# Too old to neuter?



## JessC929 (May 31, 2008)

I have a male Silky Poo that is 4 years old and he has never been neutered. Is he too old to be neutered? I was reading that dogs who aren't neutered are at risk for testicular cancer. I am so worried for my dog. I love him so much and I don't want anything to happen to him. My dad thinks that my dog is too old to be neutered and that it would be very painful, so he doesn't want to get him neutered. I think that we should get him neutered but I need to know some of the benefits so that I can tell my dad to get him neutered.


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

"Direct health benefits of neutering include eliminating the risk for testicular tumors. Benign overgrowth of the prostate, a disease commonly seen in older intact males, is exacerbated by testosterone, and as the prostate gets bigger it can press on the adjacent urethra, causing urinary problems. Also, certain tumors of the anal area are also testosterone-dependent."
http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=502

And 4 years old is not too old to be neutered. We just had a retired show dog spayed at the age of 8, and she did fine. Spaying is much more invasive than a neuter on a male. If your dog is in good health, there shouldn't be a problem.


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## Darkmoon (Mar 12, 2007)

A dog can be spayed or neutered at any age, theres not a big difference in pain at all. Your dad doesn't want him neutered because he is thinking about how much pain he would be in in the same sisturation. Most guys do that *rolls eyes*

Your are doing the right thing about wanting him to be neutered! Stick to your reason and force your parents to get that dog neutered!!!! (good job BTW, I'm proud of you!)


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## jakl (Apr 24, 2008)

We had a stud dog die of prostate cancer. it is much more poainful than being neutered. sorry if that sounds harsh, but cancer is the most horrible thing to happen to anyone. get him fixed, it will also make him a better pet because he won't be looking for you know what all the time. he will be much more devoted to you. horses routinely aren't cut untill they are over 3, and we cut one last year that was 15(!!) he healed better and quicker than some of the babies. If your dog is in pain the vet will give you meds. just remember that if a dog dosen't feel any pain, he may cause himself injury.


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## Pai (Apr 23, 2008)

Ice wasn't spayed until she was 4, when we got her. She did just fine. =)


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## Lorina (Jul 1, 2006)

I've seen dogs neutered in their teens. Four is still young. If it makes you feel better, have pre-surgical bloodwork done, just to make sure there's nothing going on that would interfere with anesthesia.


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## lovemygreys (Jan 20, 2007)

Every single one of our dogs has been neutered as an adult without incident. We just had an 11 year old lab foster neutered last Wednesday. A neuter is soooooooooo much easier on a dog than a spay is on a bitch. I've never seen a male dog seem like he was in pain following a neuter, though I do give pain killers for a couple days after as a precaution.


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## wabanafcr (Jun 28, 2007)

We had one of our males neutered a year ago, at age 9, because he had grown a tumor on one of his testicles and it was causing it to shrink. The tumor ended up being benign, thankfully, and the neuter was no problem at all.


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## JessC929 (May 31, 2008)

My dad won't seem to budge about getting my dog neutered. He is stuck in his ways and says that Marley is already in perfectly good health and nothing bad will happen to him. I need to convince him to get my dog neutered. Does anyone know how I can change his mind and force him to see the benefits that will come to Marley if he is neutered?


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## zimandtakandgrrandmimi (May 8, 2008)

does your dog sniff around like crazy on walks and try to drag you off in random directions? if he is it might be because he's not neutered. those kind of behaviors mean he's smelling that there was a potential lady friend around previously and he wants to follow her....he might stop if he's neutered.


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## lovemygreys (Jan 20, 2007)

Nothing awful will necessarily happen to your dog if you don't neuter him. Of course, you want to make sure he will never contribute to the pet overpopulation problem - but that goes hand in hand with responsible pet ownership. Just make sure he never h as access to an bitch in heat.

If it's your dog, just take him to be neutered. If he's technically our dad's dog...well, there's not much you can do about it then. I'll never understand why some men are so attached to their dog's genitals. Sometimes, it seems, they treat their dog's balls if it they were their own. They need to understand that dogs are not humans and aren't nearly as emotionally attached to their reproductive organs. I've never seen a dog upset afer getting snipped.


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## MyRescueCrew (May 8, 2008)

My beagle Bo wasn't neutered until he was 8 years old, at least. We rescued him in January and the vet believes he's at LEAST 8, possibly older. He did fine through the neuter, and even went under anesthesia again a month later for a dental cleaning and teeth extractions.

The best way to convince your dad to have the dog neutered is to research the pro's of neutering, health and behavioral wise, print them out and show them to him. This will most likely be more proactive in changing his mind in comparison to word of mouth.

Good luck!


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## JessC929 (May 31, 2008)

Yes whenever my dog and I go on walks he sniffs around like crazy and goes all over the place. I never understood why he couldn't stay on the path but now I understand it's because he's not neutered. He also marks his territory everywhere. Every few steps we walk he has to mark his territory, even if it's just a few drops. He also does this all over the house. Does marking his territory all over the house have anything to do with not being neutered, too? Because it is out of control. He pee's everywhere in the house and it's really bad.


