Nuetering ?s

[J Rookie K]

A Chesie breeder/trainer in ID has thoughts that one should wait until the dog matures before its spayed/nuetered. His vet also supports this thought. He claims that the dogs learn faster, and helps with the training. The reason Im asking is that Ive taken this advice, and now my Chesie is 2 1/2 yrs old. Im wondering how the dog will react to this procedure? I still have some fine tuning to do with him, will nuetering help with this? Will it calm him down a bit? Will he stop [PoorWordUsage]ing on everything in sight? I plan on talking to my vet, but I know they will say lets do it. I just wanted some input from guys that own and hunt dogs. Thanks

[Swamp Scooter]

Time to get it done if you are going to do it. I do not agree with letting them "grow up" before fixing them. If the chessie yo have is really bonded to you and "tuned in" I would suggest you not be the one to drop them off. Do not want to get blamed. They can be funny like that sometimes. The only reason to NOT neuter is if you are going to breed them. Otherwise there is no need to keep them intact. If you field trial or show they must be but if you are just hunting might as well not have to worry about testicular cancer later in life.

[Guest]

I agree with LABS4ME you won’t see a difference, There are many theories on this and I have had Vets on both sides of the fence, one will say wait, the other will say do it now, As with Females almost all of the vets I have dealt with will say after the first menstrual cycle is the best time. I will say if you are going to have it done I wuoldn’t wait too long, the older the dog the longer the healing and recovery process. The other advantage I see in doing it now is that it is the “Off Season” so the dog can take it easy until he fully recovers.

[LABS4ME]

Typically you shouldn't see a lot of difference in the dogs manner. I think it's actually better to fix them early before they sexually mature. Then they don't get the testosterone really flowing...I'd say now would still be a good time. Some think it calms them down a bit, They heal up real quick! Tends to keep the males from running...probably won't stop him from pee-ing on everything. I've seen males that were nuetered young and they never developed the habit of lifting their leg to urinate, but if he is already doing this, he'll probably continue.

Good luck! Ken