When can I get Joey fixed?

[Kumquat]

My girlfriend and I adopted our dog from the SPCA recently. He is a cocker/golden retreiver mix, and we named him Joey, as in Joe Cocker Spaniel. :)

He is about 2-3 years old. We are thinking about getting him fixed since he is trying to mount all the male dogs that are not fixed (dominance thing). Also at home he cries as soon as my girlfriend kiss, and I am talking about a small kiss or two when we are sitting on the sofa together. Seems to cry when we show affection to each other.

Is it safe to "fix" him, and will it impact the above behaviours?

[Cincy'sMom]

I don't know of any reason to wait on getting the dog fixed. They can be done at 6 months, and some vets will do it even younger. It is a good idea because it reduces the risk of certain cancers. He may still try to mount other dogs, becuase of the dominance issue, but it should help some. You may think about taking him to an obidence class to help with the dominance and other problem behaviors.

[mugsy]

Since he's 2 or 3 years old...go for it. Our vet always waits until they are 6 months old because he doesn't think it's good for the dog to do it any sooner even though that's the current belief that it's ok to do it at 8 weeks. We only have 2 un neutered animals and that's because they are too old and they were too old when we got them. Good luck and keep us posted.

[aly]

I work at a shelter and we routinely spay and neuter animals as young as 2.5 to 3 months. They just need to be a certain weight. Your dog is definately old enough to be neutered and I'd say the sooner, the better. Don't worry, for boys its a really fast recovery :)