nueter or no??? PLEASE HELP

[ARCHIE]

I have had three male dog's over the year's and all have been neutered.
Two lived happy, healthy lives up to 16 & 17 yrs old. Can't ask for more
than that.
Buddy is only 5 1/2 but honestly I would not have a male dog if he were
not neutered. Bud was neutered at 6mos of age. There are many reasons
I prefer this done. No marking in the house, no looking for a female, it does
aid in aggression and
it's just plain healthier. I have two young granddaughter's who want's his
little lipstick sticking out and I certainly don't want him humping on one
of them. If a person is not planning on breeding I see no reason why
not to get it done.
You mentioned being embarrased in front of people when it's sticking
out. I would be mortified even tho it's a natural thing but who want's
to live with this? Not I.
Your baby is the cutest boy ever. Love his dark coloring.

[Britster]

I say yes to spay/neuter.

I believe it's the right thing to do as responsible pet owners.

[CouversMom]

Originally Posted by shell820810

Unless of course he was unsupervised, and allowed to wander about the neighbourhood, then yes, I can see where you are coming from.

What about all the breeders, and those who are showing... are all their dogs slipping off and overpopulating?

If there is not the possibility of dogs wandering off, why do people microchip and tag their pets? Is it because they know that they will not get away, or because they know that it could happen? It is not worth it to me to have an unneutered male in my home. The possibility of marking, humping etc is too high.

Couver humped constantly at 5 months old. This was before he was neutered. Now that he is fixed, he does not.

I understand that you lost one to a spay, so I understand where you are coming from.

I still think that with responsible pet ownership comes spaying/neutering your pets unless you are an educated breeder.

[hillies]

Do what's right for you and your lifestyle, but I think if you're going to do it, you should probably do it sooner rather than later if he's already 8 months.

[redvalaria]

the internet is a wonderful thing.

You can find something to bolster almost any argument you could have (such as those not to spay/neuter studies). There were human studies done in the UK about 7 years ago that stated there might be a correlation between parents who "wipe off" a pacifier in their own mouths and sudden infant death syndrome. so....studies are just that, studies, until they are validated and recreated multiple times to show that the results are accurate you might want to be careful about where you get your information.

I have a canine athlete. (one of those studies). I didn not neuter EARLY because of that, but I did neuter because he was cryptorchid (had an undescended testicle) and that puts a dog at much higher risk for tumors/cancer then a dog with descended testicles.

Also, all my male dogs have always been neutered. there is no real compelling reason not to do this, and plenty of ones TO DO it.

I have a 14 year old neutered yorkie now and my 7 month old was neutered as soon as he was 5 months old (I wanted him to hit 4 lbs first). No problems with either one, and it has stopped Fergus humping the couch pillows.

I say, unless your vet says there is a compelling medical reason not to do it, you should.

[cajunpeach]

Beaux was constantly humping all of his toys. We got him fixed at 6 months, he was 3 lbs. And he did just fine. He's still a squater when he pees. I think that is too cute!!! He has never sprayed one time before or after the neuter. I was worried too putting such a little guy under but he was a trooper.

[lm1965]

Originally Posted by redvalaria

the internet is a wonderful thing.

You can find something to bolster almost any argument you could have (such as those not to spay/neuter studies). There were human studies done in the UK about 7 years ago that stated there might be a correlation between parents who "wipe off" a pacifier in their own mouths and sudden infant death syndrome. so....studies are just that, studies, until they are validated and recreated multiple times to show that the results are accurate you might want to be careful about where you get your information.

I have a canine athlete. (one of those studies). I didn not neuter EARLY because of that, but I did neuter because he was cryptorchid (had an undescended testicle) and that puts a dog at much higher risk for tumors/cancer then a dog with descended testicles.

Also, all my male dogs have always been neutered. there is no real compelling reason not to do this, and plenty of ones TO DO it.

I have a 14 year old neutered yorkie now and my 7 month old was neutered as soon as he was 5 months old (I wanted him to hit 4 lbs first). No problems with either one, and it has stopped Fergus humping the couch pillows.

I say, unless your vet says there is a compelling medical reason not to do it, you should.

My vet want do it , he said wait till he is a little biger , their is a vet in my area that will, thats why i don't no what to do. mine vet said no.

[Ellie May]

I think this is something that every owner needs to decide for themselves and they should be able to talk with their vet about the benefits and risks because there can be problems either way. While the shelters are overflowing with animals, I don't feel it is right to say the only responsible thing to do is spay/neuter, because what is being said is if you don't do it, you aren't responsible. I think that's an unfair statement. Some people don't do it because there are risks and that is their choice as long as they take responsibility for any offspring (which I understand most don't).

My opinion is that if a female is healthy enough to be spayed, she should be.
If a cryporchid is healthy even to be neutered, he should be.
In the case of normal, healthy males who don't mark or try to get loose (haha), I have no idea what to tell anybody because there are good arguments either way but I would probably go ahead with neutering personally.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by CouversMom

If there is not the possibility of dogs wandering off, why do people microchip and tag their pets? Is it because they know that they will not get away, or because they know that it could happen? It is not worth it to me to have an unneutered male in my home. The possibility of marking, humping etc is too high.

Couver humped constantly at 5 months old. This was before he was neutered. Now that he is fixed, he does not.

I understand that you lost one to a spay, so I understand where you are coming from.

I still think that with responsible pet ownership comes spaying/neutering your pets unless you are an educated breeder.

Agreed!

