Yay or Nay ... Neutering

[DukMan]

Picked up a couple lab puppies and I'm contemplating whether or not to have then neutered... personally I'm leaning towards not having them done, as I have no restrictions on studding them out per the breeder contract and both are AKC full breeds.

Anyone have any anecdotal experience with this or recommendations... they will both receive formal gun dog training, run hunt tests, and hunt in the field.

[Rick]

I've never seen reason not to leave my males intact and simply control breeding opportunity, so I've not paid close attention to the medical arguments, but I believe the more recent studies have shown greater potential for medical issues with neutering than not. Google should be your friend.

[Darren]

I've never seen reason not to leave my males intact and simply control breeding opportunity, so I've not paid close attention to the medical arguments, but I believe the more recent studies have shown greater potential for medical issues with neutering than not. Google should be your friend.

I'd be interested in some thoughts as well, as the wife is of the notion that it might settle down harry a bit but he's been coming around and settling a bit on his own with a few more months under his collar. Last fall the vet said leave him intact with the plans to hunt him to ensure proper muscular development and drive.

[Rick]

I stole this from another site:

Im always a NO till you have too..

heres some reads:
http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTerm ... InDogs.pdf
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/he ... n=20130410


cliff notes:
On the positive side, neutering male dogs
• eliminates the small risk (probably <1%) of dying from testicular cancer
• reduces the risk of non-cancerous prostate disorders
• reduces the risk of perianal fistulas
• may possibly reduce the risk of diabetes (data inconclusive)
On the negative side, neutering male dogs
• if done before 1 year of age, significantly increases the risk of osteosarcoma (bone cancer); this is a
common cancer in medium/large and larger breeds with a poor prognosis.
• increases the risk of cardiac hemangiosarcoma by a factor of 1.6
• triples the risk of hypothyroidism
• increases the risk of progressive geriatric cognitive impairment
• triples the risk of obesity, a common health problem in dogs with many associated health problems
• quadruples the small risk (<0.6%) of prostate cancer
• doubles the small risk (<1%) of urinary tract cancers
• increases the risk of orthopedic disorders
• increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccinations

On the positive side, spaying female dogs
• if done before 2.5 years of age, greatly reduces the risk of mammary tumors, the most common
malignant tumors in female dogs
• nearly eliminates the risk of pyometra, which otherwise would affect about 23% of intact female
dogs; pyometra kills about 1% of intact female dogs
• reduces the risk of perianal fistulas
• removes the very small risk (
0.5%) from uterine, cervical, and ovarian tumors
On the negative side, spaying female dogs
• if done before 1 year of age, significantly increases the risk of osteosarcoma (bone cancer); this is a
common cancer in larger breeds with a poor prognosis
• increases the risk of splenic hemangiosarcoma by a factor of 2.2 and cardiac hemangiosarcoma by
a factor of >5; this is a common cancer and major cause of death in some breeds
• triples the risk of hypothyroidism
• increases the risk of obesity by a factor of 1.6-2, a common health problem in dogs with many
associated health problems
• causes urinary “spay incontinence” in 4-20% of female dogs
• increases the risk of persistent or recurring urinary tract infections by a factor of 3-4
• increases the risk of recessed vulva, vaginal dermatitis, and vaginitis, especially for female dogs
spayed before puberty
• doubles the small risk (<1%) of urinary tract tumors
• increases the risk of orthopedic disorders
• increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccinations

Like hntfsh said asking the vet can get you no where... Most of them push owners to get their dog fixed Its easy money and most owners just hear that they should do it.. so they do it.. IF your vet is pushing you to get you dog fixed at 4 months RUN away from him He doesnt have the best interest of your dog in his mind Every vet/pro dog person i know says wait until after first heat cycle (normally 1 year old) to fix them Thats any dog but especially a working dog! At 4 months (16 weeks mind you!!!) Your dog is NO where near being developed

[Darren]

nice, thanks for passing along. Clearly I need to do some more looking into it. We were certainly going to give him until next spring; but if he continues to settle down from his ongoing ramped up puppy stage, he just might by himself some more time from his mom at the house.

[don novicki]

Always had males, never clipped any of them, never bred any of them and if I get another dog he won't get fixed either......JMO

[aunt betty]

We moved because our landlord made neutering demands. They said "insurance reasons" but actually it was because the guy pissed my dog off a lot. He just had no fucking dog sense. One of them people that gets attacked by every dog he sees. (even his wife's)

I'm betting that if we'd have had Milo neutered that cocksucker would have demanded de-toothing next.

[DukMan]

Thanks for the information… I think I'm going to keep my guys intact. Their temperament is great and we are installing an in-ground fence system to keep them from humping the neighbors so I don't at this time feel the need to clip them.