Neuter or not??
 

We are loving our 4 month old male..I need to know pros and cons about having him neutered..Can you guys help me?

There are some major concerns with desexing too early and I suggest doing a lot of research on it and do what you feel is best for your dog. Having an intact dog comes with a lot of responsibility and if you are not willing to take that responsibility then by all means have him neutered. :)

Thanks but that's what I'm asking..I'm looking for specifics. What concerns and what responsibilities?

The general recommendation is to wait until the growth plates close in the legs, which I believe is closer to a year in a Yorkie.

The pros: preventing unwanted mating, preventing testicular cancer, possible prevention of marking and aggressive behavior, preventing the urge to run and find a female in heat.

Cons: some recent studies claim various health issues related to de-sexing, and rare reports of depression.

I am in favor of neutering.

Responsibility to prevent your intact male from impregnating a female. There is also some staggering statistic out there relative to intact males that get loose and hit by cars. Apparently they are more apt to run off because of the drive to find a female in heat. There might be other factors.

I think what she's getting at here is the responsibility of keeping an intact dog away from intact females bc of the chance of breeding. We definitely don't need any more indiscriminate breeding of dogs in the world, so you'd really have to watch your kiddo closely, for his whole life.

Some will tell you that you should neuter bc of the chance of testicular cancer. That, in and of itself, is not a good enough reason to neuter for me. It's like me having some body parts removed merely bc of a chance of cancer, ya know? Geez, I'd have no parts left :p! Hormones play a HUGE part in our bodies, they are catalysts for all sorts of important things - so it's a valid concern that when we spay/neuter our pets, we are definitely depriving them of important hormones. However, they seem to do okay/fine/great. It's hard to know if they'd be any different with the hormones, one does wonder.

For me, the main reason I chose neutering for my 2 boys was bc of the chance of marking and the chance of breeding...also, I didn't want a male dog who would have to go nuts whenever he was aware of a female in heat in any 1mile radius, ya know? That sounds miserable. I will tell you that neutering does not necessarily help w/ marking...some males seem to just have a propensity for marking, with or without neutering.

All great info!

Thanks....I have a female Great Pyrenees that I believe I spayed too early..I don't want to make another mistake..My feeling is that I would rather wait a little too long to neuter than neuter too soon..From my research and from your comments I'm inclined to neuter but not before he is 9 months old...I know some say 6 months but I may wait a little longer..

Other comments and input would be very appreciated..

I have 2 boys, full brothers. One was neutered at 6 months, and the other closer to 8 months. I believe that little bit of time did make a positive difference, although nothing that I can explain scientifically. If I have another boy in the future, I will wait closer to a year.

As Ann wrote above, it does deprive them of certain hormones and we don't know the full extent of that deprivation. I'm inclined to keep the hormones during the critical development period.

With a male, I would want to neuter before marking becomes an established habit, so closer to 8 months maybe, although it depends on the dog. My vet also considered if enough of the adult teeth were in because Yorkies don't lose all their baby teeth on their own, most Yorkies have at least a few that will need to be pulled and this has to be done under anesthesia, so it's best to have it done when neutering. A double row of teeth can cause future dental problems.

For me, one of the main reasons you neuter a male is that the number one cause of death for unneutered males is death due to injuries from car accidents, your unneutered male is much more likely to bolt out the door every time you open it, he can smell a female in heat up to 10 miles a way. Also, remember that males and females are fertile all their lives, and so you always have to be extremely conscientious if you have a unneutered animal.

Here is an article that gives some information about the long term health effects of spaying and neutering.

http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongT...uterInDogs.pdf

Holy cow...what a can of worms...Maybe I'll just keep this little guy just the way he is..:)

You might want to read this too. The Spay/Neuter Decision: Studies Offer Conflicting Advice

I'm on the fence. I don't think either way is better or worse for males honestly. However, early neutering is definitely something I will never do. I will most likely always neuter out of convenience honestly. But probably not before 10 months. Jackson was 7 1/2 months, but knowing what I know now, I'd wait a bit longer, although luckily he had already done a lot of growing (he was already 12lbs by then, and is now approx 17lbs at 5yrs).

