I'm stressed! I didn't realize there was such heavy social pressure to spay/neuter until now! I have a 5 1/2 month old male GSD. My gut's tell me to let him be. I'm just beginning to see the dog he's becoming and I LOVE the DRIVE and ENTHUSIASM and ZING and I'm absolutely terrified that he'll loose that spark!
So let me pick your brains - I've never lived with an intact male (just ask my ex-husband!) - what sort of every day real life issues will I be looking at if I don't neuter? He is definitely bonded to me, and we are very serious about obedience work and will compete when he's older-- but "experts" tell me that he'll want to take off to cruise for chicks every time he's off leash; he won't focus in the ring; others tell me that he'll become mean and difficult to handle. The list goes on and on. He is off leash alot, but he is ALWAYS with me (or in his crate) and ALWAYS under my control.
It just seems to me that the issues that are brought up by the spay/neuter nazi's are really management and training issues - not behavior problems unless I let them become behavior problems. Am I being naive? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Victoria
They are full of it. Im not saying you wont have problems but it wont be becouse he is intact.
Consider the other things though. Is he worth breding in the future? Are his hips and elbows good? Does he have good temperment. Etc. Etc. Then decide. All he will do in tact as apposed to fixed is go after females when there in heat. If you follow through with good obediance and let him know you are alfa over him, You should be fine.

Ron

You're not being naive at all. Those spay/neuter nazis have an agenda, and it has nothing to do with the well-being of your dog and everything to do with ignorance about the eugenic aspects of training a dog for competition.

I have a 2-1/2 year old GSD, Oka, whom I'm training in Schutzhund, so he is, of course, intact. (I asked my trainer early on about neutering, and I'll never forget the look of horror on his face: "Please don't," he replied fervently.) I've had very little trouble with Oka--in fact, he's rather mellow around other dogs, and in the few cases where he's not OK with a dog, he listens to me and disengages. A harder dog might be more problematic, but as a responsible trainer, you will be alert to situations that might trigger him, and you will take appropriate measures.

If you feel compelled to explain to these people why you haven't neutered your dog, I suggest the tack I use: "this is a valuable dog from a carefully-bred line of dogs, and I'm training him to see if he's got the sort of genetics that should be passed on to make the breed better. Neutering him before I know one way or the other--which is the purpose of my training him--would be a betrayal of my stewardship of the breed."

That way you don't even have to get into the behavioral aspects.

Thank goodness somebody asked this question!! I am in exactly the same situation and have received numerous lectures and "reminders" from the vet to get him neutered (he, too, is 5 1/2 months).
I am anticipating another browbeating, as I left a message at the vet's today about some discharge around his wee-wee (to use medical terminology), which may be totally normal (?), yet be turned into another neutering lecture by the vet.

find another vet.

hi victoria,the "neuter" thing is always a touchy subject,it may be that a dog's "drive"to excell could be closely related to male hormones.if i recall correctly there was something on leerburg's website about when to"fix"your male and it made a lot of sense,basically i think the idea is to let the dog grow into full sexual maturity first,then...snip,snip if you must.i like to notice things in everyday life...everything a young,virile man does,indeed,his desire to excell at anything he's involved in,is to impress the opposite sex..this young man is being"driven to excell",spurred on by testosterone!so if the dog matures and it looks like he's not breedable,or if it's a matter of his health,then yes..it would be the humane thing to do,but if the male hormones are contributing to performance,obedience or otherwise then i'd wait.

Thanks SO much for all the replies! I suppose I should have made it clear that my vet hasn't given me any lectures about neutering - she did give me her point of view, but that's her job. She's not a Neutering Nazi <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Also, breeding isn't really part of this equation. For me, this is all about the drive and enthusiasm. I will have him x-rayed at 2 as suggested, but it will be for a heads up so we can avoid future activity related problems; not to plan my white shepherd empire <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
I had the procedure scheduled for next week, but I've called and cancelled. I'm just not comfortable with it. Gotta go with the gut. I'll re-visit the idea when he's grown.

Ive changed my mind. I would definatly have him fixed.

Ron

I couldn't care less if someone neuters or not as long as they manage the dog appropriately, but let's dispel some of the BS. Neutering a dog does not lower his energy level, his enthusiasm for the work, or his "zing". Testosterone has an impact on the threshold of aggression, so neutering a schutzhund dog might have a negative impact on his bitework. It would have zippo negative effects on his competition obedience work. It will lower the occurrance of marking and sniffing somewhat, sometimes dramatically, and often times it reduces the desire to wander far and wide, and lowers the threshold for dog aggression. These are facts, straight out of the Journal of the AVMA. As for vets who stress spay/neuter, just think of all the problems dogs and clients they see - seperation anxiety problems, marking problems, dog aggression, not to mention the bazillion unplanned, unwanted litters and "dumped" dogs that they see. Then add to it the research that they read in their monthly journals, citing the improvements in some of these problems that result from gonadectomies. It's no wonder they push it, and they SHOULD. Their typical clientel is incredibly ignorant and SHOULD be pushed to spay/neuter. If you are a responsible, knowlegeable owner and don't fall into the category of the "typical" dog owner, then great - smile, say thanks and don't neuter. But don't condemn your vet for his opinion - he's got good reasons for having it.

Marking in dogs is also a temperament issue. My male was neutered fairly early because of fighting with our other male. It had no effect on the fighting. He is a dominant marker anyway. Now as an adult he has continued with dominance marking, particularly after he works. My experience would be to plan on "cureing" temperamnet issues through training (particularly obedience). My feeling is that if I am going to neuter, I will wait until the dog reaches sexual maturity to moderate proper growth, but I don't see a big point in neutering every dog.