am not seeing a lot that makes me think waiting beyond a year is really going to be risky as far as preventing future cancer and other issues. Someone suggested taking him in for an x-ray to see about the status of the growth plates. Don't know if that's possible. Would appreciate any thoughts or experiences on this.

[macoduck]

I defer to what the others posted regarding neutering.
Is your boy a greyhound?
What breed was the dog that bit him at the dog park? The general rule is for greyhounds to avoid dog parks. Given your boy is high energy he may injure a little fluffy dog. If it was a greyhound-only group at the park, all need to be wearing muzzles.
You may need to muzzle both your male and female before she's had enough of his rowdiness and nips him.

[greysmom]

There are valid reasons for and against, but, IMO, safety for all household members trumps all those.

If you're already having difficulties with him behavior-wise, I'd say you should go ahead and have it done.  Yes, there are risks.  But there are also millions and millions of dogs alive and completely healthy today who were neutered at 6 months old.

There's no reason - other than affordability - to not take him in for a quick xray of the growth plates on the ends of his long leg bones to see what their status is.  Your vet should be able to easily tell you  If they can't, find a new vet.  If they won't, find a new vet.  No matter how his growth plates are doing and when you end up neutering him, he *will* continue to grow into his adult body until he's closer to three years old (and possibly longer).

Whatever you decide to do about the surgery, he needs some serious training to help both of you communicate and for him to be a safe and productive member of the larger society.  Find a good positive-reinforcement only training class - preferrably with a trainer familiar with greyhounds.  Look up Nothing In Life Is Free (NILIF) training on the internet and/or Youtube for other ideas and how to begin.  Again, positive-reinforcement only.  

Good luck, whatever you decide to do.

[burnttoast]

Thank you. Yes, we have him in training, and are working with him. Yes, positive reinforcement only. But he take a LOT of attention to redirect and keep him from chewing, jumping, and other enthusiastic puppy behaviors!

[greysmom]

That's not unusual for a male greyhound puppy.   Or a female one, for that matter!! 

On a breeding farm, at this stage in his development, he would be housed in a looking outdoor kennel run with his other littermate brothers, spending his days running and playing 24/7.  Give your boy plenty of time for exercising, and use up other energy with learning.  He's a big knowledge sponge at this point just ready to soak up very thing you can throw at him.  Socialization is a BIG deal for him as well.  He needs exposure to as many different dogs and people and outdoor spaces and indoor spaces and anything else you can think of to help him learn to be courageous and adaptable. 

You can search here for various threads about how to tire out a puppy.  A friend has even introduced her puppies to swimming and dock diving competitions.  Her boy LOVES it, and has already earned a dock diving title.

[racindog]

On 12/24/2015 at 8:42 PM, Guest cdoss002 said:

Thank you for all the responses. I am going to wait until he's at least 2. Yes, he is AKC and has a great temperament. He was tough to train in the beginning, but has learned mannerisms and is slowly becoming a very obedient dog.

 

I honestly am even considering not neutering him because he has a great personality and gets along great with other dogs since he was raised with a whippet mix of mine. People are saying that I should though because he will get more aggressive and be prone to cancer much more. Any truth to this?

NO! The exact opposite is true. In the "old days" it was the rage to believe that neutering a dog fixed or prevented various behavior problems. However actual legit research and studies have now been done to show just the opposite! It actually makes various issues worse and can even cause unwanted behaviors.  Here is one of the study results from Psychology Today. There are others that draw the same conclusions if you want to bother looking them up.  Even medically it is a fact that dogs need those hormones to grow and develop properly. Take them away by neutering and studies have found that orthopedic problems logically arise. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/canine-corner/201805/neutering-causes-behavior-problems-in-male-dogs