# best age to neuter ?



## tonyb (Apr 20, 2011)

Hey how's it going. Wasn't sure what section to post this in but I have a 15 week old puppy that I adopted, all vaccination shots neutering, and microchip are paid for. My question it what age is beat to do the neutering ? I recently found a schutzhund club that I will be joining and have learned that this can affect his drive. I also plan on having him involved in weight pulling and already made a sled at work. This past Saturday he was at the vet and the vet suggested next month for the neutering which I think is wayyyy to early. I've heard it stunts there growth and to wait until at least a year. I do not plan on breeding him and my female boxer is already spayed, and he is never around any other females or dogs for that matter unsupervised or off leash.


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## Blue_Nose_Bella (Jan 16, 2011)

If you adopted him from a legit shelter than he has to be done by 6 months. If you planned on doing all the things mentioned I would have gone to a reputable breeder instead of a shelter. I have seen plenty of dogs in PP and schutzhund that were fixed and unaffected by drive. Personally I think its the male ego that is affected more than the dog. Your dog either has drive or it doesn't. Not all dogs are cut out for protection type work. I also don't feel right telling you to either not neuter or to wait until he is older to fix him when he is a rescue dog from a shelter. I wouldn't do it next month. I would wait until he is 6 or 7 months. Just because a male gets fixed doesn't make them useless or less than a dog who isn't. JMHO


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## pitbullmamanatl (Jun 1, 2010)

I wouldn't neuter until age 2 or 3.


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## Blue_Nose_Bella (Jan 16, 2011)

pitbullmamanatl said:


> I wouldn't neuter until age 2 or 3.


But he was adopted from a shelter Lauren. I think in a situation like this you have to abide by the rules of the shelter and be responsible by having your dog N/S at the 6 month mark as most shelters request.


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## tonyb (Apr 20, 2011)

I adopted because there are a lot of dogs in need out there , and I didn't really know much about schutzhund or WP before joining here , and I don't expect to be breaking records I just think my boy could be good and I want to keep him active. I've read my contract and it doesn't have a set age to neuter in it , I'm deff not doing it next month and would like to wait until at least 1-2 years old. I appreciate the info.


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## Blue_Nose_Bella (Jan 16, 2011)

Thing is, is that you stated that you already payed for the neuter. Check with the shelter to see how long they honor it for. I'm sure its not a year or two down the road. I am assuming that when you said you paid for the neutering already that it is part of the fee you paid to adopt him and is included.


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## pitbullmamanatl (Jun 1, 2010)

Oh, I thought they s/n them before they left the shelter


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## tonyb (Apr 20, 2011)

Yea the neuter was included in the adoption fee, if I have to pay for it later its really no biggie to me, and they didnt neuter him because I got him at 8 weeks. It's a rescue organization not my local shelter.


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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

I wanted until my boy was about 2, some people say wait until 3. It did not effect his drive at all, from what I can see, except he listen and is slightly easier to train, he was already easy. (he is super smart though, IMO lol) As long as your responsible and don't care if you have to pay the fee again, I would wait a bit for him to get fully developed.


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## k8nkane (Jul 9, 2010)

Why don't you call the organization and just ask them if you can wait to neuter, explaining that you want to do schutzhund and weight pull with him, that some research has shown early neuter (before at least a year) can affect dogs negatively, and detail all the ways you will be ensuring that he is taken care of and owned responsibly so that he doesn't escape and exacerbate the pet overpopulation problem.


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## tonyb (Apr 20, 2011)

Yea that is the big concern for me, stunning his growth and from what I'm hearing his drive won't be affected.


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## tonyb (Apr 20, 2011)

Stunting *,Whoops posted mid sentence lol yea I would say I am responsible and the chances of him getting a female prego are pretty much zero. I've always had rottweilers growing up as family dogs and they have not been neutered. Behavior wise they were good his peed more lol. But never had any problems with them being intact.


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## tonyb (Apr 20, 2011)

I already called earlier , just waiting on a call back. But I asked first to have as much info as possible before I called them.


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## Blue_Nose_Bella (Jan 16, 2011)

tonyb said:


> Stunting *,Whoops posted mid sentence lol yea I would say I am responsible and the chances of him getting a female prego are pretty much zero. I've always had rottweilers growing up as family dogs and they have not been neutered. Behavior wise they were good his peed more lol. But never had any problems with them being intact.


So he will never be neutered then from the sounds of it....Alot of people say they will neuter at a later age and never do. I'm sorry but I can't condone not neutering him as being okay with a clear conscience seeing as how you rescued him from a shelter and already payed for it to be done. When you adopt out from shelter they expect the new owners to be honest and spay and neuter. It is unsettling to me to know that there are people out there who ignore those wishes. On the upside I am not saying that you are irresponsible and I know people can keep intact animals without them ever breeding (I have). But I still think if you wanted a dog to do activities with then a reputable breeder who has experience with what you want to do with a dog is the way I would have gone...not a shelter pup. Anyways, he is yours so best of luck in your endeavours


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## tonyb (Apr 20, 2011)

I did not say I would never neuter. Just do not want to do it early and not let him reach his full potential. Like I stated before I read up on the dog sports after I already got him , but who is to say I can't do dog sports with him because he is from a rescue organization ? Because he doesn't have papers I shouldn't have him trained in obedience, tracking , or protection ? I believe I can save a life and still have a well trained and active dog. It doesn't have to be one or the other. If I was going to try and win a world championship or break a world record that would be different. But saying I should have gotten a dog from a breeder if I wanted to do Schutzhund or WP just seems kind of biased to me. I'm sure you're not trying to say anything bad but I don't see you're point in that statement. Also with the neutering if I didn't ever plan on doing it my thread wouldn't be asking the best age to do it. I stated my past family dogs to show that I had experience with intact dogs.


