getting my dog neutered

kylith

I don't see why 'coat may get a bit wooly' is such a big point for people. Surely we have our pets for companionship, not a fashion show? And their coat changing a wee bit is a small price to pay for the health and mental benefits of neutering.

The only reason to delay, imo, is waiting until their full grown so that their growth plates are fused properly.

Knine

kylith wrote: »

I don't see why 'coat may get a bit wooly' is such a big point for people. Surely we have our pets for companionship, not a fashion show? And their coat changing a wee bit is a small price to pay for the health and mental benefits of neutering.

The only reason to delay, imo, is waiting until their full grown so that their growth plates are fused properly.

Its not about a fashion show for me but I just don't like the wooly look. Plus when out in all weathers that coat is not waterproof. The water runs off my entire dogs coats while the spayed bitch is freezing & wet. There is nothing wrong with the health of my entire dogs. I have noticed that they also have much better muscle tone too. The testosterone in the males would help with this.

peasant

rottie 11 wrote: »

... he gets on great with any human he meets and most dogs...

Just on that note ...

Dogs don't necessarily have to get on with every other dog they meet...there are unfriendly, grumpy, misbehaved and downright "asshole" dogs out there as well.
It's up to you to provide cover for your dog from those types, don't leave it to him to defend himself, that will lead to (and re-enforce) aggressive behaviour.

Having your dog neutered might make "asshole" dogs even more so as some of them interact very badly with castrates. (trying to ride them and all that)


IMO the only behaviour that can successfully be influenced by castration is wandering/escaping ...everything else is down to training really.

Rips

borderlinemeath wrote: »

You consider a conversation on a forum where they all call themselves Alpha and are predisposed to mutilating their Dobies ears simply for aesthetics "a good read"?

Let me ask you Rips, if you had a large or giant breed pup would you get him neutered at 12 months or would you take any of the scientific evidence into account and wait until he was 18 or even 24 months old to do it? You're great at dismissing others on this subject who give out advice but if you were in the position yourself at perhaps putting your pups health at risk, would you do it?

Just the points made that are relevant to the discussion. I don't frequent that forum or profess to know anything about its members.

Is an opinion only valid if it comes from an upstanding forum member?

Giant and large are two very different things.

In general, if I had a large male Rottweiler, I would neuter at 12months and certainly before 18months, unless there were other considerations. And there are so many considerations which are down to the specific owner and pet that my personal view is really irrelevant. We are only given a small insight on the web, and really, it would be much better if the OP sought advice from a professional who has all the facts, history and the dog infront of them, vet, trainer, other.

Why can we not present unbiased information, not coloured by our own preferences. If the OP started a thread about how
- he/she wanted to eventually neuter the dog, but wasn't having any specific problems or cause to at the moment, and asked, how long it would be advised to put it off until, my answer would likely be different.

My main issue, which I agree, I have voiced over and over on threads, is a tendency towards a blanket approach on delaying neutering, which I passionately do not believe is in the best interests of the most.

shaymus27

Neutering did not affect my dog's temperament one bit. He was still the most nuts dog anywhere I went.

If your dog is becoming aggressive to some dogs neutering should help to some extent in that respect but it won't completely.

Rotties by law are supposed to be muzzled so that should also help.

Leave neutering until later when a dog is more mature.

All the experts seem to agree that neutering is the correct thing to do. I'm not so sure as I think it affects hormones and physical health and I would be reluctant to do it again to a pet despite all the advice that it should be done. Wandering and aggression which bring their own problems can be aided by neutering so the benefits may well outweigh the risks which the experts seem to think is low anyway.

borderlinemeath

shaymus27 wrote: »

Neutering did not affect my dog's temperament one bit. He was still the most nuts dog anywhere I went.

If your dog is becoming aggressive to some dogs neutering should help to some extent in that respect but it won't completely.

Rotties by law are supposed to be muzzled so that should also help.

Leave neutering until later when a dog is more mature.

All the experts seem to agree that neutering is the correct thing to do. I'm not so sure as I think it affects hormones and physical health and I would be reluctant to do it again to a pet despite all the advice that it should be done. Wandering and aggression which bring their own problems can be aided by neutering so the benefits may well outweigh the risks which the experts seem to think is low anyway.

The only aggression that neutering may help with is inter male aggression where both males are intact. If your dog is aggressive to all dogs it won't help one bit. and testosterone aggression is almost eliminated if your dog is socialised early with other intact males. The problem is with a lot of dogs getting neutered early is the chances for that socialisation becomes less and less.

I have a "1 intact male only" rule when I'm minding dogs and it's rare that I have to turn somebody down because of another dog.

Sobko

Not sure why people are saying all experts agree neutering is best when obviously that is not the case. OP as others have pointed out large breeds are better left in fact until they have reached full maturity. Thankfully my vet is of a similar mind and agrees.