# Best age for Neuter?



## LilOllie (Jun 2, 2009)

I have been told it is safe to neuter male dogs as early as 12 weeks and my vet suggests to neuter around the age of 6 months. I have also heard others who say it is best to wait until they are a little over 1 year. 

I would love to get everyones opinions on when they think is the best age to neuter a male dog. Since it was recommended by my vet I will probably have Oliver neutered at 6 months but I would love any information or input you may have. Thanks


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

Rescues routinely neuter at 12 weeks and even younger. If your vet is saying to wait until 6 months it's not a bad idea to go with their opinion as they know your dog and your dog's health better than we do. 

IMO, it's best to wait until the dog is fully grown.


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## FourIsCompany (Apr 18, 2009)

I also think it's best to wait till the dog is full grown, especially with larger breeds. I had my boy neutered at 18 months.


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## LilOllie (Jun 2, 2009)

hulkamaniac said:


> Rescues routinely neuter at 12 weeks and even younger. If your vet is saying to wait until 6 months it's not a bad idea to go with their opinion as they know your dog and your dog's health better than we do.
> 
> IMO, it's best to wait until the dog is fully grown.


Okay. Well I actually don't have my puppy yet, he's still with the breeder. I have already called my vet to make an appointment and asked when she recommend a dog get neutered and she said normally around 6 months. She hasn't actually seen my puppy yet though.


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## peppy264 (Apr 23, 2009)

Minimum: 2 yrs old, unless very good reasons to do earlier.

Best age: Never.

Why do you want to neuter him? There are some good reasons, but 'Everybody else does' or 'the Vet says so' are poor reasons.

I'm always amazed at the number of threads that ask 'When should I neuter my dog?' without saying why they want him neutered. If there is a real big reason to neuter (say a behavioral problem) then that also impacts on when he should be neutered.


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## MafiaPrincess (Jul 1, 2009)

I like this blog and the article they are talking about

http://rufflyspeaking.wordpress.com...r-as-close-to-the-real-story-as-i-can-get-it/


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## peppy264 (Apr 23, 2009)

The conclusion in the above referenced study:

_For male dogs, castration decreases incidence of disorders with little health significance and may increase incidence of disorders of much greater health significance._


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

The best reason to get a dog neutered is population control. Unless you can be absolutely and 100% sure that for the 10-15 years your dog will live that he will never, ever, ever, ever get out of your control or out of your site, then go ahead and neuter the dog. It's an inexpensive surgery and the diseases that are always mentioned as resulting from it are extremely rare. We're talking stuff that an intact dog has a .5% chance of getting and a neutered dog may have a 2% chance of getting. Statistically insignificant.


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## lovemygreys (Jan 20, 2007)

You can neuter any time...most pets won't be affected one way or the other. 

For large and giant breed dogs, I would greatly prefer to wait until the dog is two years old and physically matured and their bones are all done growing. A large/giant breed dog has a lot more body to support throughout their lifetime. I would hold off altering performance animals until they are retired. Otherwise, pets are spayed/neutered.


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## LilOllie (Jun 2, 2009)

peppy264 said:


> Best age: Never.
> 
> Why do you want to neuter him? There are some good reasons, but 'Everybody else does' or 'the Vet says so' are poor reasons.


Because in a year or two I may get a female dog and frankly I don't want them having puppies.



MafiaPrincess said:


> I like this blog and the article they are talking about
> 
> http://rufflyspeaking.wordpress.com...r-as-close-to-the-real-story-as-i-can-get-it/


Thanks for posting that link. I have always thought it was really easy neutering a male dog and didn't realize it could cause so many problems. I may be getting a female dog in a couple of years though. I am definitely now considering to not neuter Oliver, and if I get a female later on I may just get her spayed since it seems safer than the neuter.


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

LilOllie said:


> Because in a year or two I may get a female dog and frankly I don't want them having puppies.
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks for posting that link. I have always thought it was really easy neutering a male dog and didn't realize it could cause so many problems. I may be getting a female dog in a couple of years though. I am definitely now considering to not neuter Oliver, and if I get a female later on I may just get her spayed since it seems safer than the neuter.


Honestly, I'd fix them both. As I've said, the health risks are minimal either way and benefits (population control) are huge. Peppy will probably tell you not to get the female spayed either I would guess, but I'm not going to put words in his mouth. In any case, I don't have to worry about either of my neutered males smelling a female in heat somewhere in the tri-state area and doing everything in their power to get to her and possibly not having a clue how to get home once they do. It's just one less thing I have to worry about. I try to keep my life uncomplicated.


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## Spicy1_VV (Jun 1, 2007)

I prefer not to neuter. Though I will do it if a health issue arises of course.

Other then that I don't think their is a magic best age, but a minimum that I prefer in my breed is 18 months, though I feel better if it is later like 2yrs or so.



hulkamaniac said:


> Rescues routinely neuter at 12 weeks and even younger. If your vet is saying to wait until 6 months it's not a bad idea to go with their opinion as they know your dog and your dog's health better than we do.
> 
> IMO, it's best to wait until the dog is fully grown.


