Baxter the boxer was neutered at 7 months. It would have been 6 months but he had an undescended testicle so we had to wait for it to drop a bit more. He'd just started humping everything that moved. A couple of weeks after the surgery when the testosterone had left his system that stopped. Now there is only one dog on the field that he tries to hump, Albie, and that is purely a dominance thing.

He's a big dog and it would have been a nightmare if he'd chased after every bitch on heat on the field. He still shows interest and sniffs at them but that's all.

also if a dog has an undescended testicle it is better not to breed from it and also it can cause cancer so neutering was a no brainer.

the most unpredictable and aggressive dogs on my local field are the ones who are fully mature and unneutered. It's such a quick and simple op for dogs that I can't see any reason not to do it. It also makes them less likely to be stolen from you. I got sick of unresponsible pet owners coming up to me and asking if they could breed their bitch with baxter. They knew nothing about his temperment and were all staffie owners.

Gosh our stories are so similar, mums is a collie too and he gets chicken, bakers and fish!

for females it is a no brainer we have had so many unspeyed females come into rescue and have pyometra has cost us a fortune one even died.

Males is slightly different as the health benefits arent the same but i believe unless an animal is an exceptional example of the breed and in excellent health and temperament then yes its best for it to be neutered

My dog is spayed (bitch) and its the best decision we made.

We chose to have her done, as we didn't want to breed from her, didn't want the risks of unwanted litters and health benefits. Also all the dogs in either our families, or friendship circles are males, we were sick of going into hiding with her while she was in heat!

My 3 cats are all neutered as is my dog. My previous dog wasn't neutered because a heart condition made the anesthetic risky, we were just extremely careful with him when out and about. Later on in life he developed prostate problems which had to be treated with regular hormone injections (basically chemical castration) It was awful seeing him get ill every couple of months before the injections and I really regretted not getting him castrated earlier in life, when the risks to his heart were lower.

Have you encountered the nervous aggresion problem we did at any time ?

We've always had pet cats neutered and spayed as it is impossible to keep them confined to your garden and also to prevent other cats from visiting.

Through the years the only dogs that have had done have been for medical purposes. We are responsible dogs owners and they are never in a position where they could come into contact with other dogs unsupervised. We have the facilities to keep males and females apart when the need arises.

where agression is concerned we dont take anything with an ounce of agression where we can as its not worth the risk but we do deal with the odd ones and go from there but it is all really down to the initial socialisation where the problem stems from or a bad encounter but every case is different.

imo some males do become nervous agressive after being neutered but this can alm down its always dependant on knowledge and handling though.

I do however not believe that dogs forget things and get over things quickly some dogs may be a gressive or nervous in situations forever

I have a 6 month old long haird Jack R. He is such a loving/snuggle up dog and to me he can/does no wrong.

Taking him out for walkes I loved the first time he cocked his leg, it was that funny it looked like he was going to fall over.

So he cocks his leg eveywhere and can sniff for the uk, this is making his tail wag and a happy dog I have.

If he was neutered would I take all his fun away?

ps I took him for his injections and the vet 'on both visits' told me it was the thing to do. Is it?

No neutering has nothing to do with him cocking his leg or enjoying sniffs, it stops him hounding bitches in heat, getting agressive around them, making babies if it gets that far.

we have three kittens two girls and a boy. they are just approaching sexual maturity but because they have been 'doctored' (term covers both sexes) they don't do the sex thing.

Thanks for the reply, I know he is only young and does not get agressive yet. Glad to here he will not be turned into a robot.

If your post is 100% true.

Spotty, it sounds as if you will hold bazaar liable for any changes in your boy post snip. There will likely be changes, more prone to weight gain,thicker fluffier coat maybe,but "robot" no, and he will still cock his leg.
Not sure about your vet comment though, did they mean the injections are the right thing? If so, then sure if you're thinking you might want to breed or not sure about neutering, but if you've made your mind up then it will be far more expensive over your boys life, so the vet will be quids in.

I had the same problem with my mum. In some ways - my fault - I bought her a springer spaniel as a retirement gift. And she continually over fed her for years. By the time the dog was 7 - she was 50% overweight. She had dog food and everything else my mum ate - chocolate, cream buns, the lot. A couple of years I had the dog with me during the hot summers and got her weight down - and then she went back to my mother and ballooned. In the end - her heart gave out when she was only 9 - and I was the one who took her down to the vet late one evening - and had to go back to my mum with an empty lead.

I blame myself. This was a wonderful dog who was ruined by someone who couldn't see that she was killing her beloved pet by over feeding her. Never again.

But -back to the topic! I honestly cannot see how anyone could keep a dog or cat that they don't intend to breed from without having them neutered. Seriously - how is it fair to keep an intact animal with all its natural instincts and then deny them their natural lives? There are already far too many pups and kits in rescue homes because selfish owners have failed to neuture their animals.

Once the rescue centres are empty and there are no more feral cats out there - then fine. But until then - please let us control our unwanted animals

[quote=Susan_A1951;64316205]I had the same problem with my mum. In some ways - my fault - I bought her a springer spaniel as a retirement gift. And she continually over fed her for years. By the time the dog was 7 - she was 50% overweight. She had dog food and everything else my mum ate - chocolate, cream buns, the lot. A couple of years I had the dog with me during the hot summers and got her weight down - and then she went back to my mother and ballooned. In the end - her heart gave out when she was only 9 - and I was the one who took her down to the vet late one evening - and had to go back to my mum with an empty lead.

I blame myself. This was a wonderful dog who was ruined by someone who couldn't see that she was killing her beloved pet by over feeding her. Never again.

/QUOTE]

off topic again, sorry, but that's such a shame
I can;t even imagine how hard it must have been for you
Jake was 30kg at his worst, 50% overweight for his breed. (though to be honest i think he suits 22-23kg more than 20 as he is quite tall.)

since then though we've discovered that his diet didn't suit him at all, Beta light.
he's since been switched to beta senior (as we couldn't get any Light) he's a completely changed dog!
bags more energy, a lot better around other dogs and he's lost weight too - something which just didn't seem to happen on the Light.
his fur is also in better condition and he's been less stiff after long walks.

only down side is that he does get a bit hyper after certain treats, but we can live with that! x


on topic though, i have a friend who i am trying to convince not to breed her dog.
i keep just dropping hints like "there's two the same as her in the RSPCA"
"there's a lovely 'shep in the dogs trust, and another two..." etc.

there's only so much i can say without out and out offending or screaming at her.
the dog in question DOES have papers, but she;s never been shown. she's difficult to control and at almost 3 years old, still cannot walk sensibly on a lead.
she also has dominance issues that i myself wouldn't want to pass on to another generation

I had my dog done, not only because he was being a pain, but as he just wasn't that brilliant around other dogs.
i would have loved for him to father a litter, but i don't believe at that point in time that his temperament was right to pass on.
he has no health problems and he's a very handsome dog, but he's not perfect. He's brilliant, but not perfect!