When to alter?

My vet would not alter Oz until he was at least 6 months old.
His reasoning being that those hormones are needed for
proper bone development. I also frequent several agility lists
and they have many discussions about not altering your pet
until the growth plates have closed for the same reasoning.
Logically speaking it does make sense to me. So before I
have my next dog fixed, I will be doing more research and talking
more throughly with my vet about it and if I feel like it's more
beneficial for the dog, to wait until a year or year and half before
fixing, then I will.

Par...

I think it depends alot on what breed, and size of the dog as well. I had a female retriever mix that went into her first heat at 4 1/2 months - she grew to be 110 pounds. (not sure what she was mixed with)
Tyr was altered at 5 months and probably should have been altered a little earlier. He started humping the living room pillows and my leg and other dogs at 4 months old. He started showing early signs of male aggression and it was suggested by his vet and his trainer to cut out all that testosterone. It worked! No more humping (well there are a few moments with large males that he feels he has to prove himself) And he doesn't have an agressive bone in his body!
With large breed males that are prone to male agression and/or wandering (huskies, wolf-hybrids, pits, Akitas.etc.) I say the earlier the better!!!
It will decrease the chances of aggression and the desire to wander.

My vet told me that so long as the puppy is altered before their first heat, the risk for cancer is much lower. Samantha was born sometime around late June or July 2002 and I had her spayed in January 2003. She did absolutely fine through the anesthesia and when Josh and I went to pick her up that evening, she bounded to us like nothing happened. She didn't get spacey until we gave her a pain pill when we got her home. Poor thing would be walking and just stop and start staring...

I took the following day off so that I could help her get around, but that little skank jumped up on my bed and started racing around the house! The vet said to keep her quiet and subdued for at least 10 days -- HA!!! I couldn't even do it for one!! :)

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Dawn
With large breed males that are prone to male agression and/or wandering (huskies, wolf-hybrids, pits, Akitas.etc.) I say the earlier the better!!!

---

That was another of my reasonings. :) I'm getting a very dominant and aggressive breed -- the catahoula leopard dog. :D

the catahoula leopard dog

Sorry, I don't really know much about the breed, but if you've read they are dominant and aggressive, and you are considering getting a male-I stick with " the earlier the better!"

Lucee is in heat and has been since the day Tom found her. We have an appt for the 10th to get her spayed. If the swelling goes away. If it were proven that is better for them to go through a heat I'd do it later, if not I would not want to do through this again. I feel sorry for her, with her tummy all puffed up, and she had to wear the little pants and a pad. I also don't want to do it too soon after the heat, the vet said there is much more blood to deal with and it's more dangerous.

Nina has short legs and once a lady told us it was because she was spayed too early. She came from a shelter as a pup and was spayed at 6 or 8 wks. The owners took her back at 6 mth, which is when we got her. We don't know about Ashlee's spay. Only that it was before she was turned in to the shelter at 11 mths. Kelcee was spayed at 6 mths although I got her as a baby from the shelter. Way back then they gave you a coupon to get them fixed at a vet of your choice when it was time. Now it's done at that shelter before they are adopted. I really don't think it's because it's good for the pet, just because it stoped unwanted animals from being turned in to them, the over population thing again.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Dawn
the catahoula leopard dog

Sorry, I don't really know much about the breed, but if you've read they are dominant and aggressive, and you are considering getting a male-I stick with " the earlier the better!"

---

Well, they are the largest and generally most aggressive of the cattle breeds. :) They are bred to handle wild cattle and hogs, and they hunt animals, inluding bears.

So I bet it would be better to neuter him before all that kicks in lol. I won't be using him for herding or hunting, but rather agility, obedience, and hopefully doggy diving. They always need something to do. ;)

And yup, I do plan on getting a male. :)

As "oldies" will know I don't read other peoples answers to a post before I answer so if I offend, step on toes, disagree or say the same as anyone else it is not intended.

It is essential, in my view , that as many dogs as possible are neuterd ( be that castrating males or spaying females).

It is also essential that some care is taken in respect of the timing of such a drastic op.

The hormones that are involved with sexual organs are incredibly complex and determine a great deal of the adult dogs behaviour - I could go on for pages and pages with the scientific and biological reasons why the hormones are there, what they do and the links to the behaviour in adult animals.

To castrate a puppy at eight weeks is an appalling thought! Please, please, do not entertain this idea. Any vet offering this service is only there to make money fron you and certainly does not have the dogs best interests at heart.

