Early Neutering - the drawbacks

Quite an informative article about early neutering...

http://dogsfirst.ie/neutering-dogs

An interesting article Caryll, thank you.

My personal opinion is that the current "neuter at 6 months" policy which is pushed by vets so heavily nowadays is far too young. Yes it's an easier op for the vet on an immature animal, but what are the consequences. Of course cancers of the reproductive systems will be eliminated if the reproductive systems are removed, but these dogs are still puppies! In the bad old days when I first had dogs the rule was that a bitch should not be spayed until at least after her first season, and a dog not neutered until he consistently cocks his leg - at the very least this gave some degree of maturity to the dog.

Yes, 6 months is way too young, unless there are extenuating circumstances. I can understand rescues more because they see the results of indescriminate breeding.

It's no real trouble to leave a dog/bitch intact until at least 18 months/2 years.

I think a lot of people get scared of the possibility of a "behavior" from the animal. They think neutering will mean it will be calmer etc. Vets probably don't help cause they will tell them that yes its likely they will have a calmer animal...

For some reason the link I posted has been disabled -  no idea why,  I'll try to find another one.

Neutering is an emotive subject &  I can understand both the fors &  againsts.  What I don't understand is why people (including the professionals)  continue to deny that there are ANY drawbacks to EARLY neutering.  The facts are there &  have been known for some time.

I also think there's a sort of 'hysteria'  about neutering... "I must neuter my dog or it'll die &  it'll be my fault"  sort of thing.  

Dogs have been domesticated &  lived as pets for many,  many years &  the neutering debate is a fairly recent developement.  If you want to neuter,  fine.  But make sure it's for the right reasons &  at the right time -  and that's NOT 5 months old!

N.B. This link might work, but you'll need a fb account I think...
https://www.facebook.com/DogsFirstIreland/photos/a.396088297121219.90023.154235037973214/746188708777841/

Personally, I haven't come across anyone who thinks that neutering their dog will save its life!

With bitches it has been the obvious bother and mess of seasons, unwanted male attention and the threat of unwanted pregnancy.

With dogs it has been humping and sexual behaviour in general first and foremost ("man blobs" might come into it, they did for me! but no-one mentions that). Secondly, the supposed calming influence.

I personally don't have any objection to neutering dogs for whatever reason, so long as it is not done when they are immature, and for that I blame vets for pushing it.

I came across a little dog not so long ago "oh a Parson Jack Russell!" I exclaimed (they are quite rare around here). No, said his owner, just an ordinary Jack Russell but he was neutered at 6 months and his legs grew long (they certainly had).

That's the the thing that gets me - the way it affects growth & maturity.

Kuchar was neutered at 14 months old, which by the rules I grew up with (cocking leg etc) was not too young. I just felt in my bones, for several reasons, that it was "time".

I do wonder though if I have frozen his tiny brain in a state of 14 month-old idiocy.

Also, he always was leggy for a staff (his mum was extremely leggy, taller than her husband! I suspect she was an American Staff) so I don't think his legs have over-grown. His head though - I love his head; it hasn't grown into the enormous block that so many male staffs have and his face and expression is still somewhat puppyish.

I don't think 14 months is too bad, although I'd have probably waited a while longer. It's the vets' standard 5/6 months that I find far too young.

I think they need the surge of hormones that they get between 6 & 18 months in order to grow properly both mentally & physically.

Caryll wrote:

I think they need the surge of hormones that they get between 6 & 18 months in order to grow properly both mentally........

Tristan is still entire, at almost five years he still hasn't grown mentally!!!!!

Lorraine wrote:

Caryll wrote:

I think they need the surge of hormones that they get between 6 & 18 months in order to grow properly both mentally........

Tristan is still entire, at almost five years he still hasn't grown mentally!!!!!

I get the same with Dempsey. Is it us do you think?

Caryll wrote:

Lorraine wrote:

Caryll wrote:

I think they need the surge of hormones that they get between 6 & 18 months in order to grow properly both mentally........

Tristan is still entire, at almost five years he still hasn't grown mentally!!!!!

I get the same with Dempsey. Is it us do you think?

Could be

It's encouraging to know that entire dogs are still behaving like pups! I guess it's like humans - men will be boys

It's an interesting article, though I'm a bit hesitant to place too much emphasis on the credibility of some of the referenced studies, mainly due to their age. There haven't been many reliable, up-to-date studies on the effects of early neutering. I had a quick check through some of those journals just now and there are quite a few conclusion-jumps and flaws. Unfortunately, the author has also ignored the plethora of journals which demonstrate the benefits of neutering at various life stages, which presents quite a biased view.

That being said, I would always prefer to allow a dog to mature before neutering if possible.