# How old to neuter?



## Coopers-Mom (Dec 29, 2009)

I was just wondering what everyone's views were about the right age to neuter?? Cooper is 5 1/2 months old, and we do not plan to breed him. My vet recommended neutering around the age of 6 months. I have read much about the health benefits of doing it at this age. Please share your views.

Thanks!
Dawn
Cooper's Mom


----------



## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

Very common question here. Most of us on this forum suggest waiting until at least 18 months until your pups head and bone structure has fully developed. Goldens neutered earlier will end up with narrower heads and frames. My Oakly was neutered at 6 months and my Caue was neutered at 14 months and their is a huge difference.


----------



## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

I personally would never neuter a male before 18 months old. They really need the hormones in order to fully mature and develop. A lot of males who are neutered at around 6 months old tend to have a more feminine, narrower appearance and males who aren't neutered until they are much older are able to develop a much more masculine appearance. Tucker will most likely be neutered next month when he turns 19 months old and we have no intentions of neutering Tyson until he's at least 18 months old as well.


----------



## Honey (Jan 20, 2010)

what about spay?


----------



## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

My dogs have developed their "masculine" looks long, long before 18 months, and I know plenty of dogs with a very "masculine" look who were neutered at 6 months, so I'm not sure how much I buy that it makes a huge change in the dog's appearance. I know lots and lots of breeders say it does, so I'm not willing to contradict their experience, but in mine, I don't think it's a hard and fast rule.

With boys, there doesn't seem to be any harm in waiting until 18 months or 2 years, as long as you're 100% active in making sure they don't get access to bitches in heat. That's what we're currently doing with our boys. With girls, the risk of complications goes up dramatically after their second and third heat, so spaying them earlier has clear heath benefits.


----------



## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

I prefer to neuter a boy no earlier than 18-24 months. My boys do not physically mature until they are around 3 to 4 years old, so even 18-24 months might be a little early for them. I will probably never personally neuter a male dog again, unless there is a health problem which makes it necessary. However, I am used to dealing with intact animals.

Rhonda Hovan, a very well-respected breeder/judge of Golden Retrievers and very active in Golden Retriever health issues, wrote the following article, which I found very interesting:

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q...TFJ6_-&sig=AHIEtbQBcUQrq3PRT7V6We99o9LV_brz0g


----------



## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

There are a number of very good articles on the subject of spaying/neutering and the pros/cons of when to do it:


http://www.veterinarypracticenews.c...d-beyond/is-early-neutering-hurting-pets.aspx

http://www.akcchf.org/pdfs/whitepapers/3-23-08DiscoveriesArticle.pdf

http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

http://www.veterinarypracticenews.c...d-beyond/is-early-neutering-hurting-pets.aspx

http://www.showdogsupersite.com/kenlclub/breedvet/neutr.html

http://www.dolittler.com/2008/6/15/...r.spay.castration.cruciate.hip.dysplasia.html


http://www.thedogplace.org/Articles/DogCare/Bad-Medicine/09051-Spay-Neuter_Andrews.asp

http://users.lavalink.com.au/theos/Spay-neuter.htm#vacc

http://www.theriogenology.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=53

http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/abs/10.2460/javma.231.11.1665

http://www.showdogsupersite.com/kenlclub/breedvet/castrationindogs.html

http://www.acc-d.org/2006 Symposium Docs/Session I.pdf

http://www.mmilani.com/commentary-200509.html

A friend and I have discussed possibly leaving an ovary intact when spaying our females. Since we breed, the benefit of spaying to prevent breast cancer is lost and there are potential benefits to having those hormones available. This is just one study but very interesting:

http://www.gpmcf.org/respectovaries.html

In over 30 years of breeding, I have lost one girl to breast cancer at age 13 and a friend lost one to breast cancer at age 12. 

OTOH, many of the pet (spayed) bitches I have sold, have lived past 10 years of age. It's a very complicated subject, no doubt.


----------



## cola3812 (Nov 29, 2009)

This may be a silly question, but I have a male who is now 5 months old. I have always neutered my males at around 6 months old but after talking to the breeder, she recommended waiting until he was 1.5 years old also. However...and this is a little embarrasing to ask, but he always has his "lipstick" (that is what we refer to it as in our household) out. Sampson, our previous golden, I don't recall ever did this. But then again, he was neutered at 6 months old. Is this common with an unaltered male?


