Neutering

[justine]

Well tank is now 17 1/2 weeks old and we are going to get him neutered.Now i know that the vets say 6 mths and i have read about 4-6 mths being the best time...Now i want to get him done a.s.a.p but what age would be appropriate and is there a reason why the vets wait until 6mths and over....

[carasmam]

Didn't you ask the vet when they said 6 months ?

[Julia]

You are best leaving it as long as possible if he is male, early neutering can make not a blind bit of difference, I would wait until you dog has fully matured if you can, which is around 18 - 24 months

[justine]

Didn't you ask the vet when they said 6 months ?

yes but the explanation i got was we prefer to do it at 6 mths,,,Thank you, no other reason its just their policy...
not helpful....

[Julia]

Neutering too early can result in having a mature dog behave like a puppy all the time! Once they start cocking their leg that's an indication of testosterone!

[justine]

the problem i would have is i have two male dogs and i want to stop tank becoming the dominant dog. I know staffies dont mature until atleast 18 mths but they can have a change in personality when they reach sexual maturity.I want to try and avoid a conflict....Bingo is uneutered and 6 yrs old, very placid and at the moment is top dog over Tank, and i would like tank to stay calm and submissive with me having my children around....I will have to research this befroe i make up my mind when is the best time to do this...

[labsrus]

Like Julia says its better for their health to wait till maturity, here is some information about the effects of early spaying / neutering you might find iinteresting and help you to make a decision on timing :

http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html

http://www2.dcn.org/orgs/ddtc/sfiles/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

I am afraid you are unlikely to be able to stop him from becoming more dominant over your other dog simply by castrating. My first dog was castrated because of retained testicles and he was always a dominant dog, remained the boss of all my other dogs, even the entire males, till he died at the grand old age of 16!

Dogs will be dogs and unfortunately us trying to elect the"wrong" one as leader could just lead to problems.

[justine]

Like Julia says its better for their health to wait till maturity, here is some information about the effects of early spaying / neutering you might find iinteresting and help you to make a decision on timing :

http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html (http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html)

http://www2.dcn.org/orgs/ddtc/sfiles/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf (http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://www2.dcn.org/orgs/ddtc/sfiles/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf)

I am afraid you are unlikely to be able to stop him from becoming more dominant over your other dog simply by castrating. My first dog was castrated because of retained testicles and he was always a dominant dog, remained the boss of all my other dogs, even the entire males, till he died at the grand old age of 16!

Dogs will be dogs and unfortunately us trying to elect the"wrong" one as leader could just lead to problems.



Thanks for the links labsrus, i have read tem and it got me to thinking.....I also went a hunting for some more info on pit bull types and came across this...

This has helped to make up my mind...Tank is a fantastic dog and i hope that bingo will keep him in check...Bingo is a massive dog weighing in at 41 kilo and i know Tank may reach between 28-35 so they could be an equal match although bingo is twice the height..I am hoping i will never have to see any conflict between them as they are both quiet natured dogs....

http://www.workingpitbull.com/spayneuter.html

http://www.staffycross.org/neuter.html this is for anyone else who wants info on neutering staffies....