May 05, 2011
I recently read information on the risk of bone cancer and thyroid issues that could be related to neutering your puppy too young. How do I know if I have an aggressive dog?
Full Question:
I have a 10 month old male lab. I recently read information on the risk of bone cancer, thyroid issues and other issues that could be related to neutering your puppy too young... 4 to 6 months. The research (studied with medium to large dogs) showed that the dogs that were neutered at one year had a 65 to 75% chance of not having some of these issues as they age. Our lab is very active (teenager). How do I know if I have an aggressive dog? I am watching your video on Pack structure... I listened to your comments on neutering and it needs to be done between 6 to 8 months to calm an aggressive personality down. I would love to wait for a couple of months yet I do want a nice calm boy... would it make a difference if I fixed him now at 10 months... however I am not sure what defines an aggressive personality?Thanks,
Lisa
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![Cindy](https://leerburg.com/Photos/articles/authors/cindyrhodes.jpg)
Being calm is something completely different from being aggressive.
Raising your dog with firm rules and leadership should put you in the power position to avert aggressive behaviors (if done correctly).
I'd recommend you read some of the Q&A's on our web site from people who have aggressive dogs, and you will find there is an underlying common thread of lack of leadership. I would direct you to the search function in the upper left corner of the web site for any additional questions you may have... If you type in your key words it will guide you to articles, Q&A's and posts on our forum.
We don't neuter our dogs routinely here, but if we were going to we would wait until the dog is mentally and physically mature (usually after 2 years of age).
Vaccinations are a huge problem that may cause even more health problems than neutering as most dogs are vaccinated over and over needlessly.
Cindy
Raising your dog with firm rules and leadership should put you in the power position to avert aggressive behaviors (if done correctly).
I'd recommend you read some of the Q&A's on our web site from people who have aggressive dogs, and you will find there is an underlying common thread of lack of leadership. I would direct you to the search function in the upper left corner of the web site for any additional questions you may have... If you type in your key words it will guide you to articles, Q&A's and posts on our forum.
We don't neuter our dogs routinely here, but if we were going to we would wait until the dog is mentally and physically mature (usually after 2 years of age).
Vaccinations are a huge problem that may cause even more health problems than neutering as most dogs are vaccinated over and over needlessly.
Cindy
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