Starting to worry about when to neuter

[Mom of Tucker]

September is fast approaching, when my Tucker turns 7 months old. Since i brought him home in June, I just thought I would get him neutered when he was 7 months, as though it was far away. The main concern is that I don't want him trying to breed his sister (by adoption), but she is three months younger. Therefore she won't be going into heat for a while.

I've read that boys live longer if neutered later. Plus, I just hate the idea of my baby having surgery. What are your thoughts?

 

[nycbullymama]

September is fast approaching, when my Tucker turns 7 months old. Since i brought him home in June, I just thought I would get him neutered when he was 7 months, as though it was far away. The main concern is that I don't want him trying to breed his sister (by adoption), but she is three months younger. Therefore she won't be going into heat for a while.

I've read that boys live longer if neutered later. Plus, I just hate the idea of my baby having surgery. What are your thoughts?

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I don't believe they live longer. In fact, when I was looking into it, there's a ton of research being done to show the benefits of not neutering.
With that said, we did neuter.

It's really a personal decision. We made ours based on our circumstances and where we live. Had it been different, I would have chosen differently. But there really isn't a right or wrong answer.

Good luck and I'm sure you'll make the best decision for your family.

 

[Texas Carol]

What I've taken from my research on neuter/spay is that hormones
protect them from many diseases & conditions and early spay/neuter
(before puberty) can set up these conditions. I'm a proponent of waiting
until maturity. As Ellie says, each case is different as is a person's beliefs,
etc. The great thing is...you have time to decide

 

[harveyspecter]

Harvey was 1 when I decided to have him neutered. Prior to this he was humping his fluffy toy. His private must have rubbed against rough surface and cut himself. Every time he gets excited he bleeds. The vet suggested that I keep him calm to avoid the bleeding. Otherwise if the bleeding continues, he ran the risk of a prolapse urethra which cost a lot of money. The vet suggested the neutering option to keep him calm. So I obliged. Harvey was back to his old self the following day in the afternoon.

 

[Donnam]

I've had all my males neutered. The first one kept getting prostate infections when he had been around a lot of dogs at dog shows. The other one was older when we had him neutered. Those were boxers. My current male, Jack, was a rescue and he was already neutered when I got him. I happen to believe that male dogs are happier when they have been neutered, because they aren't always wanting to mate. That urge is very strong in dogs. --just my opinion

You still can wait for a while before Sophie comes into heat.

 

[TyTysmom]

It really is a hard decision - we hadn't neutered Tyson bc he had one in/one out, and the vet years back said if he wasn't posing any problems, just to leave him as is - just because the neuter would be alot more invasive with his situation. I wish that I still would have done it while he was younger, instead of listening to that vet - at that time. Flash forward to when he turned 8 - he started peeing blood - tests were ran, and he had an enlarged prostate - which then required a neuter because that would be the only way to get his prostate back down to normal size. It really just depends on the dog, some can go their whole life with no problems, and others not. Its never easy, especially with our breed. I will say this, if you decide to neuter - take care of any other surgeries at the same time. Like nares, palette, etc. He may not need any of that, but if they are going under - take advantage of doing multiple things at once (if needed).

 

[dolphin]

There are so many differing opinions on this subject, it's amazing. We never planned on breeding Buster so we had him clipped at one and had no issues.

 

[Mom of Tucker]

[MENTION=5315]Texas Carol[/MENTION], how do I determine maturity? I do think I will wait beyond September, just because I can. Also, I wonder at what age Sophie will go into heat?

I defintely agree that I don't want him to have the desire to breed because I don't want him to try running off. As he is now, we don't have a fenced yard at home, and he is very good about staying within my eyesight when we are outside. He already loves to smell where Sophie has peed, and it's funny because his tongue sticks out and his chin quivers. Lol

 

[Enjoimangos]

I had Boris neutered at 7 months and I wish I would of waited until he was fully matured. We haven't had any issues, but he pretty much stopped growing since the surgery. He was at 42 lbs at 7 months and he's currently just over 1 year old and only weighs 35 lbs. I got him neutered cause he was humping everything and he still humps everything...

