Oh really not good to rush out and neuter your dog at young age??? Yeah really. Been preaching this for decades. Do not spay or neuter before the growth plates have closed on your dog. Your boys do not ever have to be neutered, they go through one testosterone surge in their life and then the testosterone stays a low constants level. If you survive life with your male intact-dog for the first 18 months, then leave them be. Females, on the other hand will go through extreme hormone swings and unless they will be bred they should be spayed or you risk double digit rate for several cancers. And for God’s sake don’t rush our and do it when they are babies!
Thank you for posting!!
Yeah…..you sing it Girl! LOL!!!! 🙂
Roman is 4 and his vet has never pushed me to neuter him. Good advice for females…I had a blue tick coon hound many years ago and never spayed her. She wound up with mammary cancer when she was 9 🙁
Rita it sounds like you have a good DVM!
Ok, here is the million $ question. At what age would you spay your female that is not going to be bred?
If it were my bitch, 18mos-2 years
so after the 1st and before the 2nd heat?
That depends on what age they first come into season. I would spay after 15 months to make sure growth plates have closed. A male I would wait longer, but then again I wouldn’t neuter a male.
I knew boys didn’t need to be neutered, but I didn’t know one was supposed to wait quite so long for a female.
How does one manage this when one has both males and females — and doesn’t want puppies? Okay, I am naive about this and have never had a female go through a cycle — do you get warning? Perhaps I could figure out how to keep my own separated for a period of time, but I live in a rural area — how do I keep male dogs from coming around looking for my female? Obviously, my female would not be loose, but I wouldn’t want to step out my front door and find some big male who is ready to go….. so to speak. I don’t think my males would like that strange guy around either.
HI Laura. with a GSD it is very obvious, they generally blow their coat a month before they come in season and then when they go into esterus they start dripping blood (not actually blood but it looks like it) and their vulva swells up.
You need to keep the boys separate from the girls, like way separate. Like one in the house and one in an outside run, or you may even have to board one of them for a week. An accident can happen so easily.
Julie, what a timely post. I had just been thinking that I wanted to research health benefits, or go back and read that section of your blog, about neutering, since I was wondering about it and at what age I would or should do Kai. Reading that there is no need to do a male – I feel perfectly fine with that. He’s 17 months old and I haven’t had any issues with him.
Does the size of the dog matter? I have a five month old sheltie and the vet said I should be snipping him now so it would be less painful and his healing time would be faster. Y’all have any opinions on that?
I vote no. Not physically mature and if he is a boy, why do it at all?
His breeder has it in her contract that he is neutered by one year.
Hey Jennifer! 🙂
Here is more data:
Dr. Karen Becker: “If you decide to spay your dog, holding off on the surgery until she is sexually mature and fully mentally and physically developed can help protect her against many forms of cancers and endocrine diseases later on.” http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/07/22/pyometra.aspx?e_cid=20130722_PetsNL_art_1&utm_source=petnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20130722
“Your dog should be old enough to be a balanced individual both physically and mentally. This balance isn’t achieved until a dog has reached at least one year of age. Although some breeds reach maturity faster than others, many giant breed dogs are still developing at two years of age.”
“Among the reports and studies pointing to health concerns associated with early spaying and neutering, you can also find mention of increased incidence of behavioral problems including:
Noise phobias
Fearful behavior
Aggression
Undesirable sexual behaviors”
“As a veterinary oncologist and founder of the pet hospice program Pawspice, Dr. Villalobos concedes, “It is earth shattering to consider that some of the cancers we have been battling may have been enhanced by early neutering instead of the reverse.”
Page 2 of 12: http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf
“The evidence shows that spay/neuter correlates with both positive AND adverse health effects in dogs. It also suggests how much we really do not yet understand about this subject. On balance, it appears that no compelling case can
be made for neutering most male dogs, especially
immature male dogs, in order to prevent future health problems. The number of health problems associated with neutering may exceed the associated health benefits in most cases.
On the positive side, neutering male dogs
•eliminates the small risk (probably <1%) of dying from testicular cancer
•reduces the risk of non-cancerous prostate disorders
•reduces the risk of perianal fistulas
•may possibly reduce the risk of diabetes (data inconclusive)
On the negative side, neutering male dogs
•if done before 1 year of age, significantly increases the risk of osteosarcoma (bone cancer); this isa common cancer in medium/large and larger breeds with a poor prognosis.
•increases the risk of cardiac hemangiosarcoma by a factor of 1.6
•triples the risk of hypothyroidism
•increases the risk of progressive geriatric cognitive impairment
•triples the risk of obesity, a common health proble
m in dogs with many associated health problems
•quadruples the small risk (<0.6%) of prostate cancer
•doubles the small risk (<1%) of urinary tract cancers
•increases the risk of orthopedic disorders
•increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccinations"
"There is a growing body of scientific evidence that points to the harmful effects of spaying and neutering: shortened life span, increased risk of certain cancers, and increased incidence of ACL injuries. Depending on your situation, you may wish to delay the spaying or neutering of your dog until it is 14 months old or not sterilize it at all. If you're worried about not being able to control your dog when it becomes sexually mature, consider a vasectomy or tubal ligation, which will prevent your dog from becoming a parent, but retain the beneficial effects of the dog's sex hormones." Ted Kerasote
Super Karen! Thank you.
PS: I don’t think that the breeder is going to be at your door at the one year mark! LOL!
Just my opinion, but I’d wait until she contacts you to ask! Then, you could tell her you have it planned! 🙂
She never asked about Wally. So I think I’ll hold off on Harry. It will give me good practice for when I get my Golden. His breeder refuses to let anyone neuter her dogs. Thanks for all the info. I was going to email you but I didn’t want you to feel like I was taking advantage of you.
Wait until he is fully mature. Otherwise, you’ll be hearing, “How pretty SHE is” for the rest of HIS life. I agree with Karen. I don’t think your breeder will chase you down at the one year mark. If so, discuss your intentions with her.
I always get those kind of comments.
And DON’T listen to your vet! :-/
You don’t like him much, do you??? 🙂
Growth plates close earlier on smaller breed dogs, and secondary sex characteristics are not as important in a Sheltie (maybe they are and I haven’t noticed?) . but since size is important you do not want to neuter before the growth plates close. To know for sure the dog can be xrayed and an experienced DVM can tell you if the growth plates are still open, closing, or closed.
“secondary sex characteristics are not as important in a Sheltie (maybe they are and I haven’t noticed?)”
I’ve had Shelties. A male should look like a male.