A vet is a medical professional, unlike myself and the majority of the posters. They should know about animal health but I wouldn't assume they know more about a specific dog's health in a situation like this. Most vets have a standard age at which they will alter. Your dog might have never been in their office for them to tell you this. Therefore they'd really know nothing about the dog's health. My vet, like the OP's vet, won't s/n until 6 months of age, of which the receptionist will actually inform people when they call to ask. 3 vets can have 3 different answers on it.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

hulkamaniac said:


> In any case, I don't have to worry about either of my neutered males smelling a female in heat somewhere in the tri-state area and doing everything in their power to get to her and possibly not having a clue how to get home once they do.


Ack, my grandpa's Lab (Grandpa WOULDN'T neuter him, you'd think it was his own we were talking about!), when he was about 13 1/2 years old, around 6 months before he died---couldn't walk well, was nearly deaf, had cataracts in both eyes---was let out to pee (doesn't need a leash if he can't walk.....right?) and took off. A few hours later they got a phone call from someone who lived 5 miles away, had a bitch in heat, and Boomer wouldn't go away. I guess even if they can't see or hear, their noses still work, huh? Poor dog. His life really would have been better if he had been neutered.


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## alphadoginthehouse (Jun 7, 2008)

If there is no intention of breeding, why not neuter/spay? It is much easier with a female (no fuss no muss ) and with the male, well, Willowy's post says it all.

Spicy, are you using Neuter as a "generic" term...as in neuter male/spay female?


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

When I worked at the vet all those years ago it was 6 months for spay (prior to first heat) and 8 months for neuter. 
Nowadays there is research to suggest that waiting may be better, especially in the larger breed dogs...allowing the growth plates to fuse properly. Testosterone has much more to do with the body than simple sexual drive. 
I usually recommend spaying before the first heat if the owners don't want to deal with the vigilance required, but for males, as long as they don't start showing unwanted behaviours that may be related to being intact (not all males do) or don't start getting attacked my other dogs for BEING intact, to wait until the dog is stopped growing. 

So if your pup is a small breed, adolescent neutering will most likely be fine. They are usually done growing pretty much by that time.

I do recommend all pets be spayed or neutered, simply for population control. But it is not my decision and I don't think it should be forced. Education and weighing of the pros and cons and then looking at what does the GREATER good is key.


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## LilOllie (Jun 2, 2009)

Cracker said:


> I do recommend all pets be spayed or neutered, simply for population control. But it is not my decision and I don't think it should be forced. Education and weighing of the pros and cons and then looking at what does the GREATER good is key.


Well I will tell you right now, even if I don't end up getting him neutered he will not be getting the chance to procreate. Even his time in the back yard will be monitored since he is a smaller dog. I don't trust large birds or coyotes that could jump the fence... and every time he goes outside with me for walks he will be on collar and leash. It irks me that there are many people that don't care and just let their dogs run around town or they are silly enough to have a male and female dog in the same house that are both intact.


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

LilOllie said:


> Well I will tell you right now, even if I don't end up getting him neutered he will not be getting the chance to procreate. Even his time in the back yard will be monitored since he is a smaller dog. I don't trust large birds or coyotes that could jump the fence... and every time he goes outside with me for walks he will be on collar and leash. It irks me that there are many people that don't care and just let their dogs run around town or they are silly enough to have a male and female dog in the same house that are both intact.


The ideal there is admirable. I think the majority of people don't get dogs thinking that they're just going to turn them loose to roam the neighborhood at will. There may be some dogs that go to farms where this is the plan, but in most cases, that's just not the case. The thing is that when you think about it, it's next to impossible (IMHO several people on here will disagree with me I'm sure) to control the movements of your dog 24/7/365 for 10-15 year period. 

Poop happens. A gate on a fence is left open or isn't secured properly. A fence is damaged in a storm. A leash breaks. A collar breaks. Someone decides to let your dog out. Some idiot brings their female in heat to the dog park or to the pet store (ran into this idiot one time) and you've got an intact male. One day you're busy and you haven't seen predators in your yard for ages so you let the dog out for a few minutes unsupervised in the fenced back yard. He's safe right? He digs out, jumps the fence, climbs the fence, whatever because he smells a bitch in heat 5 miles away. There are just too many things that can go wrong in a 15 year period. I've had my dogs for 4 months and they got out of my fence one time. What if they were intact? I could end up with puppies. It's just so much easier to speuter IMO. I would put it off until they're fully grown, but I would definitely speuter.


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## alphadoginthehouse (Jun 7, 2008)

You are so right Hulk..._ _it happens and quickly. Better to be safe than sorry.


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## emily445455 (Apr 8, 2008)

I don't know if it's the same for neutering...but my advice for spaying would be around 5 months. The longer you wait, the harder it is on the dog...at least in my experience.


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