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## Blue_Nose_Bella (Jan 16, 2011)

tonyb said:


> I did not say I would never neuter. Just do not want to do it early and not let him reach his full potential. Like I stated before I read up on the dog sports after I already hot him , but who is to say I can't do dog sports with him because he is from a rescue organization ? Because he doesn't have pairs I shouldn't have him trained in obedience, tracking , or protection ? I believe I can save a life and still have a well trained and active dog. It doesn't have to be one or the other. If I was going to try and win a world championship or break a world record that would be different. But saying I should have gotten a dog from a breeder if I wanted to do Schutzhund or WP just seems kind of biased to me. I'm sure you're not trying to say anything bad but I don't see you're point in that statement. Also with the neutering if I didn't ever plan on doing it my thread wouldn't be asking the best age to do it. I stated my past family dogs to show that I had experience with intact dogs.


No, I am not trying to come across as a jerk and say anything bad and I do agree on the later part of neutering as I have done loads of research on S/N as well. I will never neuter a male until it is 14 months and once the growth platelets are closed but with a shelter dog there shouldn't be an option. My point in my statement is that he is a rescue dog from a shelter and should be neutered or should have been neutered before he was adopted out. I already said that a dog doesn't need testicles to do sports and aren't useless or any less of a dog than one that has testicles  that's all. I have seen both intact and neutered males excel in sports and some of them were also pound puppies. I think it is great that you want to work your boy and commend you for that. No hard feelings......lets just quit all this talking and post up some pictures of your boy


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## tonyb (Apr 20, 2011)

I didn't think you were trying to be a jerk but wasn't sure. I'm sure you've seen you're share of clue less owners both on here and in person. Thanx I appreciate it. This is Diesel at 13-15 weeks .


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## DaiCa (Jun 9, 2011)

Awe he is super cute! ^_^ Good on you for adopting him! I went through my handbook on S/N ... it only recommends females to be fixed at 6 months, doesn't mention males for some reason... here is a link however, not sure how accurate it is, so please someone correct me if this information is wrong. Thanks

Does neutering my male pitbull affect his muscle development and growth? | Can You Build Muscles in 7 Minutes?


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

tonyb said:


> Hey how's it going. Wasn't sure what section to post this in but I have a 15 week old puppy that I adopted, all vaccination shots neutering, and microchip are paid for. My question it what age is beat to do the neutering ? I recently found a schutzhund club that I will be joining and have learned that this can affect his drive. I also plan on having him involved in weight pulling and already made a sled at work. This past Saturday he was at the vet and the vet suggested next month for the neutering which I think is wayyyy to early. I've heard it stunts there growth and to wait until at least a year. I do not plan on breeding him and my female boxer is already spayed, and he is never around any other females or dogs for that matter unsupervised or off leash.


If you are thinking of doing any type of sports work with him then do not fix him. There is not reason to get him fixed if you are responsible about it and especially if you want to do sports. He needs those hormones to grow properly and you want to keep him intact for Schutzhund, at least till he matures around 2-3 years old then you could get him fixed but IMO I would leave a sports dog intact.


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## DaiCa (Jun 9, 2011)

Hmmm ok so my link is wrong ! Thank you  
With sports would you consider agility? I don't know what Schutzhund is


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

ames said:


> I wanted until my boy was about 2, some people say wait until 3. It did not effect his drive at all, from what I can see, except he listen and is slightly easier to train, he was already easy. (he is super smart though, IMO lol) As long as your responsible and don't care if you have to pay the fee again, I would wait a bit for him to get fully developed.


Neutering a dog can effect his drive for Schutzhund it can also take the intensity out of a dog and that is not good for sports. 
Sounds like you are serious about doing sports work so do not fix him if you can avoid it. A rescue can do sports and I like how you think! You can do Schutzhund with out papers and keeping him intact. You can also do WP with venues like IWPA and APA. You would not be able to do ADBA WP since he is not registered but APA and IWPA and NKC are all great venues. You would have to check NKC to see if you can compete with a intact non registered dog. People who talk about neutering a dog not effecting drive but yet do not have working dogs are not educated enough to make that statement. Drive in sports is not the same as people with pets think of drive. They think a dog has drive because it has a lot of energy but that is not always the case. I have seen plenty of spastic dogs who had very poor drive in the working sense. I also have some the laziest couch potatoes at home that you would not think have drive but you get them out in the field and they are over the top. Most pet people have very little knowledge on drive as it relates to sports so if they do not have sports dogs who are competitive, take their comments with a grain of salt.
not trying to put anyone down on the forum just saying drive as it relates to sports is different that the average person thinks.

