At what age do you neuter a male dog?

[Cat_Tap]

So I am not fully aware of the correct terminology but here is what the vet said " I am having a little trouble finding the other testicle ah here it is, hasn’t come down yet shouldn’t be a problem will just take a second snip". He is a small town vet, still young but I really don’t know how good he is. What I like about him is that he is really good with the animals. Takes his time to make them comfortable.

I realize that it is now being said it is better to wait regarding neutering but none of my other Bouvs, four of them, had any health or soundness problems and lived a good long life even though they were neutered before they were a year old. The only dog of mine that had bladder cancer was the Golden who was neutered at age 7 years.

Houndhill, again if I sound ignorant, it has never occurred to me to check for “balls” when purchasing a dog or ask the breeder if he has two of them…

I do plan to do lots of socializing with this dog. We are attending puppy school and the vet suggested I bring him to the clinic often just to sit and visit for a while. Also have had quite a few visitors to check out the new puppy. He is alert and barks when someone is at the door but receives them in a friendly manner. One of my barn cats loves dogs and today I let them visit as I wasn’t sure just how the puppy would behave. He was good with the kitty who likes to snuggle. So far so good.

I guess the highlight of my evening will be to look for my dog’s balls.

S1969 the dog was 13 weeks old at the time of the exam.

I do appreciate the input from everyone. It is giving me lots of food for thought and cause for some research. Maybe I need to change vets though I really like this one as a person.

[Cat_Tap]

So I am not fully aware of the correct terminology but here is what the vet said " I am having a little trouble finding the other testicle ah here it is, hasn’t come down yet shouldn’t be a problem will just take a second snip". He is a small town vet, still young but I really don’t know how good he is. What I like about him is that he is really good with the animals. Takes his time to make them comfortable.

I realize that it is now being said it is better to wait regarding neutering but none of my other Bouvs, four of them, had any health or soundness problems and lived a good long life even though they were neutered before they were a year old. The only dog of mine that had bladder cancer was the Golden who was neutered at age 7 years.

Houndhill, again if I sound ignorant, it has never occurred to me to check for “balls” when purchasing a dog or ask the breeder if he has two of them…

I do plan to do lots of socializing with this dog. We are attending puppy school and the vet suggested I bring him to the clinic often just to sit and visit for a while. Also have had quite a few visitors to check out the new puppy. He is alert and barks when someone is at the door but receives them in a friendly manner. One of my barn cats loves dogs and today I let them visit as I wasn’t sure just how the puppy would behave. He was good with the kitty who likes to snuggle. So far so good.

I guess the highlight of my evening will be to look for my dog’s balls.

S1969 the dog was 13 weeks old at the time of the exam.

I do appreciate the input from everyone. It is giving me lots of food for thought and cause for some research. Maybe I need to change vets though I really like this one as a person.

[dog_amp_horsemom]

I have a neutered male border collie who I adopted from a shelter and he was neutered at 4 months old. He is 15 yrs old now and very healthy and well behaved.
I have an intact collie. He is 13 1/2. He has had a urinary tract infection. When a neighbor dog comes into heat he use to get very frustrated - I don’t know where the dog was but he always knew when one was in heat. He was not used for breeding - I am fenced and he was a bit shy so I did not subject him to being in the Vet hospital - which is why I didn’t neuter him. He is healthy but showing signs of aging now. ( the b.c. on the other hand shows no signs of aging)!
Anyway - I would tend to listen to your Vet. After volunteering in shelters and seeing LOTS of neutered dogs - most at an early age - they seem happy and healthy - on the other hand - I have seen intact dogs come into the shelter with ‘marking’ behaviors as well as some dog aggression.

[Houndhill]

Sounds good, OP!

What did the breeder say the situation was about the testicles when you bought the puppy?

Sounds
Ike it might not be too far from the inguinal ring…you should be just to feel it.

You need to bring both your forefinger and third finger just along the penis, from back to front, when the puppy is resting in your arms with his chin in your arms and legs tucked, at least that is how I do it…if on his back, the errant testicle can migrate, I have found.

Anecdotal evidence is one thing, scientific evidence is another, some people put their trust in one, some the other. It is up to you to decide what is in the best interests of you and this puppy.

