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by Scarlet Akai on 21 June 2010 - 05:06
Alrighty, At what age if ever do you aim to alter your dog?
There are many valid arguments on both early alteration and waiting until maturity is reached.
I personally am leaning towards waiting until after maturity is reached. As there have been quite a few studies that link this to a longer life in your pet, while at the same time suggesting that dogs who are altered under 6 months rarely make 13. Not to mention less chance of obesity, certain forms of cancers a more Natural growth rate, etc etc
Of course on the other side early spay and neuter is the easiest way to prevent an accidental litter, It nullifies certain reproductive related cancers, and has certain behavioral pluses. ( ie no crazy male syndrome when a female is in heat)
So what I am asking is in your experience what have you noticed in the dogs that you all have loved throughout the years. And if you don't mind sharing do/did you have any early alter dogs that made it 13 or beyond? Also what did you feed them. For those who waited to maturity what if any complications have you come across.
Scarlet
There are many valid arguments on both early alteration and waiting until maturity is reached.
I personally am leaning towards waiting until after maturity is reached. As there have been quite a few studies that link this to a longer life in your pet, while at the same time suggesting that dogs who are altered under 6 months rarely make 13. Not to mention less chance of obesity, certain forms of cancers a more Natural growth rate, etc etc
Of course on the other side early spay and neuter is the easiest way to prevent an accidental litter, It nullifies certain reproductive related cancers, and has certain behavioral pluses. ( ie no crazy male syndrome when a female is in heat)
So what I am asking is in your experience what have you noticed in the dogs that you all have loved throughout the years. And if you don't mind sharing do/did you have any early alter dogs that made it 13 or beyond? Also what did you feed them. For those who waited to maturity what if any complications have you come across.
Scarlet
by Scarlet Akai on 21 June 2010 - 20:06
:::::Cricket:::::::
chirp....... chirp.....chirp
chirp....... chirp.....chirp
by Gennie on 21 June 2010 - 20:06
I think it all depends on the person, if you're able to it's best to wait until maturity, but as you mentioned there are both pros and cons to doing it. In the end, life is a gamble however you make it, but if you think you'll run a high risk of having the dog bred then have him/her altered early.
by NoCurs on 21 June 2010 - 21:06
My first dog, spayed at 6 months, made it to 14 years.
Second dog, not altered, died at 8 years.
I've studied early age S/N extensively, as we were one of the first shelters to start doing it in our area, and after many years of watching shelter dogs and my own dogs mature this is my conclusion:
For bitches,not a huge deal to spay around 6 months. I usually do mine around 1 to 2 years of age. Female pups being places I do around 4 months.
For males, I do NOT recommend doing them before 12 months of age.
I have neutered several dogs later in life and had medical issues with them. I don't neuter unless there is a reason to.''
Hope that helps.
Second dog, not altered, died at 8 years.
I've studied early age S/N extensively, as we were one of the first shelters to start doing it in our area, and after many years of watching shelter dogs and my own dogs mature this is my conclusion:
For bitches,not a huge deal to spay around 6 months. I usually do mine around 1 to 2 years of age. Female pups being places I do around 4 months.
For males, I do NOT recommend doing them before 12 months of age.
I have neutered several dogs later in life and had medical issues with them. I don't neuter unless there is a reason to.''
Hope that helps.
by GSDtravels on 21 June 2010 - 21:06
I prefer not to alter, but I also make sure there are no accidents. Drake goes nowhere without me and I don't allow chances for escape. It may be different if I had multiple dogs and/or an intact female, but I don't. I once made the mistake of spaying a 7 year old Yorkie and it cost her at least 4 years of here life. She reacted to the sedative and ended up with liver damage. She was one of the best dogs I've ever had, and I lost her at 11. At 6 lbs., she could have easily made 15 in good health. I blamed myself.
