When should I have my dog altered?
I have a fairly astute friend who stated that he would not alter his dog until after 2 years because by then most all growing that is going to happen has and altering them before this can effect hormone lvls. I am not sure if I even want to alter my dog. I have not found out if he is show quality yet and I heard that if you alter your dog they have to be shown in a special class. I am considering it due to the fact that I was told it will reduce health problems down the road and stops some alpha behaviors, also I am aware of the breeding issues (ie over population, breed genetic issues) Main inquiries : 1) What age should a dog be altered? 2) Are there any benefits to not altering? 3) What are the benefits to altering? 4) Is there a point where altering may have limited or no effect? (ie dominate behavior has already set in) |
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| Hi there.
I'll just chime in with my two pennies. Our dogs have always been neutered, as we do not ever intend to breed or show. Both sheepies were neutered at 5 months of age, and both sheepies grew to be over 100 lbs., with no health issues related to neutering at that age. The reason we had ours neutered that young was to prevent the testosterone from being produced in the first place, which eliminates the risk of testicular cancer altogether. The way my vet explained it to me is that the older a dog is before he's neutered, the higher the risk of hormone related cancers. I'm sure others will have some helpful info as well. Best of luck with your pup. Laurie and Oscar |
infoseeker wrote: Main inquiries : 1) What age should a dog be altered? 2) Are there any benefits to not altering? 3) What are the benefits to altering? 4) Is there a point where altering may have limited or no effect? (ie dominate behavior has already set in) I don't think there are set guidelines. And I come at this from a slightly different perspective than most: those of us who do performance tend towards later, certainly after the growth plates have closed (see http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html) so as to avoid excessive growth that can lead towards greater orthopedic risks. The trade-offs in risk-benefits is closer in dogs than in bitches. (I.e. there is more compelling evidence that the health benefits to spaying a bitch outweight the risks than there is with males). I know a number of agility people, for instance, who don't neuter their males because they feel the testosterone plays a role in developing and maintaining muscle mass. There are lots of health trade-offs involved and you need to read up on it and weigh the relative risks. That is the HEALTH/PERFORMANCE side of things. Dogs are s/n young for the additional and important benefit of not being able to reproduce will-nilly. I had four males in my litter. Two went to pet homes, one to a show home, and one to a show/performance home. The two that went to show homes are both intact, obviously. One of them has his CH already. But they went to responsible people - I'm not worried. With the two pet owners, I asked them to wait as long as they could safely stand to neuter. One was neutered at 6 mos anyway. I certainly respect their decision. One I requested be returned to me at a year old, and even though I will probably keep him and do agility with him myself, so ideally would have wanted to wait till his growth plates were closed, I had him with me for less than 24 hours when I called my vet's office and asked them to give me their first available surgery slot for his snip-snip  I have three intact bitches, one of them is his mother, two are his sisters, and I had no intention of living life on the edge reproductively. I have no regrets and I don't think he has either, truth be told.
I don't think there is an altered class in AKC conformation. The good news is that a neutered dog can definitely be trialed in obedience and agility and rally and herding and can do tracking... Bottom line for me when I ask myself that question regarding a male is can I be 100% sure I can keep him from reproducing? If no, then...snip-snip. Kristine |
| Wow, Read the article, have not checked its sources yet but it makes a lot of sense. I have read several books specific to OES and it seems they all recommend altering the dog and doing it early for resaons such as over population, breed purity and the like. None of them look at it from any other aspect and seem to feel, bar none, this is the most important thing to do for you and the dog.
Over population aside (I am aware of the risk and have taken very effective measures to make sure nothing happens) I am trying to find the best practice for the over all development of the dog physically and socially. I am aware that authors sometimes will just echo what everyone else is saying to do at the time and that if their opinion is contrary to something they may omit certain facts that would lead someone the other way. There are many things they won't tell you in books and the books do not always translate to real world experience. |
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