When to neuter?

[snappr]

Hi,

We have a 6 month old male cane corso / american bulldog mix and I'm trying to figure out if he is ready to be fixed or not. I have read a few different recommended ages for bigger dogs. In the past I had just always got my dogs fixed right at 6 months.

I'm open to any suggestions from all you mastiff type owners.

Thanks!

 

[Geisthexe]

The best time for older dogs is when they are over 14 months of age.

 

[snappr]

Ok, so we should wait until he is over 14 months? I have been told by a few people that getting him neutered at six months is best to keep dog aggressiveness down. He is very cautious of strangers too, at his first night of training last night they wouldn't put him in their puppy class for 3-6 month old pups because he appeared too nervous. That did worry me even though later he would lay down and want his belly rubbed if we were waiting on them. Thanks.

 

[shodanusmc]

18 months old at a minimum

 

[Elvismom]

I asked the same question on this forum and did some research to back it. I actually just key worded 'pros and cons of early spay/neuter' I found several great articles and papers written. Some of the research was done in control groups, some of it was done in hindsight. What I found was that early neutering was directly linked to bone cancer, it was also linked to prostate cancer. There were some studies that showed abnormal growth in some breed and lack of growth in other breeds. In some cases, early neutering was linked to behavioral problems (aggression and fear). It was also linked to abnormal sexual behaviors. In reality, after having done the research, I usually neuter at 18 to 24 months, but having done the research I am starting to think I may leave Elvis intact, as he is a male and I can guarantee that he will not breed. One article mentioned that if you cannot guarantee that your animal will not breed then perhaps they need to be neutered at an appropriate time. If you can guarantee it, overall it might be best to leave him intact. There are pros and cons to both sides and it is ultimately up to you to decide if you want to do it and when to do it.

 

[snappr]

Thank you all very much for your insight on this. I had canceled Tank's appointment to have him neutered a week ago and I'm now thankful I did. We are going to wait until he is 18 months to be safe. I have always been so used to having it pushed at 6 months. Does anyone know why some people believe 6 months of age is right, even my vet normally says 6 months or later. Does it depend on the breed?

 

[Smokeycat]

I think the 6 month thing has to do with some dogs going into heat around that age.

 

[DMikeM]

Now they are linking early spay/neuter as a contributing factor to hip dysplasia.

 

[Elvismom]

DMikeM, I saw that also. I wished they had more controlled group research, but a lot of it is being seen in hind sight...lol. I talked to a friend of mine who works for a local no kill group and she all but blew off my research saying that there was no foundation in it...needless to say, I do not value her opinion near as much now.

 

[sherrod833]

I had my male done when he was about 6 months old. My vet asked me if I was going to breed him. Since I wasn't going to breed him he said it was better to do it at a young age before he developed any bad habits.

 

[DMikeM]

I had my male done when he was about 6 months old. My vet asked me if I was going to breed him. Since I wasn't going to breed him he said it was better to do it at a young age before he developed any bad habits.

Should have got a second opinion from a mastiff friendly vet.

 

[sherrod833]

Should have got a second opinion from a mastiff friendly vet.

You're probably right. Never looked at it that way.

 

[snappr]

I thought this forum was good when I found, now I think it is an awesome resource. You guys may have just saved a dog from going through all those issues and saved our family from emotional pain and major expenses. Thank you all!

 

[jcook]

Thank you all very much for your insight on this. I had canceled Tank's appointment to have him neutered a week ago and I'm now thankful I did. We are going to wait until he is 18 months to be safe. I have always been so used to having it pushed at 6 months. Does anyone know why some people believe 6 months of age is right, even my vet normally says 6 months or later. Does it depend on the breed?

I look up spay and neuter a lot, but after reading your post I had a few question pop into my mind. I found this great website during my search. http://www.angryvet.com/spaying-and-neutering/

I love the response the author of the article (who is a vet) gave to a particular comment. The article is really good, but I was also read through the comments.