by Scarlet Akai on 21 June 2010 - 21:06
@ Gennie... i agree life is a gamble no matter what :P I think the trick is to do your best to place the odds in your favor
@ NoCurs thank you :) Exactly the kind of info i'm looking for. BTW I've been meaning to ask you the name of your photo dog? s/he has an absolutely gorgeous Expression IMHO
@ NoCurs thank you :) Exactly the kind of info i'm looking for. BTW I've been meaning to ask you the name of your photo dog? s/he has an absolutely gorgeous Expression IMHO
by Judy P on 21 June 2010 - 22:06
Not only do I train and breed Malinois I also run a 501 c 3 rescue for dogs. In the rescue we spay and neuter every single puppy at 8 weeks. We have seen a little longer legs than what we may have had if we had not neutered. Most of the dogs are still going strong and we have been doing this for 10 years. What we do not see is more unwanted puppies.
Now for my personal dogs I have a 4 yr old Toy Fox Terrier spayed at 4 months who is doing great, a geriatric JRT who was spayed about a year ago and she never missed a beat. My 13 yr old GSD was spayed at 3 and is healthy - she has the usual old age problems but nothing unusual. Now my last Min Pin lived to be 16 and she was spayed at 9. All of the Mals are intact and while there are plans to possibly spay one of the girls the other 2 will remain intact.
Now for my personal dogs I have a 4 yr old Toy Fox Terrier spayed at 4 months who is doing great, a geriatric JRT who was spayed about a year ago and she never missed a beat. My 13 yr old GSD was spayed at 3 and is healthy - she has the usual old age problems but nothing unusual. Now my last Min Pin lived to be 16 and she was spayed at 9. All of the Mals are intact and while there are plans to possibly spay one of the girls the other 2 will remain intact.
by starrchar on 21 June 2010 - 23:06
My last male I had neutered at 3 years. He was dog aggressive and it did help some, along with plenty of training. He lived to 14 years of age. I had a female GSD that was spayed at 6 months (before I got her) and she lived to be 13 years old. My present male was neutered at 5 years. We just got him (after he was neutered) so I can't comment on whether or not it was a good thing. My present female, neutered at 2 years. She has ocassional problems with urine leakage at night, but her heat cycles did a number on her hormones and she was miserable. I have no regrets. We've had other dogs too and all of our dogs have been altered (various reasons- bad hips being one of them) and they all lived long lives. IMO: If you are a VERY responsible pet owner and your dog is a huge priority in your life, which is the case with many on this board, and there are no problems leaving with your dog intact, then you may never have to neuter or spay. If you have a lot going on in your life and your dogs aren't no. 1 in your life (as it is with the average pet owner) then I say spay or neuter early on and take your chances on the health. There are way too many unwanted dogs and puppies out there. I know many disagree with this, but when you think of the millions of dogs that are PTS every year, I am in full agreement with early spay and neuter for the average dog owner.
by Kimmelot on 28 June 2010 - 05:06
I say spay/neuter by 6-9 months for males, and 9 months to 1 year for girls after one heat. With male dogs in perticular it can be said that they will get more gangly looking if they are neutered under a year, I have heard (( Ears)) that its because both dogs/horses ( males) stop growing after around a year and a half and will start bulking up muscle to make them strong ( to be competitive breeders) - if you fix them before this the testosterone does not tell them to stop growing, and the growth plates stay open longer. Male dogs also don't look masculine in the face when they are fixed early.
Example, A dog buyer got 2 puppies from me , one female and one male. The male was fixed before 6 months old, he ended up being the size of a pony ( around 32 inches at the shoulder and around 120 lb- so not intended). The female was spayed later - only having one common parent, she stayed smaller ( normal) .
Example, A dog buyer got 2 puppies from me , one female and one male. The male was fixed before 6 months old, he ended up being the size of a pony ( around 32 inches at the shoulder and around 120 lb- so not intended). The female was spayed later - only having one common parent, she stayed smaller ( normal) .
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