 

[Texas Carol]

[MENTION=5315]Texas Carol[/MENTION], how do I determine maturity? I do think I will wait beyond September, just because I can. Also, I wonder at what age Sophie will go into heat?

I defintely agree that I don't want him to have the desire to breed because I don't want him to try running off. As he is now, we don't have a fenced yard at home, and he is very good about staying within my eyesight when we are outside. He already loves to smell where Sophie has peed, and it's funny because his tongue sticks out and his chin quivers. Lol

I'm still laughing over your description of Tucker, the scent hound, my oh my!

Ginger...Honey, please stop stressing, you've got time and EBN'ers help & ex-
periences to guide you. Do you have a trusted Vet (sorry, I forget) to talk it
over?

If Tucker is 7 months then Sophie is 4 months, generally females have 1st heat
between 6 to 9 months old. If you could keep them separated (maybe keeping
Tucker at family or a friend, neighbor) when she comes into heat then you'd have
another 6 months (before 2nd heat) to neuter him, ideally about 15-18 months old.
That's about maturity age for Tucker and bone, body & head growth finishing up.
After Sophie's 2nd heat, she should be ready for her spay, age wise. However, if
in your home it's needed to be done prior than that, no guilt, you have to do what is
best for all in your home. Ginger, you got this!

 

[OpieRay]

Just this week we made the decision and set the appointment to get our Opie cut. As it's been said, there are so many different opinions and no straight and narrow way to go with this. Opie is currently 15 months. We chose to neuter Opie because he has an issue where he gets a little to excited and his "red rocket get's stuck and circulation gets cut off, and it's just not fun to deal with. The vet said that we could either cut him or cut the skin so it allows more room for his rocket.
We also discussed cancer with the doctor and he said that cutting him now would greatly reduce his chances. We decided to wait till after a year to allow for more growth and testosterone to help build his bone density, muscle mass, and all that fun stuff.

It's ultimately up to you!! Good luck :D

 

[Roseann]

We got Henry fixed at 6 months. He started getting "excited" when we came home. We weren't interested in breeding and I wanted a lover, not a humper so we did it before he started humping anything. He has never humped us or anything else. He has stayed petite and I love it. He still lays in my lap and he's not so heavy that he hurts me (much) and if I HAD to I can carry him. He's 46 pounds and 1 year 10 months. We waited longer for Clyde because I couldn't get an appointment until he was 8 months. He doesn't hump any of us. The neighbor dog always comes over and he never stops humping. Us, them, the trees. He's a damn freak. He's a pit and is a year old and not fixed, they want to breed him . He's taught Clyde the hump game and clyde only humps that dog so far. I don't breed anything and I don't like accidents and I've always been told that fixed animals are nicer. Probably some crap people say as far as I know but I don't want the responsibility of accidents so I fix all my animals. You should do whatever feels right to you. Everyone has a bit of a different opinion so you just have to find your happy medium. Plus, I hate dogs with balls. They weird me out. I don't know why but I can't hardly take it. I think I have some weird issue there. Haha.

 

[Mom of Tucker]

I'm still laughing over your description of Tucker, the scent hound, my oh my!

Ginger...Honey, please stop stressing, you've got time and EBN'ers help & ex-
periences to guide you. Do you have a trusted Vet (sorry, I forget) to talk it
over?

If Tucker is 7 months then Sophie is 4 months, generally females have 1st heat
between 6 to 9 months old. If you could keep them separated (maybe keeping
Tucker at family or a friend, neighbor) when she comes into heat then you'd have
another 6 months (before 2nd heat) to neuter him, ideally about 15-18 months old.
That's about maturity age for Tucker and bone, body & head growth finishing up.
After Sophie's 2nd heat, she should be ready for her spay, age wise. However, if
in your home it's needed to be done prior than that, no guilt, you have to do what is
best for all in your home. Ginger, you got this!

Carol, I have found a Bulldog veterinarian in San Antonio who I have already touched base with, and who is willing to do the neuter when I am ready. I like your idea of keeping the two of them apart when Sophie goes into heat. Maybe I can let my mother take care of her, as she is retired and all of her dogs are fixed. She would have more time to deal with all that!

Thanks for all of the support!