To neuter or not....that is the question.

[Debbiedeb514]

Hi everyone. I am a a new yorkie mom....this is actually my first dog ever. I got my lil Michi 5 weeks ago and he is now almost 17 weeks. I am not sure if I want to have him neutered or not. He is strictly an inside dog and I will probably not breed him (unless it's with someone I know just for another pet...not to sell). But I have heard that if you neuter a dog it can change their personality...and I don't want that to happen. He is the sweetest lil thing and very well behaved. I love his personality just the way it is. On the other hand i have heard that if i don't get him neutered he will start to "spray" and Mark his territory. I definitely do not want that!!! But I don't want to put him thru the pain of surgery ��
Advice please...what do you all think?

And if I do decide to neuter him what is the best age....I have heard that when you neuter too soon they can be bigger and have longer legs. I want him to stAy as small as possible....he is so cute at the size he is now (just over 4 lbs) I hope he doesn't get much bigger. But I will love him no matter what ������

[Wylie's Mom]

CONGRATS on your new baby !!! Sounds adorable!

Whether or not you neuter is totally up to you. But, yes, you'd have less a chance of marking if you do neuter. It should not change his personality, so I wouldn't worry in that regard at all. If anything, he'll be even sweeter bc he won't be going crazy as an un-neutered male who can sense a female in heat from great distances (don't ever let him run loose, or he'd be GONE as an un-neutered male...).

The surgery itself for neutering is super quick and minor and while they're a bit groggy that first night, they pretty much snap right back by the next morning...so don't trouble yourself too much about any pain. Plus, you are free to ask for pain management, which I always do.

Also, neutering does not affect how long their legs are...don't know where/how you heard that, lol . His size is genetically determined. He will be mostly full grown at 5-6 mths...but will continue to fill in a bit.

Best age? Some say 4mths to avoid the start of marking...others do it at more like 6-ish months.

[maxdog]

Max was neutered at about 8 months. He had already started marking and he did not stop afterwards but it did seem to decrease. The pain your pup will go through is minimal. The first 24 hours he will be somewhat lethargic. He will need to wear a cone for a couple of days. But he will recover completely in a a very short time. As to the personality change Max was a playful fun loving hyper puppy before the surgery and afterwards he was a playful fun loving hyper puppy. Do the responsible thing and have him neutered. Leave the breeding (planned or unplanned) to the experts.

[Snickersmama]

Breeder suggested waiting 6 months to neuter Snickers. But at 3.5 months he was humping every toy in sight.... Often! Lol. It did not "change" his personality he's just as lovable as he was before neutering. He had to be on crate restrictions or pen restrictions for several days and had to wear a cone. Watch them with cone tho he could maneuver well enough even with cone to lick surgical site. We ended up neutering him a little over 4 months. he did quite well, pain was manageable with meds and next day had to keep him calm because he wanted to play. Good luck and make sure he has labs before surgery is done to be sure all is well first
Oh and if you haven't done it yet have microchip done while he's asleep during surgery! It's a rather large needle to do microchip. Keep an eye on fur we found Snickers first microchip in his hair because someone didn't do it correctly the first time around

[matese]

Neutering is to prevent testicular cancer, it can help in no marking, and lessons aggressiveness around other male dogs.
MYTHS::::
Dogs personality changes when neutered
Dogs get fat
Neither of the above are true.
If a dog gains weight after neutering it is usually owner feeding table food, or foods not healthy for dogs.
Most ppl I know who own males dogs neutered to eliminate them getting testicular cancer.

[Zeus is Loved]

We neutered our Zeus as soon as practicable -- 6 months. We wanted no humping and no lifting the leg as he had not started either habit. He is the sweetest most docile baby on earth, and I'm happy to report that neutering him did not change him one bit. He is still the most precious baby on earth; however, no humping or lifting the leg, so our neuter was very successful. The biggest problem you will have is trying to keep him from busting the stitches by doing too much. Zeus acted like he wasn't even hurting at all. He was angry we left him at the vet all day, but other than that no pain or personality change at all. Good luck with your decision!

