Sooo confused about neutering!

[woofwoofwoof]

I have been tormenting myself, going back and forth over the decision to neuter my male yorkie. He is 7 months old and 7 lbs. I have an appointment for Monday and am considering cancelling because I heard that I should wait until his growth plates close. Does anyone know at what age the male yorkie's growth plates close. I take him on hikes and long walks and would hate for him to have an injury because I neutered him. Also, did anyone leave their male yorkie in tact and what type of behavioral problems did you see.

Please help me - I need to make a decision this weekend to keep my appointment or not!!

[shelbysmom]

Yes, it's a difficult choice. Most of the information I found said between 6-8 months is best. I settled on 7 months for my female's spaying because she had a lot of extra teeth to remove plus I was anxious to get her microchiped. Females are different because one may or may not agree with allowing one heat. Males , from what I understand, can start having marking issues. Good luck with your decision, you will feel better when it is over with.

[woofwoofwoof]

He has started marking in the house but I got it under control. I just don't want him to become aggressive because he is so sweet right now, but I also don't want to give him problems down the road with his bones. Such a hard decision!

[Lovetodream88]

I was reading some research that said neutering might slow down the closing of growth plates if it does at all but that it won't stop it. There really are no study's done with small breed dogs especially yorkies. Most are done with bigger breed dogs whose bones and stuff grow slower. There is a huge difference between larger dogs and smaller dogs. Most of the issues people have are when a dog is spayed before 6 months but even then it's not often and there have been no study's. I would get your dog neutered it will keep him from marking, it will keep him from having aggression with other dogs, it will keep him from smelling a female in heat and hurting himself and possibly getting lost, and because yorkies are highly stolen dogs one that is not fixed is worth more money and would more then likely be sold to a byb or puppy mill to breed. In my opinion I feel it is the responsible thing to do.

[gemy]

Originally Posted by woofwoofwoof

I have been tormenting myself, going back and forth over the decision to neuter my male yorkie. He is 7 months old and 7 lbs. I have an appointment for Monday and am considering cancelling because I heard that I should wait until his growth plates close. Does anyone know at what age the male yorkie's growth plates close. I take him on hikes and long walks and would hate for him to have an injury because I neutered him. Also, did anyone leave their male yorkie in tact and what type of behavioral problems did you see.

Please help me - I need to make a decision this weekend to keep my appointment or not!!

Somewhere between 8mths to one year old - and maybe earlier the growth plates will close. You are essentially right on the cusp with your puppy at this point in time.

If the marking behaviour is already under control a couple of more months won't hurt .. again in my opinion.

I have no behavourial problems with my intact Yorkie. But then again I am breeder (although not of Yorkies), he is not aggressive, he does not roam, he does not hump pillows other dogs human legs, etc. How-ever he will mark in the house when I have a female in heat. Belly bands help with this. And BTW he is my only male that will mark in the house.

In my opinion there is little downside to waiting until he is more mature.

Owning an intact dog is a responsibility that you need to be up for, should you decide not to neuter him. That means making sure he does not mate, inadvertently or not. If he does mate with the pretty gal next door, it is your responsibility to financially and otherwise take care of that litter. Again in my opinion.

There is one other thing I have noticed and experienced, often times intact dogs can become the target of neutered males. Keep that one in mind.

If this was my dog I would wait longer until one year old for neutering.

[chachi]

My male was neutered at 7 mos he is 9 now. He goes hiking, runs with me and is very active and never had an injury or leg problems

[valeriejsmyth]

I had my male neutered at five months with no problems. I have never had any health issues or marking he is a healtthy 14 lbs Biewer boy six now. My new pup will be neutered at five to six months,when his weight is acceptable as he is a smaller std yorkie. You want to keep him longer and disease free which is why we neuter our babies. They live longer, healthier lives. Good luck with your decision.

[Yorkiemom1]

Originally Posted by gemy

Somewhere between 8mths to one year old - and maybe earlier the growth plates will close. You are essentially right on the cusp with your puppy at this point in time.

If the marking behaviour is already under control a couple of more months won't hurt .. again in my opinion.

I have no behavourial problems with my intact Yorkie. But then again I am breeder (although not of Yorkies), he is not aggressive, he does not roam, he does not hump pillows other dogs human legs, etc. How-ever he will mark in the house when I have a female in heat. Belly bands help with this. And BTW he is my only male that will mark in the house.