For Goldens and certain breeds though, I'm not sure I'd ever neuter. They did a study recently on Goldens and neutering. Very informative.

It is a can of worms and it is not an easy decision. I recommend having an serious talk with your vet about any concerns you might have. There are risks in everything we do for our pets; the food we feed, the treats we give, the shots we give them, the flea and heart worm medication we give them. There are many things that can effect their health and well being.

I think the personality of the dog also plays an important part of the decision. Some males are never neutered, are easy to potty train and they don't hike their legs on everything while others are just the opposite. Good luck with your decision.

I agree with Ann. I'm not going to have something from my body removed based on a low percentage that I may develop this or that.

Yes when I was referring to taking responsibility I was referring to making sure that your intact male is NEVER allowed near an in heat female. I have an intact female but as of yet has not gone into heat. She will be 2 in July and I will have had her for a year in July. I don't know if she had gone into heat prior to me getting her. I have no other dogs in my house and she absolutely is not allowed outside by herself.

Thank you for all the info. I'm on the fence right now with a boy the same age. I am definitely leaning towards doing it, but it will most likely be much later than I originally planned. Hopefully he'll refrain from marking all over my house in the mean time (and well forever) :)

We waited with Laddy until he was 3 when we got little Kyra. Until that point he was never around unfixed girls. He never marked, but we had to keep a close eye on him to make sure if he did smell a girl in heat we didn't let him run off. Fortunately we lived in the country on 20 acres at the time and that wasn't much of a problem. I really think it was great for him. Before he was fixed he was a very skinny little guy, no matter what we fed him. Afterwards he is at a perfect weight and looks so much healthier.

I got Parker neutered at almost 9 months. Did not get x ray to see if growth plate was closed. I was running into a wall cause he was using the pee pad but started marking. Still I wish I had known if the plates was closed. Probably just my imagination but seems like he has grown in the last 5 weeks. I know testosterone is what closes the plate and I did not want him taller. But he could have grown tall anyway. Just kinda bugs me. But I choose to do it and he is still very short. I just did not want to add any leg to him for any LP or any leg problem. He is not a jumper at all. I just keep wondering. How much taller a dog can grow if neutered before the plates close.

We live in the country and have no neighbors. Ditto uses pee pads and is rarely outside alone because I fear an eagle might spot him and ruin my day. The main reason and really the only reason I would neuter him is in an attempt to avoid him marking..I may just take my chances and wait and see if that begins to happen..Any guesses at what my odds are of not neutering him and him not marking the furniture????????

Unneutered males mark, and it's almost impossible trying to teach them not to mark, many behaviorists believed you can't train not to mark and in fact, even severe punishments have been tried in the past, will little or no results. It's sometimes possible to teach them not to mark in one spot, but they don't generalize that information for other spots. Another problem is that unneutered males marking smells much much worse than neutered males marking. Neutered males may still mark, especially if neutered after puberty, my two only mark outside though. I have heard of some unneutered males not marking, but I wouldn't depend upon that if I were you. By the way, your pup won't be totally without testosterone if he's neutered, while the testes makes the bulk of testosterone, the adrenal glands make some, and this varies greatly between dogs, but he will have enough for muscle development, but not so much that he's a fighter. A little testosterone is a good thing, a lot . . . can cause major problems.

I'm glad you mentioned this. My very first foster had double teeth. His original owner let the vet neuter him at 4 months! So later all his adult teeth came in and crammed the heck out of his baby teeth, which most never came out on their own. Crooked teeth and lots of places to harbor bacteria. Poor dental health in a small dog can lead to lots of sicknesses.

My reasons for neutering a male are simple. In addition to not worrying about breeding, their pee smells less bad.

