May 05, 2011

Is there any reason to wait another month to neuter? Will I be limiting any development of the dog by having the procedure done at 5 months?

Full Question:
Cindy,

As always, your website and numerous available resources are extremely helpful. I have a question regarding the timing of neutering a male puppy. I know the 8 weeks to 8 months DVD recommends 6 months of age, however, on my last vet visit with my 4 month old male, she recommended taking care of it at 5 months. Her rationale was that the dog was large enough for the procedure. I would estimate my male puppy's weight to be approximately 50 lbs. at 4.5 months, which could mean a weight of 55 - 60 lbs. at the time of neutering. My question; is there any reason to wait another month? Will I be limiting any development of the dog by having the procedure done at 5 months? Just wanted to gain some insight on the pros and cons (if any) here. Thanks for your help in advance.

Regards,
Jeff
Cindy
Cindy Cindy's Answer:
For the average pet dog in a home that the owner may not be able to prevent accidental breeding, we recommend 6 months. Personally, I’d wait a longer than that. In my opinion (and I have more of a natural rearing/holistic way of thinking about dogs than most people) dogs need the hormones produced by their sexual organs for a variety of reasons. I want my dog to be physically and mentally mature, and I don’t believe that they develop to their potential by neutering before they all fully grown. I don’t neuter any of my dogs until they are 2 years of age (if I do neuter them at all).

Vets will push for early neutering, but unless accidental breeding is a big risk I don’t agree with it. It does nothing to curb dominance (although many vets will tell you it does).

I believe this topic is discussed at length on our forum, here is the link to the discussion forum http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/cfrm. There is a search box on the left side, if you type in your key words there you will find the information you are looking for.

Here is an article written by a vet, and even if your dog is not going to be an “athlete” it brings up things to think about. http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html

Cindy

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Expert Dog Trainer Cindy Rhodes
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