Also, I also would feel a little guilty NOT neutering my pet (Jackson IS neutered, by the way!) because they live their entire lives with the constant frustration of wanting to mate. Naturally, they want to mate two times a year (females go into heat twice a year) and if they can't do that year after year, it's going to begin to really frustrate them. I feel bad doing that to a dog.

Also, they will generally fight other male dogs if not neutered.

I've taken Jackson to the dog park a few times now and the ONLY dogs who start to pick fights are un-neutered males every time I've went. That's not to say neutered dogs won't fight, but you're lessening the risk.

[hugz4all4]

just last week the neighbors had a stray intact male in thier yard, (thier yard adjoins mine) happily doing the deed with thier unspayed female always kept outside dog... when the dog wandered in my yard, I approach it, grabbed its collar, got a number and called the owner... they live miles.. MILES away from us.. the dog had snapped its lead and took off to find that sweet little coon dog in heat... now there will be 10 to 12 mixed puppies running around in about 3/4 months not being taken care of properly just like the momma.. THIS IS WHY YOU GET YOUR DOG FIXED!!
I am a firm beleiver of fixing your animals, if you are not using them for show or breeding (repsonably of course) then get the animal fixed. All of my animals have been fixed and have lived long and healthy lives.

[Katiedid]

I got Taz fixed at about a 1.5 years old. He marked EVERYTHING. We were never planning on breeding him since he is a little large and his papers burned up in his previous owners house. He doesn't really try to wander anymore and has pretty much stopped marking. Makes our walks much more pleasant and saves me all kinds of time!! He is still as energetic as before which I love. the little guy will play fetch ALL day.

[MrsPeanut]

I made the decision to get Chewy neutured because we decided not to use him as a stud because of his family history problems with luxating patellas. Also, he used to mark EVERYWHERE, and hump EVERYTHING. It was so embarrassing when my friends would come over and he is humping Peanut's head or a pillow or stuffed animal, well you get the point. Also, he was so aggressive, chewing, barking, digging. He was uncontrollable. I had him nuetered and he is still playful and fun and REALLY sweet. He cuddles like a baby and the marking and humping stopped within ten days after the surgery. It was the best decision I made but everyone is different and every dog is different. I was living with what my boyfriend called, "spawn of the devil." Now he is my little spoiled baby....lol

[JKTex]

To add more depth to the male side of the discussion.....

For those that believe neutering stopped humping, how do you know it didn't stop, or would not have stopped naturally, in time? I say this because our 2+ yr old unaltered male also humped. Humped his blanket while hugging it laying on his back, other toys, humped arms, legs, anything/anyone with soft/thick clothing/fabric etc. That was at the same age most of you say yours did. He stopped by 1 yr old I'd guess it was. He's fully functional but doesn't hump.

He also doesn't mark in side the house, which really does surprise me. He marks everything in sight outside, he even hunts things on the ground and does a "leg lift walking squat", anything he can stand next to or over gets marked even if he's run out of "marking fluid".

Maybe that was nature and just what was to be or maybe it was because we corrected him every chance we had; I don't know.

BTW, I'm not arguing against neutering either. I would agree that if they are pets, it makes sense in most cases to spay/neuter. And I think most will agree that would include, making sense from a human convenience standpoint as well, regardless of the fact most people won't admit it. Especially female pets that are primarily inside dogs, like I'm sure most, if not all Yorkie's are. It seems cruel to have them wearing a diaper for 2+ weeks and changing pads constantly but the alternative is a little "mess" where ever they go in the house.

[hugz4all4]

Originally Posted by JKTex

To add more depth to the male side of the discussion.....

For those that believe neutering stopped humping, how do you know it didn't stop, or would not have stopped naturally, in time? I say this because our 2+ yr old unaltered male also humped. Humped his blanket while hugging it laying on his back, other toys, humped arms, legs, anything/anyone with soft/thick clothing/fabric etc. That was at the same age most of you say yours did. He stopped by 1 yr old I'd guess it was. He's fully functional but doesn't hump.

He also doesn't mark in side the house, which really does surprise me. He marks everything in sight outside, he even hunts things on the ground and does a "leg lift walking squat", anything he can stand next to or over gets marked even if he's run out of "marking fluid".

Maybe that was nature and just what was to be or maybe it was because we corrected him every chance we had; I don't know.

BTW, I'm not arguing against neutering either. I would agree that if they are pets, it makes sense in most cases to spay/neuter. And I think most will agree that would include, making sense from a human convenience standpoint as well, regardless of the fact most people won't admit it. Especially female pets that are primarily inside dogs, like I'm sure most, if not all Yorkie's are. It seems cruel to have them wearing a diaper for 2+ weeks and changing pads constantly but the alternative is a little "mess" where ever they go in the house.

well, usually the humping doesnt stop for most dogs that are unaltered and either does the marking. My sister in laws dog was humping and peeing on everything and everyone that stood still long enough untill she decided to get him fixed at 4 years old. I will admit that I fixed my dogs because I didnt want them peeing all over my house, humping my children legs, or bleeding on my furniture, which is a huge inconvience and mess that if I could avoid, I will. Not to mention I didnt add to the already very overpopulated shelters and my pets will be healthy and happy..

[yepp87]

my billy is one year old and i have not neutured him... (yet?)
i have not saw/ experienced my billy showing aggresive/ dominant or running away behaviours..? I believe it is up owners convenience...

and yes getting your loved one fixed will reduce the risk of cancers, health problems, so on...