I have to confess I am totally shocked by this -do not do it. If you do go ahead you can never call yourself a dog owner as the creature you will look after will not be a dog!

I really don't mean to upset people but this is a major issue if it it offered to just one dog owner - has anyone else been given this option?

I'm going to call my vet right now and ask him about this.

Every site I read about the hormones says that the hormones cause cancer, and I don't want that.

Quote:

---

has anyone else been given this option?

---

My friend's dog was neutered at 9 weeks. :)

Unfortunatly I was only able to speak to four vets. This is what I found out:

2 of the vets neutered young, the other two didn't.
2 of the vets said that the hormones aren't needed.
1 of the vets said that they are needed for mental maturity.
And 1 of the vets said that a dog shouldn't be neutered until atleast 4 months because that is usually when the baby teeth fall out and a vet will pull out any baby teeth during the anesthesia for cheap.

I'm still doing my research, but there is still no adverse affects.

Quote:

---

My vet would not alter Oz until he was at least 6 months old.
His reasoning being that those hormones are needed for
proper bone development. I also frequent several agility lists
and they have many discussions about not altering your pet
until the growth plates have closed for the same reasoning.
Logically speaking it does make sense to me. So before I
have my next dog fixed, I will be doing more research and talking
more throughly with my vet about it and if I feel like it's more
beneficial for the dog, to wait until a year or year and half before
fixing, then I will.

---

But some dogs' growth plates don't finish closing until 4 years old. I wouldn't think it right to wait that long...

What age is best for preventive castration?

A number of studies have shown that castration is just as effective at reducing male associated behavior problems as it is at preventing them. This means that whether the pet is castrated post-pubertally (e.g. 1 year or older) or pre-pubertally (e.g. 2 months of age) the behavioral effects are likely to be the same. There is, however, anecdotal evidence that dogs that are sexually experienced are more likely to retain their sexual habits after castration, compared to those dogs that have had little or no sexual experience prior to castration. Recently it has been advocated that castration be performed at as young an age as is practical, to ensure that it is done before the pet has a chance to breed. This is most important in animal shelters since it allows them to ensure that every dog adopted has already been castrated. To date, studies have shown that castration is safe, and has no long term effects on health or behavior, regardless of the age that it is performed. Many shelters and some veterinary clinics begin neutering as young as 2 months of age. They report that the surgery is often shorter and that recovery is quicker and with less post-operative discomfort for these younger animals. Once dogs are adopted into their new homes, most veterinarians recommend waiting until all vaccinations are complete before admitting the pet into the hospital for surgery. However, if general anesthesia is needed prior to the vaccinations being completed for any other reason (e.g. suturing a cut, removing quills) this would be an excellent time to consider castration. In summary, there seems to be no behavioral or medical benefit to waiting until a dog is "mature" to perform a castration.

Taken from: http://www.pethealthcare.net/html/body_neutering.html

Quote:

---

I'm getting a very dominant and aggressive breed -- the catahoula leopard dog.

---

We had one at out shelter here a while ago. How it got to Wyoming, I'll never know. Nice dog.

Quote:

---

To castrate a puppy at eight weeks is an appalling thought! Please, please, do not entertain this idea. Any vet offering this service is only there to make money fron you and certainly does not have the dogs best interests at heart. I have to confess I am totally shocked by this -do not do it. If you do go ahead you can never call yourself a dog owner as the creature you will look after will not be a dog!

---

I'm sorry, but that is the stupidest thing I've heard in a long time. How is a vet making more money altering a dog at eight weeks than at eight months? The price is the same. And please explain this "creature you will look after will not be a dog" nonsense. That has got to be one of the most ignorant, absurd things I've heard in a long, long time. So, what will this "creature" be, pray tell? A cat? A monkey? A fish? What a ridiculous thing to say.

Quote:

---

Nina has short legs and once a lady told us it was because she was spayed too early.

---

It has never been proven that adult size has anything to do with age of alteration. Studies done over decades on thousands and thousands of animals have shown no consistent difference is adult size.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Twisterdog
We had one at out shelter here a while ago. How it got to Wyoming, I'll never know. Nice dog.


It has never been proven that adult size has anything to do with age of alteration. Studies done over decades on thousands and thousands of animals have shown no consistent difference is adult size.

---

Aren't they? I LOVE catahoulas! :)

I read about a study they took on dogs, and they neutered some dogs at 8 weeks, some at 6 months, and some not at all. By a year, the ones neutered first were the largest, the ones neutered second were second largest, and the unaltered ones were the shortest. :) Although, after a year, I'm not sure. :)