Lots of stuff here I had not considered....Thanks to you all..I appreciate your input and personal experiences..This will better enable me to make an informed decision..
:thumbup:
Thanks

The only reason not to neuter your dog is that you want the babies.

Other than that, for health or other concerns, neutering is always recommended.

Especially for male, if neutered, they rarely pee for marking their territory.

Hope my opinion helps!

So, if you had BRCA testing for a mutated gene and it increased your chances of developing breast cancer in your lifetime by 20%, you would still keep your breasts?
What percentage would you need to be at to have surgery?

Yes, I can honestly say I would and I'm not really sure at what point I would choose to have surgery. That would be a conversation between me, my hubby, and my doctor. ;) I guess I just have a different view on things but that doesn't make my view wrong, it's just what works for me. Just like said, do the research and then do what is best for you.

The basic thing to remember about a male dog is that their sexual urges stem not from what they see but what they smell. A female dog in heat lets off a scent that a whole male can smell miles away. That scent can cause the male to become nervous and have behavioral changes. My personal opinion is that it is in the male dog's best interest to spare him the frustration of living as a sexually mature male that cannot do what nature intended. When neutered hormonal and sexual tension is gone and he can concentrate more fully on being your pet.

Many years back animal shelters started doing spay/neuter surgeries on very young puppies and kittens in order to help prevent more unwanted litters but now some studies have shown that waiting until the youngster has finished the major part of it's growth before doing the surgery.

Obviously if you have a very eager early starter that is starting to mark around your house you may want to talk to your vet about the possibility of having the surgery done sooner.

Tough questions, and makes me re-think the cancer risk as one of my reasons for neutering my dogs (although it was never first on my list of reasons).

My mom died from breast cancer at age 42, so I am technically in the high risk category. However, there were many factors that affected her that do not apply to me. I choose not to have the BRCA testing and I would not have elective surgery based on the results. Uterine cancer risk, maybe, but not breast.

I am also a high risk for thyroid cancer, but I chose to keep my thyroid and used a high risk drug to regulate hyperthyroidism.

Harmful BRCA1 mutations may increase a woman’s risk of developing fallopian tube cancer and peritoneal cancer. Men with BRCA2 mutations, and to a lesser extent BRCA1 mutations, are also at increased risk of breast cancer. Men with harmful BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations have a higher risk of prostate cancer. Men and women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations may be at increased risk of pancreatic cancer. This is in addition to the increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer in women.

Regular screening and early detection is key, and yes it's a personal decision, but to me, knowledge is power. We chose to know, so that my children and even my grandchildren can have the same knowledge and make informed decisions.

:thumbup:

:thumbup::thumbup: Regular screening and early detection, and everyone should make an informed decision on BRCA testing.

to neuter or not
 

the best person to ask "at what age the pup should be neutered" is your vet. You have gotten excellent info. from all posters. I have always had females, now adopted a 2 y/o male that was neutered before I got him, I don't know at what age it was done. What I do know is, I have many friends that had male dogs, all were neutered.... Neutering reduces aggressive behavior especially when its in the company of other male dogs.... Neutering prevents testicular cancer. why take a chance that he may or may not get cancer, I am a preventive maintenance person, to many dogs get this cancer when they are older, then get neutered, this changes their personality, this is what I have been told from family members.... I agree with Nancy 1999, neuter before marking becomes established.....not to mention unneutered dogs can smell a female in heat for miles, you don't want your baby bolting out of the door every time you open it. Squash the thought "oh he's a small lil thing, I can prevent his bolting" WRONG, when someone comes to my door, you would think I was fighting with a 65 lb pit bull to keep him inside the house lol, yorkies are feisty lil fur babies. I am all for spaying & neutering for HEALTH reasons. Consult your vet as to the proper age. You have most of the pros & cons, and I am sure they are many more then what has been posted here. good luck in making the right decision.