I wish you well, however you decide- and I will remain open to helping advise you with this puppy, as much as I can.

[Where_sMyWhite]

I will confess when I bought my younger BT, I never asked but I know as soon as I met him, that was one of the first things I did check (wasn’t going to breed and know I will neuter when he’s a bit older so really having both descended wasn’t a huge deal for me.)

[S1969]

My almost 6 month old puppy was a hard to find testicle kind of puppy at 7-7.5 weeks. He was the pick pup by the breeder, the stud dog’s breeder (my breeder), and several others including myself. Both his breeder and my breeder were confident they found both, but it was a little scary because I planned to show him and possibly use him as a stud in the future if he is good enough. I asked about 5 different people to check his testicles after I brought him home, including the vet…poor little guy. They were both there at 8 weeks, but I am guessing one had a tendency to hide back up through the inguinal ring.

By 13 weeks, though, I think a vet should be able to know for sure whether they are both descended, or not. I am not sure there is any “sort of descended” category. I would definitely neuter a cryptorchid dog; I would get a few opinions on the best age at which to do so, but it would be a definite yes. I would not be ok with a “just take a second snip” explanation – from what I understand, neutering a cryptorchid dog is definitely more invasive, but also more important to do.

It’s ok to have a vet that may not be 100% good at everything - that’s what specialists are for. If you like the vet, you can keep him. But if the puppy is cryptorchid, find a specialist to confirm and advise you on neutering. Just like I recently had a specialist evaluate a possible cruciate tear – and so glad I did – because it’s NOT a cruciate injury. But I will still use my regular vet for routine things.

Good luck!

[Zu_Zu]

Bentley sounds pretty Wonderful to me !~ Thanks for details ~ ENJOY !

[B]
Cat Tap ~ thanks for the “Bentley” details

The lad sounds pretty Wonderful and ENERGY packed ! [/B]

* Love the name you two selected for his collar !

Enjoy your new partnership !

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

Some dogs are going to be more prone to male on male aggression. This will be true regardless of whether the dog is intact (as you found out with your pup youneutered at 7 mos.). My early-neutered doberman is male dog aggressive, while my younger who was kept intact until 2, is not. That said, IF the dog is male aggressive I don’t think you are wrong to neuter, as testosterone makes it worse. I agree the biggest thing you can do is proper socialization, and buy a dog with a good temperament in the first place. That said, there is this mis-information out there that if you just socialize the dog it will be great and all bad dogs didn’t get socialized. Blah. Yes, it makes a huge impact, but some dogs are just inherently weak-tempered. Socialization–your plan to take the dog places on leash is great. It will instill confidence, and you can keep the focus on you, the trainer, not the dog getting over-excited when it sees other dogs (like you see at a dog park).

For a large breed dog (and I mean male) all the research I have done is to wait until around 2 (reasons given already). If there are health or other reasons then don’t, this isn’t written in stone. Marking–my Doberman marked in the house for the first time at 5 months. I got after him verbally (I’m a screamer) he never did it again in our house, although I had to catch him at new places, like pet stores, before he had a chance to pee for a couple weeks.

He did have some other male behaviors I was very happy to see disappear when he was ultimately neutered at 22 months (licking other dog pee/foaming mouth, I also had to vigilantly protect our pillows). I do think he is actually happier neutered, as he relaxes now, but he was an over-the-top dog who was mentally overstimulated most of the time. Most of my friends have intact male mals and GSD and they don’t have the same behavior issues. I think my point is that you have to evaluate the dog in front of you. Of course, I hang out with dog trainers, or people at the kennel club, so IDK that waiting is right for you.

I have had a six or seven-month spayed female develop osteosarcoma, and incontinence, and she did grow much taller than her intact full sister. Of course, I have a friend who’s older mal had osteosarcoma too (intact male) so it isn’t a guarantee, but worth considering. After consulting with a vet who specializes in joint issues, I do try really, really hard not to overfeed larger breed pups. Last comment, my early neutered male didn’t develop the musculature that the one I waited on did. The one I waited on is a much better balanced dog in appearance. YMMV.

Did you post a picture??

[Sugarwells]

I had my Doberman neutered at 6 months, after many hours of research after the fact, I wish I would have waited until now, he is almost two years old.