To neuter or not?

In general I am FOR neutering. We have chosen not to neuter Cowboy until he completes field training and we see how he does at a few trials. Cowboy is a Champion bred field ESS - who if he lives up to his potential will be one of the ones that people will want to breed with... However, our vet keeps pushing us to neuter him.

I am torn -- he is an incredible dog with high prey drive, a fabulous nose, and relentless hunter... and working field bred are much harder to find than show bred.

Is it wrong to wait and see if he should be bred or should we just go ahead and snip him?

welll you are going to end up with tons of behavior problem my baby english setter has excellent field lines like you but we bneutered him because he hd a terrible behavior problem.

the only way i would breed any dog is if they were up to the breed standard and could do what they were origonally bred to do. Gracie got to pull a sled for the first time a week ago. she loved it. she's also a very nice sibe. i will POSSIBLY breed her, ONLY if she finishes her Championship in conformation.

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Originally Posted by Flatcoatluver

welll you are going to end up with tons of behavior problem my baby english setter has excellent field lines like you but we bneutered him because he hd a terrible behavior problem.

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I'll second that! Roscoe wasn't neutered until he was a little over 3 years old, and now he thinks he's king of the castle! We're working on it...

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Originally Posted by Flatcoatluver

welll you are going to end up with tons of behavior problem my baby english setter has excellent field lines like you but we bneutered him because he hd a terrible behavior problem.

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Neutering doesn't really change a dog's behavior, good training does. The only thing neutering does really in terms of behavior is curb their want to roam if there is a female in heat in the area, or curb behaviors related to mating, not other behavorial problems.

Actually (according to my trainer) neutering before the age of three is a big deal for behavior. She said that since he was neutered so late, he is considered intact and it boosts his alpha personality. It also makes him want to mark EVERYWHERE :rolleyes:

thunder isnt nutered and hes the best dog ive had no behavoir problems, but i think we just got super lucky with him and no we never did or plan to breed him

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Originally Posted by JenBKR

Actually (according to my trainer) neutering before the age of three is a big deal for behavior. She said that since he was neutered so late, he is considered intact and it boosts his alpha personality. It also makes him want to mark EVERYWHERE :rolleyes:

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Everyone has different opinions on this but I personally think it depends on each individual dog, Winston (Doberman) was just neutered this past year and he's about 8 or so. He's got to be one of the most laid back dogs ever, he rarely marks anywhere and has never even bothered to try becoming alpha with any dog or human. Apparently he was like this before he was neutered aswell though. :)

alot depends.
Did the breeder you got him from field test her/his dogs and hunt with them? were the dogs health tested for hips and elbows and thyroid, etc. etc. ?
considering he's field bred i know he wont meat the show standard so that doesnt even matter.

what matters is titling him in field tests AND getting him health tested before you even think about breeding him. to responsibly breed a dog you need to know the dog is the TOTAL package not just have the package, sure the dog can hunt but is he free of genetic health problems such as hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, thyroid problems, etc. etc. look into OFA if you havent already and look into any other health problems ESS's are known to have and get him tested for those too.

it costs alot of money to RESPONSIBLY breed a dog, sure anyone can throw two dogs together and exchange a stud fee or pick of the litter but that is NOT doing any dog or breed a favor and just ads to the overpopulation and disease riddled dogs out there.

Sorry, didn't mean to imply that this is the case for all dogs! It is a chance you have to take though in waiting (not to mention the health risks).

Roscoe's situation is a little different though - I don't know his whole history with his previous owner :)

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Originally Posted by AllAmericanPUP

alot depends.
Did the breeder you got him from field test her/his dogs and hunt with them? were the dogs health tested for hips and elbows and thyroid, etc. etc. ?
considering he's field bred i know he wont meat the show standard so that doesnt even matter.

what matters is titling him in field tests AND getting him health tested before you even think about breeding him. to responsibly breed a dog you need to know the dog is the TOTAL package not just have the package, sure the dog can hunt but is he free of genetic health problems such as hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, thyroid problems, etc. etc. look into OFA if you havent already and look into any other health problems ESS's are known to have and get him tested for those too.

it costs alot of money to RESPONSIBLY breed a dog, sure anyone can throw two dogs together and exchange a stud fee or pick of the litter but that is NOT doing any dog or breed a favor and just ads to the overpopulation and disease riddled dogs out there.

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Why I am even considering (not for the pup or fee) is the ability he has shown so far (still more training and field testing to come). His breeder has his parents and grandparents - all good/clear, etc on health tests - going back 4 generations all are healthy dogs and only 3 do not have FC to their credit....

Show conformation is out - he would fail miserably... LOL

*sigh*

Neuter.

t.j endeed up running away 4 times, once on my birthday(looking for gf i guess). when he was neutered, after he got neutered he has stayed home. Thats the bahavior problems i had.

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Originally Posted by Flatcoatluver

t.j endeed up running away 4 times, once on my birthday(looking for gf i guess). when he was neutered, after he got neutered he has stayed home. Thats the bahavior problems i had.

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Those are mating-related. ;) Unneutered males have a tendacy to wander to fidn females in heat

oh well! same thang for me!! lol, neutering is one of the best thing you can do for cowboy!