To neuter or not to neuter, that is the question

[Obi2011]

Obi's 5 months old and we have an appointment in three days to have him neutered. I keep getting a lot of different opinions (personally and on line). I don't plan to breed him but I want him to fully develop. I also want him to be healthy. My breeder told me to wait until he was a year and a half to two years old, the vet's saying to do it now. So back to the question, neuter or not? I need some help!

 

[bulliemommi]

I am in the mindset to do it now - I have known people who refused to neuter their dogs and when they got older, they dealt with all kinds of cancers/tumors in that area. And then they *had* to neuter, which at the age, to me, would be a harder recovery than when they are younger. Just me 2 cents. Good luck!

 

[Chunksmama]

We neutered Chunk at 3 1/2 years old ... I would definitely do it sooner than later after what we went through. (we got him at 2 years old) Tougher recovery for him. However, I'm not sure what age. I seem to be hearing 12-18 months is best.


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[2BullyMama]

6 - 8 months old.... Nitshcke was done at 8 months and he had no issues with growth. Wide chest, big head and weight 56-58 lbs.

 

[Alice Kable]

My boys have been neutered as young as 5 & 1/2 mos. and still had their growth. I say neuter now as the recovery is easier on the dog!

 

[ChanelnBrutus]

Brutus was neutuered at 8 months and I would have liked to wait a little longer but Im glad I did when I did..We actually had to have him neueuterd b/c he had a prolapsed urethra ..common in bulldogs happens when they are excited (humping) that he did a lot and it caused the prolapse so to cure if they advised neuteur at the same time to avoid separte surgies....If you plan on doing it do before humping, marking begins...You will get a lot of different opionions on this topic

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

You will get tons of opinions. We waited until Jake was 11 months old. Just because he was a good boy and I felt more comfortable. [MENTION=2071]Davidh[/MENTION] has lots of experience..hopefully he will see this tonight.

 

[Davidh]

Our vet says to wait until at least 18 month old, so that's what we recommend.

 

[LaurenA]

We recently had Rook neutered, when he was about 6 months. I was also on the fence about having it done so young, and my husband was the one who wanted to go for it right away. What got me on board was that Rook started humping our neighbor's dog any chance he could and there was no distracting him from that mission. We'll see if there is any effect on his growth. But as of now, I don't regret having it done when we did. His recovery was really fast, and he's better behaved - no more humping (yet).

 

[Vince00]

Caesar Millan recommended 6 months with Mr. President, we will be doing the same for Kain.

 

[Backnblack]

Dozer was clipped about 2 months ago, He'll be 3 in April.
His recovery was quick and pretty uneventful.

 

[KMARINO]

We adopted Vegas at 4.5 months, he was already neutered. It did not stunt his growth, he will be 3 next week and weighed 63 lbs for 2 years, recently I did a food change and he is now down to 58. His head is big and his chest is very broad.

 

[Lily122511]

Our vet said to do it when she is 6 months. She is 12 weeks now and is already trying to go to town (humping) with our other dog.

 

[Twice]

I was researching this while I was waiting to get Abby. There is actually a new line of thinking that says its best to neuter or spay as early as 8 weeks. The thought process behind this is that an animal "altered" before 6 months of age has almost a 100% chance of remaining prostrate, testicular or ovarian cancer free. Research has shown that younger patients recover faster and have fewer surgical and post-surgical complications than their older counterparts. There is very little to no body fat to contend with, the incision is smaller, surgery time is reduced, recovery time is very short AND dogs will actually grow a little larger due to longer growth periods causing increased bone density. (told ya I researched this! )

I don't know if or when I am going to get Abby spayed. Because of her issues, I am leaving that completely up to her doctors. She needs to be physically strong enough and we will need to be sure her kidneys wont suffer from the anesthesia. One of her doctors still says that it's doubtful she will ever reach the age where we even have to consider it.

But the general consensus of doctors today think a good age for any animal (male or female) to go under the knife is between 4 and 6 months of age.

 

[Obi2011]

I just want to say a quick thanks to everyone. Obi has been neutered and all is going very well. He seems to have more energy. The vet asked my to cut back on the amount of food we're feeding him. He's 5 months and came in at 39 pounds. They asked me to cut him back to 1 cup twice a day (Taste of the Wild). He seams to be doing well with it. I also have him on Sure Grow 100 and NuVet Plus. Once again. Thanks to everyone.