Experiences of neutering male dogs

cepheus

My Lab-Alsation Male dog is becoming full grown at 14 months, and I'm considering the options for neutering, if at all. I've been rather uneasy about neutering after reading this article, which raises serious questions of the operation on the health of the dog.

On the positive side, neutering male dogs
• eliminates the small risk (probably <1%) of dying from testicular cancer
• reduces the risk of non-cancerous prostate disorders
• reduces the risk of perianal fistulas
• may possibly reduce the risk of diabetes (data inconclusive)

On the negative side, neutering male dogs
• if done before 1 year of age, significantly increases the risk of osteosarcoma (bone cancer); this is a
common cancer in medium/large and larger breeds with a poor prognosis.
• increases the risk of cardiac hemangiosarcoma by a factor of 1.6
• triples the risk of hypothyroidism
• increases the risk of progressive geriatric cognitive impairment
• triples the risk of obesity, a common health problem in dogs with many associated health problems
• quadruples the small risk (<0.6%) of prostate cancer
• doubles the small risk (<1%) of urinary tract cancers
• increases the risk of orthopedic disorders
• increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccinations

There's more on behavioural effects and population control here.

http://apbc.org.uk/articles/neuteringmaledogs

http://www.doglistener.co.uk/neutering_definitive

The Wikipedia article is also very informative although note they are referring to females as well here which is a different story.

My Vet is very non-committal, she seems to appreciate there are two sides to consider and hasn't pushed me into doing it. She did however suggest I might consider an hormonal implant which is a reversible alternative.

My dog's behaviour is more playful than aggressive but it can occasionally lead to scuffles if the other dog feels threatened by boystrous behaviour. The main issue has been poor recall particularly at the end of a walk when he wants to play 'catch', but he doesn't have a tendency to stray or mount females yet.

What are your experiences of neutering male dogs, did it improve or worsen behaviour? did you have a dog which died of any of the diseases caused by or not by neutering.

Faith177

My boy has been amazing he was done at about 8 months I think. He is coming up for 6 in July touch wood no health problems at all. He has grown to his true size he's massive as tall as me at 5' 6" when he stands up and his temperament and behaviour is excellent. His weight has never been an issue and he is spot on for his breed

He is the sweetest dog and loves cuddles on the sofa with mum. He is still playful but he isn't a mad dog (though he has silly moments). He is very well trained and mostly does as he's told unless my girl husky is playing up too

I can't comment on the straying because he's a husky so if he goes of lead he is a sod to get back so I don't do that any more.

There are always risks with anything but I know what my housemates cat (i know not quite the same but to give you an idea) got like when he was neutered till a late age he was a nightmare he was vicious and spiteful he would attack my girls at every opportunity

teddysmum

I originally had four entire male cavaliers, with no problems, but two (the ones I have left) both had a retained testicle, but my vet, at the time, said it was ok to leave them,provided that I regularly checked the retained testicles, which were not in the body cavity, so less of a cancer risk.


However,when the two older boys died the younger two started marking in the house, probably because they are very close in age, so it was rivalry.


To my horror, one day while grooming Joly, I felt that his retained testicle was huge,so it was a vet visit followed by immediate castration. (I didn't have an investigation, as I wouldn't have wanted him to go through cancer treatment, but the vet said there was no sign of growth beyond the testicle and he was right as that was four years ago).


After the op, Joly never marked in the house again; surprising as the effect usually takes a few weeks.Teddy was done a couple of months later. (He does sometimes urinate in the house, but it isn't marking as he now wees like a girl. He just doesn't like rain or snow or is unwilling to wait for me to let him out.)


The only down sides for my two are that Joly's coat grows very fast and longer than it originally was and Teddy's coat, in contrast, has gone rather sparse on his chest area.


There has been no change in character.

sangie595

I have only had one male dog neutered. For him it was a penultimate ditch attempt to resolve serious aggression. It didn't work, and nor did the last ditch.

Other than that, I have no reason to. And for the small potential gains I see no cause. If we put the same arguments and applied them to men (and they do apply!) then I doubt they'd all be forming a queue at the local hospital. Irresponsible breeding is stopped by responsible owners. Not neutering. Again, just like humans. My young lad is currently six months. He will not be neutered.

POPPYOSCAR

Our Westie was neutered.


The only health issue he had was skin problems in the last couple of years of his life, which is common to the breed. He was never overweight.


He lived to nearly 16.

sheramber

From what you say your dog needs training and neutering is unlikely to change that.

Neutering helps with sexually related unwanted behaviours but not with other behavioural issues.

He is a teenager and pushing the boundaries with you and other dogs.

Find a positive training class and train him to respond to you before considering neutering.

At his present age he is full of testosterone. After 2 years old the level of testosterone reduces naturally.

Some neutered dogs have problems with entire dogs not recognising them as males, due to lack of male hormones, and this can lead to fights. One acquaintance had big problems with entire dogs constantly trying to mount her neutered dog. So much so , that walks became a misery and her dog became aggressive to other dogs.

Paradigm

From what you've posted he doesn't seem to have any behavioural issues??
He's just a growing puppy displaying normal "pain in the !!!!!" puppy stuff


He's not doing anything that can't be sorted with patience & consistent training along with him growing up!


BTW... for a Lab/Shepherd cross he's not anywhere near "full grown" at 14 months, he needs another 6 months at least to be considered mature.


I've got a Dogue de Bordeaux boy who's 21 months & he's only just started to calm down, still some way to go though

SensibleSarah

I'm a firm believer in neutering all of my pets as long as there is no real medical/behavioural reason why not. I think that ideally I'd wait until at least 18-24 months of age for a large breed male dog, when they have come out of the other side of their 'teenage phase'. The neutering is unlikely to solve behavioural issues that aren't directly related to hormones, and with dogs who have really serious issues, it can even make them worse in some cases.

Not saying that this is the case with the OP and their dog of course, but too many people expect neutering to suddenly cure their dog of bad behaviour, when it's actually a training issue and therefore will still be there after the op.

However neutering does remove the urges that any dog of mine would never be able to fulfil, and does reduce cancer risk, so it's something I would always do.

As I only adopt rescue dogs, I would expect them to be neutered already unless too young - unless as previously mentioned they have a medical reason why not e.g. recovering from severe neglect or a serious behavioural issue which could be made worse by removing the hormones at that stage e.g. insecurity based fear aggression.

For 95% of dogs though, the above would not apply and neutering often does have a generally positive effect on their temperament in my experience , and certainly not a negative one. The obesity one makes me laugh! A dog gets obese when it's fed too much on an ongoing basis. If your dog starts to get overweight after neutering, you just reduce the amount you feed it!

Caroline_a

My German Shepherd was neutered when he was about 20 months old and my Spinone was about the same age. I had no intend of breeding from them even though they were both good breed standards, but the Shep was starting to get a bit bossy with other dogs. He calmed down a month or so after neutering, and has had no problems either health or temperament since. The Spin just carried bumbling on....

Person_one

If you don't neuter him, you'll never be able to let him exercise off the lead on walks (unless you have a huge amount of land).

missbiggles1

Person_one wrote: »

If you don't neuter him, you'll never be able to let him exercise off the lead on walks (unless you have a huge amount of land).

A huge amount of land with very high fences!