I've been thinking about having my 7 year old lab neutered. The main reason is for health issues, like prostate cancer. However, there seems to be some conflicting information about whether or not it makes any differences. What's the general thought around here? Will neutering him reduce the risk of cancers and other health problems?

Also, would it change his personality very much? As I understand it (from reading LB's articles), neutering before ages 1 or 2 will alter their personality much more than neutering at mature ages.

How much do these operations usually cost?

Personally I am a fan of spaying and neutering pets. I do believe that it does reduce the risk of cancers/health concerns for males and females plus it typically makes for a better house dog and reduces unwanted dogs due to accidental breedings. I adopted a 5 1/2 yr intact male in Oct and had him neutered. From what I knew of him and now know of him, his personality was not altered greatly. He is a bit less pushy, but not sure if that is as a result of neutering or working with him, or both. The urine marking has lessoned and he has chunked up some so I have to keep a better eye on his weight.

As far as the cost, I think it varies greatly depending on the geographical location and procedure. I want to say that his surgery was about 250.00 and that included laboratory studies prior to surgery, laser vs scapel and home pain meds.

I want to add that we did have constant spot bleeding for about 10 days post surgery. I have never encountered that before with any of my other males but then I haven't had one fixed at that age nor did via laser. Which is odd because the claim with laser surgery is less bleeding, less pain, quicker healing. The vet seems to think it was related to his maturity, muscular build as he was not chewing or licking at the area. I did keep the buster collar on him just in case if he wasn't in my vision. He wore boxers and we iced, no biggie other than the carpet.

Are you seeing beginning prostate problems?

http://leerburg.com/neuter.htm

"- Many older dogs develop prostrate problems. Neutering is going to help these dogs. It often adds years to their life. I think they should be neutered."

Hi John,

If you've successfully lived with your intact male for this long (ie, no unintentional matings, no serious behavioral issues, no health problems, etc) I would actually vote that you leave him be. To your concern: recent studies suggest that prostate cancer specifically is just as common, if not more common, in neutered dogs as it is in intact dogs. There are other prostate issues that may be helped by neutering, but only if your dog is having recurring problems. The only thing you will be absolutely eliminating is the chance for testicular cancer (obviously), which isn't a terribly common affliction anyway. In addition to metabolism changes and weight gain associated with neutering, I've also heard a number of breeders (who often have adult, veteran show dogs that don't need to be intact once their show careers are over) discuss the risk of urinary incontinence after altering that late in life - more common in females, but it happens with males too.

With respect, I fully support spaying and neutering in most pets, due mostly to the average owner's inability to responsibly care for/control intact animals, and prevent litters, but if one has an excellent track record for handling, containment and healthcare, I'd pass on the surgery at this point and just keep an eagle eye on the dog so that any health concerns could be spotted immediately and taken care of (yearly vet checks would be increasingly important). You can always neuter later, but you can't ever put them back.

All JMO, but for the record, I neutered my current boy at two (per his contract) - his recovery was quite painful (surgery cost just over $300), I DID notice a change in temperament and he does put on weight more easily. Our previous family dog (toy breed) was left intact his entire life and was marvelously fit and healthy up until old age caught up with him at 17. This has been my limited personal experience, but you can see where my opinion comes from.

Here's a little reading material, though there are many more articles posted on this site if you do a search on "neutering":
http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

~Natalya

We had an older male with recurring enlargement of the prostate. At the advice of the repro vet, we had him neutered and for him it solved the problem.

It hasn't changed his personality at all.

If there is no pressing medical need I wouldn't opt for the surgery.

surprisingly they still have the urge to merge and can tie with a female. first hand experience with my Max

 Quote: Dennis Jones

surprisingly they still have the urge to merge and can tie with a female. first hand experience with my Max

This is a little off topic (a little? ), but back in experimental psych in college, we did an experiement in which we took male rats, and neutered half, while the other half had their olafactory glands removed, then tested them with in season females.

The ones that had been neutered still tried to mount the females and achieve intromission at a rate that approached non-neutered males, while the ones with their olafactory bulbs removed had very little interest in the females at all.

It was quite an eye-opener to the importance of smell to the sex drive.

I wouldn't be surprised if something like that was going on for Max (at least I brought it back to dogs ).

leih

A rescue group in my town had a 9 yr old coonhound. He lived at my house for a week or so. Sniffing machine, on leash tracking every minute, lots of drive.
They found a home for him, but the rescue org. rules stated he had to be neutered.
He was also a HUGE urine marker, like stopped to pee 3 drops on every vertical surface, he was sort of hard to walk, and a big strong dog.
I told the group I thought it was ridiculous to neuter a dog of that age, cruel.
Well, they went ahead and did it, and the dog got a town home, became a huge fat couch potato -- the new owners absolutely love him. He lost a lot of drive, but he sleeps on the bed now, instead of chained to a barrel. A sacrifice to become a better pet was how I looked at it.

Thanks everyone. I appreciate all the helpful insight.

My lab has no health problems, so I'm just trying to be proactive by considering neutering for health concerns. He's well behaved and has a lot of drive, but it's good drive and is manageable. He's very focused on me, so he never really wonders off and it makes training very easy. I've never had a problem with containment, so that's not an issue. The only behavioral benefit I could see from it is possibly curing his desire to mark everything on walks. But lately I've been using marker training for heeling and that has really helped. Although he does occasionally pee on our beagle in the backyard.

I'll probably keep thinking about it and researching it, but I'm kind of leaning towards keeping him intact.

 Quote: betty landercasp

Well, they went ahead and did it, and the dog got a town home, became a huge fat couch potato -- the new owners absolutely love him. He lost a lot of drive, but he sleeps on the bed now, instead of chained to a barrel. A sacrifice to become a better pet was how I looked at it.

Part of me wonders if this fellow's new status as "couch potato" is more about aging and adapting to the lifestyle of his new people than being neutered.

Our dog, now almost ten years old, is still running the fields every morning, chasing squirrels and harassing the 'girls' just as enthusiastically as ever with no sign of slowing down. his surgery was a couple of years ago. Nothing about him has changed.