In my opinion there is little downside to waiting until he is more mature.
Owning an intact dog is a responsibility that you need to be up for, should you decide not to neuter him. That means making sure he does not mate, inadvertently or not. If he does mate with the pretty gal next door, it is your responsibility to financially and otherwise take care of that litter. Again in my opinion.

There is one other thing I have noticed and experienced, often times intact dogs can become the target of neutered males. Keep that one in mind.

If this was my dog I would wait longer until one year old for neutering.

There have been countless research and studies by reputable vet s and vet schools, oncologists, reproduction specialists, behavioral specialists, etc that all point to the bottom line:
"Research published in 2000 in the Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism may explain why dogs sterilized before puberty are inclined to grow abnormally:

"At puberty, estrogen promotes skeletal maturation and the gradual, progressive closure of the epiphyseal growth plate, possibly as a consequence of both estrogen-induced vascular and osteoblastic invasion and the termination of chondrogenesis.In addition, during puberty and into the third decade, estrogen has an anabolic effect on the osteoblast and an apoptotic effect on the osteoclast, increasing bone mineral acquisition in axial and appendicular bone.It appears the removal of estrogen-producing organs in immature dogs, female and male, can cause growth plates to remain open. These animals continue to grow and wind up with abnormal growth patterns and bone structure. This results in irregular body proportions."
As a breeder, I sell only on a spay/neuter contract. I whole heartedly encourage spaying and neutering our pets. All the research results I have sifted through indicate 8 months to 1 year old for small breed dogs, usually allows for the necessary time needed to allow for completion of growth in the growth plates. Large breed dogs may take up to 2 years to complete their growth. I encourage my owners to have their pups spayed/neutered between 8 months to a year old. More recent studies have indicated it is not a bad idea to allow a female to go through one heat cycle before spaying.....that used to be considered "an old wife's tale", but it seems there may be some validation to that thought process. The unfortunate thing is, many pet owners are not responsible enough to keep an intact female from getting bred.....and THAT is detrimental to her health as well. Males start to mark as their hormones begin to "flow"....most owners do not want to deal with that and getting a male neutered when you notice him beginning to mark, will usually halt this marking behavior....that usually starts around 8 months of age....if you have his marking under control, if you can wait a couple more months it will benefit him I believe, based on all the studies and research I have read. I had a little male that I thought I may want to sell to a show home.....I wanted to wait until I could see him develop as much as possible....he started marking, he even started trying to hump on some of his stuffed toys....I ended up neutering him and he stopped marking behaviors, pees like a little girl, and has not humped any toys since the surgery.....he is a little over a year old.....so I think you can wait on your neutering until he is closer to a year old.....at least 8 months old......

[woofwoofwoof]

My little guy has been humping his toys since I got him at almost 8 weeks old. Lately though his penis come out and sometimes looks like it gets stuck or he has a hard time getting it back in. The marking started about a month or so ago. He marks on his walks the entire time, but somehow I got him not to do it in the house, but his pee smells so much worse from when he was a puppy. He will be 8 months on August 4th. He is 7lbs and a good size height wise. I don't want to affect his growth where he is out of proportion or grows too tall. I just wish I knew when his growth plates were closed. Is there a typical time for Yorkies.

[CouversMom]

I neutered my male at 6 months to ensure he didn't have bad habits (marking, humping, etc) but I waited until 8 months with my female because she was so small. I haven't had any problems with either and they are completely healthy. I would say you are probably good, but if you waited another month or so it wouldn't hurt him.

[Yorkiemom1]

Ask your vet about xrays of his legs....you can see the growth plates at the joints if they are still there and growing....If growth plates are still evident at the tops of the bones, then I would hold off on the neutering....there can not be a definate day given for all dogs to be neutered....small dogs develop quicker and their growth plates are usually completed closed between 8 months old and 1 year old. Again, xrays will visualize the growth plates on the bones/joints.

[gemy]

A lateral Xray view of one tibial plate as that is the last to close should give you a definitive answer on if his growth plates have closed. Okay sorry that is a lateral view of the knee joint.

[chestermama]

chester was neutered at 6 months, he weighs 10 lbs and he very healthy at almost 12 years old

[megansmomma]

My boys were neutered at 5 months and a little over a year. They are now 6 and almost 8 years old and are perfectly fine. The older was neutered later because that is when he was rescued otherwise he would have been done around the same age. Good luck in whatever you decide.