----------



## Mar's & Me (Jan 20, 2010)

Mar's is doing that more and more too. And my gosh the frisky risky with the dog bed pillow. Dude. Get a room  there are children about.

So for those that waited until 18 months or so. Any problems with them marking before you got it done? Or still doing it after??


----------



## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

cola3812 said:


> This may be a silly question, but I have a male who is now 5 months old. I have always neutered my males at around 6 months old but after talking to the breeder, she recommended waiting until he was 1.5 years old also. However...and this is a little embarrasing to ask, but he always has his "lipstick" (that is what we refer to it as in our household) out. Sampson, our previous golden, I don't recall ever did this. But then again, he was neutered at 6 months old. Is this common with an unaltered male?


In my limited experience with this issue, it seems to depend on the individual dog rather than neutered or intact. My Hank, still intact at 7 months doesn't do this, DD's finance's GSD, 10 months , neutered, does.


----------



## kaysy (Jan 9, 2010)

Love the lipstick. My mother used to say "the GD dog has worms again". Anyway, Marty was neutered at 6 mo and does "that" less after the neutering. Still likes to hump, but it's only been a month so maybe the hormones are still working.


----------



## anniekc (Jan 29, 2010)

I've always had my boys nuetered by 6-8 mo. I'd hate to see the size of their heads if I'd waited any longer!


----------



## PC Mom (Oct 30, 2009)

Best thread I've seen on neutering yet! (Had to throw a post in so I'd remember where it is. LOL!)


----------



## Acadia GR (Jan 9, 2010)

This is an interesting excerpt from the AKC Canine Health Foundation 2008 article:

*Why do we perform spay or castration at 6 months of age?*​Most veterinarians in the United States recommend bitches and dogs be spayed or castrated between 6 and 9 months of age. This is not based in science; no one has performed a large-scale study in which bitches and dogs underwent gonadectomy at various ages and were tracked throughout life to determine what abnormalities developed relative to age at gonadectomy. It is thought that the current age recommendation arose after World War II, when increasing affluence of American families first permitted them to treat animals as household pets and were, therefore,
more interested in controlling manifestations of reproductive hormone secretion and very interested in making sure the animal survived surgery. Anesthetic and surgical techniques available at that time necessitated the animal be at least 6 months of age.​


----------



## Azzy (Dec 24, 2009)

This thread has been very helpful, as Toby is now 6 months and I have been contemplating when to neuter him. Our Vet told us that 6-8 months is an ideal time, but even before I read this thread I was concerned about how this would hinder Toby's growth hormones and such. I see mixed results here, but after reading through I've decided that I'm going to wait until he's 1.5 years old. Then go ahead and do what needs to be done =D.


----------



## KimZay (Dec 7, 2009)

I'm so glad I found this post. I have been researching this & have been finding conflicting answers. Thanks for all the links!


----------



## buddybear (Dec 31, 2009)

This is a very interesting subject and one the breeder of Buddy is dead against, She has asked me to contact her before i decide. Does anyone know if their golden boys had a change in their coat after castration. I have seen a few rescue goldens who have been done and they look pretty manky.


----------



## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

buddybear said:


> This is a very interesting subject and one the breeder of Buddy is dead against, She has asked me to contact her before i decide. Does anyone know if their golden boys had a change in their coat after castration. I have seen a few rescue goldens who have been done and they look pretty manky.


Did you see the rescue dogs before neutering? I would suspect that most are BYB or Puppy Mill and have poor coats because no thought was given to coat when the parents of the dogs were bred.

My puppy mill boy (now 12.5 years, neutered at 4 or 5 months), does have a some undercoat that grows out too far, esp. over his thighs. But the rest of his coat is not really typical golden (other than his feathers it's pretty short, even compared to field coats).


----------



## Golden123 (Dec 6, 2009)

Oaklys Dad said:


> Very common question here. Most of us on this forum suggest waiting until at least 18 months until your pups head and bone structure has fully developed. Goldens neutered earlier will end up with narrower heads and frames. My Oakly was neutered at 6 months and my Caue was neutered at 14 months and their is a huge difference.


 Does this apply to females also?


----------

