Castration - Page 1

Our vet has suggested we should consider castrating our 9 month old GSD as he appears to have a suppressed immune system, evidenced by skin irritation and should not be allowed to breed.  I have also seen that this will stop him getting testicular and prostate cancer (both of which I have suffered from).

In addition it will presumably stop him running after lady dogs.

Will it make him more docile or fat or give him a high pitched bark (joke).

We'd really appreciate any comments / experiences.

Thanks, fred

unless his testicles are causing part of the problem i would leave them alone.  i personally dont like to spay or neuter a dog untill they are mature. 

will it cause him to get fat?   only if you let him.  while i have heard that neutered dogs can be less active, i have not seen it, but like i said before, i dont neuter puppies unless there is a problem.

will it stop him from chasing females?  depends on what his sexual maturity level is when its done.  i know of  a few breeders who keep altered males around as a test for when a bitch is ready to be breed.

good luck, and tell Dino hi.

john

I would suggest that you be careful going that way just because a vet said. He is young may grow out of what ever it is. He may have an allergy to food, flea's,or something in his enviroment.There are alot of people on here that really know dogs,take and try their advise before going that harsh  It's just time , you would be surprised that if you tell were you live and what you feed and have tried. Mine does bad with fleas, but surprise a little calamine lotion on hot spots and back to normal, not all are immune systems. These guys will step up as long as your willing to listen.

too young IMO

he could have a food alergy  change his diet first

Fred,  I have 2 cut males, they were "done" for different reasons and neither of them is fat!  However, perhaps your Vet needs castrating? LOL.  9 months is far too young unless there is a very real problem.  To say that he appears to have an immune problem is a little too vague for my liking!  Young dogs can get a variety of minor skin problems... spotty youths... really!

Remember Fred, if you have him cut now, it's likely that he will never make his size as he should and having a general anaesthetic is certainly not without risk... I trust your Vet pointed that out to you?

Fred, I've just read your other post about your dog's skin.

Josh (one of mine) had what sounds like the same problem... I used a Tea Tree oil spray on the spots and they went quite quickly, (sorry, I can't remember exact times) they came back again sometime later and I treated them the same way... with the same result!  It's worth a try, I hate filling dogs with antibiotics unless absolutely necessary... they sometimes cause other problems... you know... the cure's worse than the disease!

"Our vet has suggested we should consider castrating our 9 month old GSD as he appears to have a suppressed immune system, evidenced by skin irritation and should not be allowed to breed."

Thanks god we people are not dogs, as a young kid I spend most of my days sick in bed, my doctor kept on saying that I have compromised immune system, he spend many years trying to figure it out what to do, finally he told my pups to take mi into mountains for few months, guess what I never got seriously sick again after that been going on for 20 years now :) thanks god he didn't try to convince my pups to fix me instead lol :). Try to find a cause of why your dog immune system is compromised instead of taking his advice. Good luck.

Just my two cents...Having a male or a female that is not neutered is much healthier for them in the long run...specifically if they have a long term for life home with you.It doesnt mean lots of pups.

What exactly do the dog's hormones have to do with his immunity problems? Did the vet explain that? I suspect this is simple vet knee-jerk reaction. They are taught that pets should be spayed or castrated. I have had intact males and females who never produced puppies and it wasn't difficult to keep them from having puppies.

I would not castrate or spay a dog until the dog is at least 2 or 3 years old. They don't mature until that age and lack of hormones can cause excessive growth in bones as well as affecting their mental maturity.

You didn't give enough information for anyone here to determine if the skin irritations are immune related or not. Some vets are not good at diagnosing these problems. I'm not saying your vet is like that, just mentioning a general observation.

Thanks everybody again - plenty of points to discuss with our vets, it sounds as though you think they are like human doctors - pretty blinkered outside of what they know.

His skin seems to be clearing up wth the anti-fungal treatments (could be slightly lower temperatures are helping as well (high 20's instead of high 30's). 

We just want to do the best for his comfort & health, we do not plan to breed, show or work him. 

Thanks again, fred