I see people come out to the Schutzhund club all the time who think they have really high drive dogs. What they thought was high drive turns out not to be what they thought. If you are considering doing Sch sport get out there with the club as early as you can and start working on the foundations. The earlier the pup is worked with the better. You do not want to go crazy with the obedience right away or it will cause problems later in many areas.


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

DaiCa said:


> Hmmm ok so my link is wrong ! Thank you
> With sports would you consider agility? I don't know what Schutzhund is


Agility is a sport and you could neuter for that but Schutzhund you will need those hormones 

Schutzhund is a protection sport that has three components to it. Tracking, Obedience, and Protection. Here is Siren's video I took last fall it gives you an idea of what it is.

here is Obed





here is protection


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## Blue_Nose_Bella (Jan 16, 2011)

Lisa, I totally agree with you on the hormone thing needed for certain sports and had this been someone just asking a question about early neuter and spaying in young dogs going into these sports I would have said to wait because I know better. However if we are going to start telling people who come on this forum who have adopted a dog from an animal shelter to not S/N then to me that is irresponsible on our parts as responsible dog owners. He clearly stated he got this dog, saved it from a shelter, already payed for the dog to be fixed because it was included in the adoption fee process and then decided he wanted to do some schutzhund and WP with him. Well that's all fine and good but when you adopt from a shelter they expect new owners to abide by the rules and have your pets fixed. I'm not trying to argue because its the internet and it just ain't my style to argue with people I don't physically know or that I am not face to face with . But something like this telling a person to not fix a dog when it is from a shelter touches a nerve with me. I've been around long enough to see what I've seen and I have grown up with K9 dogs all my life and would go to the schutzhund club with my grandfather and watch the dogs work. My aunt does schutzhund work with her GSD and he had to be neutered because he had an undecended testicle. She waited until he was just about 2 before fixing him and he excels well in the sport. I don't have a working dog right now but may get into another GSD down the road to do sports with. My point has been made clear a dog adopted from a pound, shelter, rescue organization should not be left intact unless it was purchased from a responsible and reputable breeder. I'm sorry but that is my way of thinking and I am just voiceing my opinion as everyone else has done. I'm not trying to start anything and I say this with the utmost respect. I am not with a clear consciousness going start telling people who adopt either to refrain from fixing there dogs or wait. I think that the OP wil be a responsible owner as well as an advocate for our breed. If it wasn't known where his dog came from thus being from a breeder than I would have stated otherwise and to wait to neuter. But the OP came on here clearly stating where his dog came from so my thought process changed in regards to that. Once again, I mean no respect to anyone but I had to say what I feel and just get it off my chest  however, I can debate clean and agree to disagree as well as move on.......carry on ya'll!!


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

BNB you have every right to feel he way you do and I understand where you are coming from  It's always hard to know the tone from just typing but we are not arguing just giving our opinions. If he talks to the rescue group and they ok the dog staying intact till he matures then there is nothing wrong with that. S/N a dog after 2-3 years of age after they have learned sports work is fine for most dogs. I know plenty who have done that and in fact one of my clients dogs just fixed her male and I am working him in Schutzhund. We saw no problems with fixing him as he had issues in other area that this should help. I also know a few dogs who get fixed and can still do sports so it is not something that says they have to be intact. I just think if he can avoid fixing him he should. One of those agree to disagree topics! lol


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## tonyb (Apr 20, 2011)

Updated with more pics I fell asleep last night lol. Thanks for the input guys I'm going to talk to the rescue today and see what they say. In the contract there is no where that says I have to neuter or at what age, but I do keep in touch with his foster and other members so I wouldn't want to go against them as far as never neutering,how ever I think that when I explain why they will be ok with it his foster is a pitbull owner as well and knows a lot about dog sports. I'm really looking forward to starting schutzhund and I found an awesome trainer near my house. He invited me and my friend to a show next weekend to see what it is all about. His name is Joe moldavan and seems to be really experienced in the sport, and he was really excited about getting some younger guys into the sport.


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## Blue_Nose_Bella (Jan 16, 2011)

performanceknls said:


> BNB you have every right to feel he way you do and I understand where you are coming from  It's always hard to know the tone from just typing but we are not arguing just giving our opinions. If he talks to the rescue group and they ok the dog staying intact till he matures then there is nothing wrong with that. S/N a dog after 2-3 years of age after they have learned sports work is fine for most dogs. I know plenty who have done that and in fact one of my clients dogs just fixed her male and I am working him in Schutzhund. We saw no problems with fixing him as he had issues in other area that this should help. I also know a few dogs who get fixed and can still do sports so it is not something that says they have to be intact. I just think if he can avoid fixing him he should. One of those agree to disagree topics! lol


:goodpost: I'm a very neutral person and try to see both sides of a debate. I try to stay open minded  thanks for understanding my point of view on the topic 

Tonyb, your boy is adorable and I wish you the best with him. Let us know how he does with schutzhund and WP


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