Age to Neuter???

cassius003 · Basic Obedience

Age to Neuter???

BluStorm · Grand Champion

Well with foxy my Pomeranian I got him neutered at 5.5 months old he had no problems. With a friend of mine she has a blue healer she waited until he was 9-10 months old and he gained a ton of weight after he was neutered.. After that he was lazy and grumpy and just an all around butt head. Usually I have heard around 6 months of age.
With Robert the vet told my friend to bring him in the middle of April when he is 6 months old.
It seams to me if you get them fixed between 9 months and older they gain weight no matter if they are male or female or a dog or cat.. with my cats that is what happened Blu I fixed at 1 year and she doubled in weight.. Storm I got fixed at 5 months and she stayed slim.
I was told it has something to do with there teenage hormones for a lack of a better term if they are fixed later after they are fully matured then they don't usually gain the weight either.
But I am no expert.

SemisweetVixen · All Grown Up

It's always a tough decision as to when this should be done. For me, I think the earliest as possible is the best way to go - I probably will spay my girl within a month of her arrival home (I'll obviously take her to the vet for a check-up first).

I worked at our local SPCA for a year & ended up knowing many kittens & puppies that were fixed between 8 & 12 weeks (usually when they reached a certain weight & were obviously, healthy). I think it's just as healthy (if not healthier) to get them fixed early on. It's been my experience that there are no ill-effects to doing this procedure early - no animals were lost & they were generally happier in the long run. However, most Vets do have a policy - so it's best to ask your primary Vet. Good luck! :)

SemisweetVixen · All Grown Up

Found this link concerning to neuter or not to neuter. It's a turn away from your apparent question, but I thought it was an interesting read:

http://www.dolittler.com/index.cfm/2006/11/26/pet.vet.dog.cat.vs101.11.26.06

-- Edited by SemisweetVixen at 16:22, 2007-03-01

PawPrint · Smitten by Boxers

When I place a pet pup in a home, it is on a spay/neuter. For a male I usually suggest 9 months or so. I have always figured 9-11 months was a good age. So 8 months would be just fine.

At least in my opinion

.

cassius003 · Basic Obedience

Thanks guys, you all provided very helpful information. I was worried I might have waited too long, but now I feel better about waiting another month or so.

Semisweet- That was an interesting article, I read some of the blogs below the article and there seems to be a fairly intense debate about leaving males intact vs. neutering them.....it was a good read.

Christina- Your thinking seems to be along the same lines as the breeder that I got Cassius from which is relieving. In your experience with breeding what types of changes are common once a male Boxer is neutered? I've read a bit about changes male dogs go through in general but I'm more curious about the Boxer breed specifically. Just curious....

Thanks again for all of your help! While I appeciate it, I'm not so sure Cassius would feel the same

PawPrint · Smitten by Boxers

cassius003 wrote:
Christina- Your thinking seems to be along the same lines as the breeder that I got Cassius from which is relieving. In your experience with breeding what types of changes are common once a male Boxer is neutered? I've read a bit about changes male dogs go through in general but I'm more curious about the Boxer breed specifically. Just curious....

No, you will not experience any changes in him. But you will NOT experience some of the changes that could happen to him if you left him intact. And not a darned one is a good change.

cassius003 · Basic Obedience

He's definitely going to get "snipped" if you will, the question is when.

I feel more confident waiting until he's around 10 months or so. It's good to know that there won't be any changes once it's done. I was just worried that if I waited longer, there might be a greater chance of change than if I had it done now.

Thanks again for all of your help, it's greatly appreciated.

Take Care,

Becky

harleydog25 · New Pup

well im not sure but harley is 2 not fixed yet as i planned on studding him out. However he wasnt interested in the bitch at all. how odd i know. the breeder told me "he couldnt find the hole" LOL
anyway now that he's 2 and his horimones are full out i found that he's been more aggresive with other male dogs.There are some that he loves and plays and plays but now ive had 2 dogs so far that he hasnt liked and i was told it was cause he wasnt fixed and to prevent this 100% he should have been fixed my 6 months old.
I do plan on getting him fixed in hopes that he'll drop is macho manness. Cause really he's terrified of everything.
good luck

PawPrint · Smitten by Boxers

harleydog25 wrote:

well im not sure but harley is 2 not fixed yet as i planned on studding him out. However he wasnt interested in the bitch at all. how odd i know. the breeder told me "he couldnt find the hole" LOL
anyway now that he's 2 and his horimones are full out i found that he's been more aggresive with other male dogs.There are some that he loves and plays and plays but now ive had 2 dogs so far that he hasnt liked and i was told it was cause he wasnt fixed and to prevent this 100% he should have been fixed my 6 months old.
I do plan on getting him fixed in hopes that he'll drop is macho manness. Cause really he's terrified of everything.
good luck

The longer you wait with Harley, the worse his behavior is going to get. Add to the fact that marking in your home is common as well as humping company, and you now have a dog that is very hard to live with.

In our Boxer Rescue, we have had many Boxer males dumped because of these behaviors. In most cases, the owners simply refuse to take the time to neuter their male and work with their behavior changes. And in all cases, they always ask "Why didn't anyone warn us?".

Very sad and of course not the poor dog's fault :(