I went to the vet last week and the vet told me that I didn't need to wait another year (Enoch's 12 months) before getting him neutered. I told her I wanted to wait until he was finished maturing and growing and she said that at a year he was finished and that he wasn't going to change from now until a year. Any opinions about this statement? Has anyone had a dog who was cryptorchid? If so when did you have him neutered?

What kind of dog is it?
Small dogs may be done growing at 12 months. Large dogs usually are not. For example, you cannot hip or elbow certify a large dog such as a German Shepherd or Lab until it is 24 months old, because the bones have not yet stopped growing and joint formation is not yet complete. Not 100% sure on small dogs.

As far as neutering that is your decision. I had my dog neutered at 12 months, once the majority of his growing was complete, but just before the "teenage time". No - he was not mature 100% at 12 months. But I was not competing in Schutzhund nor is he a working dog. Also there was no chance of an unwanted litter. If there is a chance of an unwanted litter with your dog, there is no harm neutering at 12 months or earlier.

Edit: my dog was not cryptorchid.

Enoch is a German Shepherd. He just turned 12 months this month. There would be no chance for an unwanted litter. We had a Siberian for 13 years who was never spayed and not one litter. We've very careful with our dogs. He isn't a working dog by the way.

Well, your vet is correct that he will not change *in looks* physically from age 12 to 24 months. But he is NOT done developing yet, his bones and joints are still hardening, muscle tone filling in, puberty finishing off. I guess if I had to compare it to a human I would say at 12 months a dog is like a 15 year old boy and at 24 months he would be around 22. So when I was 22 I was the same height as I was at 15-16, but definitely not done maturing!

For my own dog, I decided that 12 months was mature enough, so I had him done then. But, no, I would not say he was completely, fully, done growing and matured. If this is what you want, you should wait. Going back to the hip certifications - why wouldn't they certify a dog at 12 months if it was really all done developing? Why isn't it recommended to breed dogs that young? Right - they aren't all grown up yet.

As I said, personally, 12 months was plenty mature for me. (Much better than say 6 months). The decision is yours to make.

If you search this board for topics on neutering you will find where people have linked to studies and articles on the maturity of dogs.

 Quote: angela burrell

Well, your vet is correct that he will not change *in looks* physically from age 12 to 24 months. But he is NOT done developing yet, his bones and joints are still hardening, muscle tone filling in, puberty finishing off. I guess if I had to compare it to a human I would say at 12 months a dog is like a 15 year old boy and at 24 months he would be around 22. So when I was 22 I was the same height as I was at 15-16, but definitely not done maturing!

I consider muscle development to be pretty important in the physical maturation process, and quite a bit of a male dog's adult muscle mass is added after the skeleton is mostly done growing - between 1 and 3 years for a large breed dog. Oscar filled out quite a bit between 1 and 2, and I'm glad we waited till 2 to neuter (not a cryptorchid... just on a contract), he's much more "masculine" because of it.

Oscar also went through a huge MENTAL maturation period between 12 and 18 months - he pretty much changed into a different dog (from goofy, happy-go-lucky puppy, to very serious, protective, territorial, and proud adult) I'm reasonably confident that there wouldn't have been that much change if he hadn't been allowed access to his hormones. In retrospect, I'm glad he has a great adult temperament today (and that we learned how the deal with it ), but I will admit, working through that period was a pretty super-sized challenge for us, as first time owners of a dominant, powerful, 95lb dog who was becoming more and more sure of himself by the second.

If it were me, I'd wait till at least 2, but absolutely recognize that a multitude of changes - from muscle mass to attitude - can certainly happen between now and then (every dog will develop differently). Just my 2 cents worth...

~Natalya

Hi Maisha- I had one of my germand sheps neutered at 2 years of age because he was cryptorchid - I waited till then for him to finish growing and maturing - I was told the longer you wait the more chance of cancer because of the non-decended testicle but I felt ok waiting till he was two. Strange enough when they did the surgery and opened him up they could not find the other testicle anywhere!! So i hope that he didnt have the second one to begin with because he can still have the chance for cancer I believe with it in there still, anway - Just remember its your decision not the vets, if you wait till hes 2 I'm sure they will still be happy to perform the operation for you-

Cicero was a double cryptorchid. He was neutered at 7 months. In retrospect I probably should have waited until he finished growing but I didn't know any better at the time.

Thanks everyone. Natalya you explained the maturation of a dog very well and it made perfect sense.`Now the pricing of the neutering was very high (between $600-$700). Is this common with a crytorchid dog?

It is almost always higher than a regular neuter. The vet goes into the abdomen, much like a spay, to retrieve the testicle(s).

I went to a low cost spay neuter clinic in my area and it was a lot cheaper than that. I don't know if you have that option available to you or not.