[Debbiedeb514]

Thank you all for your advice. I have decided to have him neutered once he turns 6 months. I'm hoping he doesn't start lifting his leg before then. He has already started humping so I'm not sure if that will stop (i hope). And yes, I will also be getting him microchiped at the same time.

[JadeD]

I just had my 7 month old male pup (almost my female at the same time) neutered the day after he turned 6 months. His personality is just exactly the same as it was a month ago! He had only lifted his leg one time at a plant 2 days prior to his surgery. He has not lifted his leg since then. I don't know if he will start as he ages or not, I hope not. As far as pain medicine, I had both puppies fixed and they gave me a few days worth for the female and told me to give him a dose if I felt he needed it. They weigh exactly the same so it was the same dosage for either of them. He came home and slept that evening and seemed fine. I picked him up one time that even ing and he cried and I felt terrible, but he did not seem to be bothered at any other time of his healing. I also had both puppies microchipped at the surgery and they pulled remaining baby teeth, 2 from him and 3 from her. It was more of a struggle to keep him from running, jumping and playing for the following week than him being in any kind of pain. I did give him a pain pill the day after to make sure he was comfortable and slept well, but he probably would have been fine without it. He really was not bothered by the day after the surgery. I put a onesie on him (backwards, with his tail out the middle snap spot) to keep him from bothering the stitches if I could not watch him closely. He healed up in no time at all.

I highly recommend getting male dogs fixed if you are not using them for breeding. They won't feel the need to mark in the house and won't want to chase females. As far as the humping goes though, some dogs hump and some don't. If they are humping their toys they are probably showing dominance and it is not a big deal really.

Good luck and I would get him fixed as close to 6 months as you can. I would probably have gotten Rowan fixed at 5 months but I wanted Raksha to be 6 months so I waited and had them fixed at the same time so they could heal together.

His personality will not change, so don't worry. My sweet Rowan is just as sweet as normal, maybe even more of a cuddle bug than before if anything.

[Parti Peanut]

We just had Peanut neutered last month. I waited until he was about 16 months old. He had started lifting his leg at about 3 months old (he actually learned from my spayed FEMALE Schnauzer). He doesn't mark in the house and never has. He had no problems with the neutering. My vet gave me pain meds to give for 3 days which I did but he was acting fine by the next day. He never bothered the incision at all. If I had known it was going to go so smoothly, I would have had it done sooner.

[KairaPup]

If you do go for it- I'd advise waiting until he's around 2. At least a year.

It's better because it keeps important hormones intact that help close the growth plates and regulate muscle development.

[dinkster]

No personality changes. Dinky does lift his leg sometimes. And he will occasionally hump. I don't know if he would do this more if he had not been neutered. We were advised too that it would lessen his chance of testicular cancer- especially because he had an undescended testicle
We were nervous, but came through like a champ.

[maxdog]

OK, I am going to hijack this thread for a minute. Max does not hump anything but SASHA DOES! She mounts Max and will start hammering away!! WHY???

[Debbiedeb514]

Maxdog how old are Max and Sasha? They are so cute!

[maxdog]

Thank you !
Max was born on 5/13/13 so he is 2 yrs 5 mos
Sasha was born on 01/19/14 so she is 1 yr 8.5 mos.
They are brother/sister. They are the center of my world.

[wigglewomyn]

Originally Posted by maxdog

OK, I am going to hijack this thread for a minute. Max does not hump anything but SASHA DOES! She mounts Max and will start hammering away!! WHY???

I'm with you. Duncan doesn't hump anything but Little Miss Elliot climbs on top of Duncan and humps away at him whenever he is laying anywhere at all; on the sofa, on the floor, in bed, wherever. Poor Duncan just lies there and allows her to hump away on him. He is such a good natured teapot yorkie.