The reason that I mention the population issue is that I am trying to present spaying and neutering as a balanced argument. There ARE reasons to spay and neuter…they are just not for the health of the animal which is the way that they are presented at the local veterinarian. Uterine cancer is unheard of …EXTREMELY rare. Pyometras do occur and I do mention them when I argue against spaying. For most people we recommend DELAYED spaying until after a couple of heats to allow maturation, closure of growth plates, development of vulva and urinary tract etc. We do have clients (and my female dog is one of them) who are not spayed at all and they simply need to be monitored for pyometra. If it occurs remove the uterus. Testicular tumors certainly occur but they are slow growing and easy to CURE with routine visits to the veterinarian they can be palpated, removed and never heard from again. I don’t know what you are reading but I mention all of these complications on the site. Lastly, don’t be sarcastic please. I have been practicing for over 15 years. I deal with Cane Corsos , Presa Canarios, Pitbull, and working German Shepherds on a regular basis as I protection train all of my dogs and work intimately with local police departments and working dog clubs. I own a 120 pound Presa Canario bitch. I have seen more aggressive dogs than any other veterinarian I know and am usually the go to vet when other vets have given up …and NO I have never not been able to get a vein. If a veterinarian and his staff understand restraint, both chemical and physical, any dog can be worked with. 99% of aggression in a veterinary setting is fear aggression anyway which is present in female dogs and neutered males MORE commonly than in intact males! Neutering dogs to control behavior problems usually doesn’t work and actually creates more problems. This will be a future post.

 

[IronLion]

From a purely procedural standpoint, neutering at a young age is safer and more easily accomplished. This is why many Vets recommend it at six months. Dogs at this age are less vascular, which makes the for easier extraction. The vet is responsible for health, but not behavioral side effects so ymmv.

 

[jcook]

From a purely procedural standpoint, neutering at a young age is safer and more easily accomplished. This is why many Vets recommend it at six months. Dogs at this age are less vascular, which makes the for easier extraction. The vet is responsible for health, but not behavioral side effects so ymmv.

You really think it's because the procedure is easier? I'm not trying to be rude, I've just never really heard that used as a reason from a vet. I was under the impression that they want to avoid accidental pregnancies by fixing the dogs before they can sexually reproduce.

And most of us were showing that it is a health risk to spay/neuter before the dog physically matures. If the vet was truly concerned about health then I think they would advise against spaying/neutering a mastiff at 6 months.

 

[Smokeycat]

I have heard that the surgery is easier when they are smaller and coming from a biology background the reasoning that IronLion uses is sound. That said I think that it is only part of the reasoning behind early spay/neuter. I also believe that many vets do believe that it is healthier because that's what they were taught during vet school and may not stay current with new research data. My vet when I got Jiggers had already decided that they would not neuter large breeds before 4 months due to new research, earlier research said it was ok after 8 weeks.

 

[jcook]

I know that the operation is easier when younger, but I didn't think that was the main reason they tell people 6 months is the best age. I've never had a vet express to me that the procedure would be vastly more complicated once the dog is over a year or two. And I wonder if its easier to spay a female when they are younger. And if age isn't a big concern for the female anatomy then why do they still suggest 6 months for females?

 

[Smokeycat]

I don't think it's the main reason either. I agree that it is more to prevent pregnancies then anything else, I just wanted to mention that my vet did tell me that as well. Age isn't really the concern for either sex, the development of the sex organs is. When the dog hits puberty the nervous and vascular connections to those organs increase. I think 6 months was a semi-arbitrary age chosen because the 'average' sized dogs tend to have their first between 6 & 7 months old and it was easier to say all dogs then explain why males and females had different ages to be neutered. You can really see this on a cat forum that I'm part of. The majority are pro-neuter and now want people to have it done before the cat hits 16 weeks instead of 6 months because female kittens can go into heat as early as 4 months.