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## zimandtakandgrrandmimi (May 8, 2008)

JessC929 said:


> Yes whenever my dog and I go on walks he sniffs around like crazy and goes all over the place. I never understood why he couldn't stay on the path but now I understand it's because he's not neutered. He also marks his territory everywhere. Every few steps we walk he has to mark his territory, even if it's just a few drops. He also does this all over the house. Does marking his territory all over the house have anything to do with not being neutered, too? Because it is out of control. He pee's everywhere in the house and it's really bad.


yup that is very typical of un neutered males(of all species *giggle*) since your parents didn't get him neutered before he grew up, doing it now might not stop the behaviors but it could. is he your dog specifically? or your whole family's?

because if he's yours you can get it done yourself. look up and see what low cost spay and neuter programs are in your area. where I live there is a program that offers the procedure for 20 dollars. i'm sure there iws something like that near you. find out and go to your parents. tell them you will save your allowance to have it done and pay for it yourself. they might be impressed by you taking the initiative and agree to the idea. if you want to...

you might also throw in that shelters everwhere are overflowing with unwanted puppies and you would like your family to help with this by making sure that your dog can't make more puppies that could end up homeless or on the euthanizing table or abused....

you are doing the right thing to bring this up to them. show them how serious you are by doing the research and saving your money. I know if I was your parents i'd be right proud of you displaying such maturity.


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## JessC929 (May 31, 2008)

Marley is our family dog so if I do get him neutered, I think I'm going to have to go do it in secret. My dad and my brother are both opposed to getting it done no matter what I say to them. I have been telling them all of the benefits of getting dogs neutered and it won't change their mind. I'm definetly going to look into the clinics around here and see how much they charge. Hopefully there is a place that is good and safe that isn't too expensive. 

I'm just wondering.....am I making too big of a deal about getting my dog neutered?


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

It is not technically necessary to neuter a male dog, provided you're responsible enough to keep him from getting a female pregnant. He's not likely to suffer any health problems if not neutered, unlike an unspayed female. So if your family members are reallyreally against it, you might have to resign yourself to not neutering him. Although, if you're the one who has to clean up the urine marking in the house, I'd probably do it anyway. I hate cleaning up dog pee.

But, if he's allowed to run free, or otherwise has access to a bitch in heat, then, yes, have him neutered no matter what they say. Adding to overpopulation is irresponsible and cruel.

I would think that the fact that neutering him might reduce his marking in the house would convince them  . But I guess you can't reason with guys and their privates.


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## jakl (Apr 24, 2008)

jakl said:


> We had a stud dog die of prostate cancer. it is much more poainful than being neutered. sorry if that sounds harsh, but cancer is the most horrible thing to happen to anyone. QUOTE]
> 
> 
> MALE DOGS LEFT UN NEUTERED AN NOT USED *REGULARLY *[/B][/B] FOR STUD *WILLGET* PROSTATE CANCER. This is due to the hormone testosterone. My dog died a horrible death because he was not neutered. He probably would have had at least 5 years added to his lifespan had he been neutered. this dog had a genetic skin condition that would not have healed if he had sugery it was the only reason he wasn't fixed. It was a slow painful horrible death.
> if you cannot afford to get him neutered contact your local shelter they most likely have some sort of program.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Jakl---do you have a link to any scientific studies that state that a non-stud dog will get prostate cancer if intact? The studies I've seen state that neutered dogs actually have a higher incidence of fatal prostate cancer. So if you have any links, that would be great. I'm always interested in these kinds of studies  .


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## JessC929 (May 31, 2008)

jakl said:


> MALE DOGS LEFT UN NEUTERED AN NOT USED *REGULARLY *[/B][/B] FOR STUD *WILLGET* PROSTATE CANCER. This is due to the hormone testosterone. My dog died a horrible death because he was not neutered. He probably would have had at least 5 years added to his lifespan had he been neutered. this dog had a genetic skin condition that would not have healed if he had sugery it was the only reason he wasn't fixed. It was a slow painful horrible death.
> if you cannot afford to get him neutered contact your local shelter they most likely have some sort of program.


This is the info that I needed to convince my dad and my brother to get my dog neutered. We want Marley to live as healthy a life as possible. I'm so sorry to hear about your dog.


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Willowy said:


> Jakl---do you have a link to any scientific studies that state that a non-stud dog will get prostate cancer if intact? The studies I've seen state that neutered dogs actually have a higher incidence of fatal prostate cancer. So if you have any links, that would be great. I'm always interested in these kinds of studies  .


I think it's pretty silly saying the WILL get prostate cancer. We've only ever had one neutered male and have never had any cancer problems in our dogs.


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## jakl (Apr 24, 2008)

Laurelin said:


> I think it's pretty silly saying the WILL get prostate cancer. We've only ever had one neutered male and have never had any cancer problems in our dogs.


I don't think it silly that my dog is dead. You breed dogs. we dont. testosterone does affect prostate cancer. Neutering removes testosterone from the body. my DAD JUST FINISHED two TREATMENTS FOR HIS PROSTATE CANCER the next step in his treatment if this dosen't work is to start hormone treatments. these treatments kill all of the testosterone in his body (which is prodouced by testicals, basicaly chemical castration). Right now, I do not have a "scientific" link to this, I will post it as soon as I can. I'm not speaking from an asumption, I worked for a vet. Also my Dad like I said, just finished having a prostectomy, followed by radiation, I dont even have words to describe the terribleness of this kind of sittuation. maybe not all intact males die of prostate cancer, but they will have prostate issues if they live long enough. Doc (our dog) was only 9.

here are two sites there are manny others. I suppose that I should rephrase something, nothing will completely prevent any cancer, but neutering does greatly reduce the risk of not only prostate cancer, but many other male problems as well.

www.gomestic.com/Pets/Should-You-Neuter-Your-Dog.53635 - 
www.professorshouse.com/pets/dogs/prostate-cancer-in-dogs.aspx

I appoligize for being so blunt with all of this. Still worried about my dad, and missing my best friend.


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