I want to clarify something I said in a hurry yesterday, and I can't edit it now. I said "predispose." I didn't mean predispose at all; I changed my mind halfway through the sentence and forgot to change the first half,lol. What I should have said was that in dogs *likely* to have ortho issues, early neutering (by early, I mean before physical maturity) is IMO, a no-no for several reasons, not limited to improper growth. I am not a link-saver, unfortunately, so I can't send you to the exact URLs right this minute, but there is plenty of easy to find info out there regarding the relationship between these issues and early neutering.

I think Amber said he was a mix, so IMO, he's probably not predisposed to HD as much as some purebreds, unless he's a mix of say, GSD and something else widely affected. Unless he's going to be a hundred pounder or some huge beast, neutering around a year would be a nice compromise;-)

So question, why do vets recommend getting your dog neutered between 5-6 months old? Or are they just saying never before that age?

It's to reduce the number of unwanted pups that end up in shelters, so they advise neutering/spaying B-4 sexual maturity -- For awhile VERY early alteration was in vogue, where they fixed baby puppies (NOT a good idea, health-wise!) but now most vets recommend doing it at 6 months of age...

Oh, no, they're not saying that at all. I know vets who neuter at 8 weeks (malpractice, IMO). They are so into pushing the "help control the pet population" agenda that they don't concern themselves with the health of the animal. Ironic, isn't it? I know I sound cynical, but this issue has become such a hot-button for me b/c the people who get so heated and vocal about it often don't have enough medical knowledge to make an informed decision.

Many try to neuter their pets early to avoid aggression, dominance, marking, etc. Personally, while it may help, I don't think that's a good enough reason to jeopardize the dog's longterm well-being, and I've seen more wacky, irritating, displaced sexual behaviors from early neutered dogs than intact dogs, or those who had reaced maturity before they were neutered. I have a very dominant 3yo intact GSD who has never once humped anything but a female dog. I have a 7yr old Chihuahua who was not neutered until age 5-same thing-no odd/inappropriate sexual behaviors.

I used to foster for a local shelter, and I had some real oddball dogs who'd been neutered as soon as they were "old enough" and they had issues. Major issues. Humping, marking, you name it. Anecdotal, coincidental, yada yada yada. I've seen enough not to chance it. It is not the cure-all that it's represented to be, and it's turning into the first step for "problem" dogs, when TRAINING should be the first step.

Example: I petsit for a 5mo old Golden. Purchased from BYB, intended to be a child's pet, yada yada yada. Well, somehow it came up that he was already neutered...at 12 weeks. Now, here's a big dog with questionable (at best) hip prognosis (his parents weren't xrayed-too young). This is a dog who I would've let reach physical maturity before altering, period. But he humped the child, so off with the testicles! This puppy needed direction and guidance...not surgery. I just hate to see people taking the easy way out when it may do more harm than good, and not even fix the problem.


I don't mean to imply in any way that pet dogs kept by pet owners should not be neutered; I just don't think they should be neutered so young, and vets need to tell the whole truth about the pros and cons; both exist!

Edited, now that I've seen Candi's post to say: Unfortunately, some vets are still pushing VERY early neutering, especially in shelter adoptions. I've been working against one in particular, who is literally killing animals right and left from neutering at 8 weeks, regardless of health and body condition. My sister's kitten was one of their victims, and my vet has told me of dozens more that come to him in really horrendous shape after their "routine" surgery at 8 weeks....

If vets don't take the Hippocratic oath ("First, do NO harm.") they should...

I think they do. What happened at this particular place was the shelter had a 6mo policy on neutering. Adopters had to put a deposit down and got their money back with age-appropriate neutering. The hospital who did the animals over 6mos realized how many "sales" they were losing, called over to the shelter (run totally by well-meaning volunteers) and said that as long as they're 8wks, send 'em over. The president was unaware of this. This kept the adoption fees lower, and the newly altered baby could be picked up straight from the vet. This guaranteed that the vet got ALL the humane society business, who is their biggest client, as the rest of the city is well-aware of their terrible reputation. To show you how bad they are, a pet store directly across the street give puppy check-up certificates for a vet 20mins away,lol.

I happen to work with the president of the shelter's board, and I told him our story, and he was shocked and horrified, and has since enforced a new policy on neutering...back to the old deposit system. It's too late for the ones who have died, and the many who have suffered, but at least now the vet has been made aware that the humane society will not tolerate their ploy to get more business.

Sorry to get off-topic...I really started to pick up steam there b/c this one hit close to home. My sister's kitten died ($2000 later) and my dog was hospitalized for nearly a week due to their policy.

He's getting him neutered! I gave him some resources to do his own research on the subject and he's decided to do it at 8 mos. Just wanted to give an update!

 Quote: candi campbell

If vets don't take the Hippocratic oath ("First, do NO harm.") they should...

That "oath" makes no difference at all for doctors, and makes no lasting impression. Soon after the "oath" is taken, the bean counters at the insurance companies dictate what the doctor does and does not do. But the bean counters aren't the only ones at fault, the doctors bear the responsibility ultimately.

If it makes no difference to doctors for humans, it makes no difference to vets. I don't trust either, full trust never ever ever.

Doctors and vets will always be people, so that means that some will be worse than others. Some are doctors and vets because it means lots of moolah and some are doctors and vets because of a desire to really help.

I have a very close friend who's in his third year of vet school. I have never seen such an animal advocate. He's already working on a fund for animal care costs for when he has his own practice. He doesn't want to put people in the position of having to put a dollar amount on their love for their animal. He's been in the position of seeing people put their animals down because they can't afford the crazy expensive treatment. Brutal.

I know in some states, the state decided neutering age of pound animals. Like it's been stated before, it's an attempt to control the pet population--getting them before breeding age. Check your state and write your gov't if they're the ones with the control over pound animal's health.

The state is only in charge of the various county shelters; this was a private humane society.