alligande Posted January 17, 2010 Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 I know this is a subject that is sure to have many different opinions, I have already had two, my vet and the rescues vet. I have never had to make this decision before and I am very curious about the reasons behind the different decisions people make. I am not looking to cause trouble just become more educated, as this is an issue I know nothing about. Rievaulx is 5 months and my own vet has said to wait until he starts to lift his leg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herdcentral Posted January 17, 2010 Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 I have my first male puppy too, who is to be my sheepdog. I have always had females and spayed them between 7 and 12 months old with no problems. With my boy I thought I would wait to between 12 and 18 months old to allow him to mature physically. A friend of mine whose male BC (first dog) was going through the terrible teens neutered hers at 7 months old and she said that it made a huge difference and he calmed right down and was much easier to manage and not so full on towards other dogs. This aspect is not an issue with me as I am used to handling and training feisty dogs. So I would also be interested Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scomona Posted January 17, 2010 Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 Hi! If you do a search I have seen this topic come up a few times. I have a 8.5 month old pup and we are waiting until we have him x-rayed at 11 months to see if his growth plates have closed. This is important to our family because we exercised him a bit too hard as youngster and he got a leg injury. The vet was unsure if the growth plate was damaged from the x-rays, but so far the leg is perfectly fine. Allowing him to mature with his natural hormones are in our best interest for his leg and bone health. It was really weird to see his behavior changes around 6.5 months. The sniffing (like putting his nose inside peoples long jackets on the elevator to get closer to their tush!! ), his little leg lifting( and then trying 20 more times on the walk)....and of course seeing his testicles, yikes! (I know- Im lame- at first we didnt even know what they were, just came out of nowhere) As for behavior changes... he is very sweet and timid, but he did seem be more forward with other dogs. Also, other dogs seem to have issues with him, they growl sometimes (especially very dominant dogs). I am not an expert by any means- and this could be related to his body posturing. Umm... I think that is it with behavior. Oh no- one last thing. We had a dog in heat in our building, the elevator stopped at her floor and she came in with her owner. Shiloh went crazy.... totally mental. He was on a leash, bouncing off the wall, doing back flips off the elevator wall....crazy,crazy. I was so confused..... I almost cried and the lady just said- oh sorry my dog is not fixed and in heat. Shiloh lost control and was crying to get to her.... it was very intense. Thankfully she is now spay and we have not encountered that situation again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertranger Posted January 17, 2010 Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 Jin's a year old and I'm waiting until he's 18 mo. and has pretty much physical maturity. I'm hoping that with his training that will help cure some of his behavior problems. There are lots of opinions on that one too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herdcentral Posted January 17, 2010 Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 It was really weird to see his behavior changes around 6.5 months. The sniffing (like putting his nose inside peoples long jackets on the elevator to get closer to their tush!! ), his little leg lifting( and then trying 20 more times on the walk)....and of course seeing his testicles, yikes! (I know- Im lame- at first we didnt even know what they were, just came out of nowhere) Oh something to look forward to! with my first little man, hopefully my girls will keep him in order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.DaisyDuke Posted January 17, 2010 Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 FWIW; Some male dogs don't lift their leg. I have a 2 year old foster that doesn't, well he kind of half lifts it, but I don't think that really counts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4pack Posted January 17, 2010 Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 I don't neuter my boys...never have,I don't see any advantage to it. No one 'roams', no one breeds. The girls...case by case basis as to when they are spayed. Although not what you're asking :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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