[barneysmommmy]

As an owner who did not neuter my first dog, Max, I highly recommend neutering. He got away from us chasing after a female in heat and was attacked. One punctured lung and collapsed trachea later, we learned a hard lesson at his expense. He was around 5 at the time. 10 years later, he still has to live with it. He has a hard time breathing and coughs every time he gets a drink or gets too excited. We had our next dog, Charlie, fixed at 1 year old. I think it was still too late. By this time he was already humpty dumpty and marking everything.

Barney got "tutored" at 5 months. It was a good decision for us. Like others said, you have to make a choice you are comfortable with. But keep in mind that once they reach sexual maturity, they do not stop all of those behaviors immediately after being neutered.

One final note, I think having your dog fixed makes him less of a target for thieves.