When I got Teagan, Kingsley used to mount her face!! (Until she got too tall and he couldn't reach any more! )

Quote "he is never going to breed so it seems vcruel to leave him with these urges he can never fulfill"

It is not cruel at all it is the way of nature, in the wild for animals that live in packs it is normal for only the senior animals to procreate the rest have to wait there turn and for some of the less well made, the less than the best, their turn never comes because in nature animals are much better than us and only breed from the fit, healthy and well made.

Even with my experience and research into the effects of castration I still think there are times when it is the best answer, just think people should think hard and carefully at their reasons and to check they are valid before going ahead, not leaving a dog intact because you think he will be frustrated IMO is not a good reason, as I have said to do without the pleasures of the flesh is normal and is like saying that a bitch needs at least one litter, it is no more true of them than it is of us.

"doing without the pleasures of the flesh" may be natural for animals living in largish packs. For the domestic dog, lacking an alpha male to cool his ardour or to point out that his attentions to breedable females is not the go, it no doubt feels very unnatural

Castrate your dog if that is your wish. The thousands of castrated dogs who live happy, healthy, & uneventful lives would, I imagine, far outweigh those who undergo unfortunate effects from the operation. No more howling after bitches in heat. No more digging under or jumping over fences. No more risks of injury from outraged local bitch owners when he goes a-courting. No more road kill as he crosses the main road to visit the bitch.

I won't be castrating Tam One reason is I'll be showing him, another is both his breeder and myself agree that if he turns out good enough (passes his breeding evaluation, has good hips, eyes test clear, shows well) then we will probably breed him as our breed is too small (still have a small gene pool) to be able to just castrate our breeding quality dogs.

But if you, on the other hand, have a dog who isn't breeding quality. And you don't want to deal with the potential problems when bitches are in season, then I'd say by all accounts get him neutered!! But there is always the possibility that it won't change anything. (I knew a castrated dog once who would seek out and sucessively tie with in season bitches!! )

Though I can't say its cruel to leave him intact. IMO I've known lots of happy intact males living without a hint of satisfying his urges. He will calm down on the mounting as he grows out of this stage. And as said before, the continous weeing can be curbed.

Don't think that I'm lecturing Or telling you about something that I don't understand. Tam is being a right sod at the moment too

Katy, this may be of interest;


Castration is the surgical removal of the testicles. Reasons for castration include the following:

Eliminate the reproduction potential

Reduce sexual activity

Reduce tendency to roam and fight

Reduce general level of agression

Eliminate testicular cancer

Resolve disease of the prostate gland


The best age for castration is between six and twelve months of age. At this age the procedure is very low risk and easy to perform. It is also at this age that diseases of the prostate and testicles are virtually non-existant; bad habbits such as marking have not started, and unwanted pregnancies have not added to the overpopulation of the pet world. If your dog is not to be used as a valued breeder, early castration is the responsible thing to do. It could save your dogs life and make him a much more desirable housemate.

May I point out something?

To reduce those tendencys that you listed then yes, castrating between 6 to 12 months is the right thing. but castrating at that age can and does (especially with big breeds) affect growth patterns. So I would say castrate at 18 months for a bigger breed and not interfere with growing. After all 6 months isn't all that much longer to wait.

And not all intact males are allowed to breed with bitches to add to the population. Even if they are pets. If a person is responsible then the dog will not be allowed to mate at all.

Yep, what you said is true..

With large breeds, early castration often results in an animal with an insufficient breadth of chest for orthopedic health. Seeing the number of giant breeds that I do, I am very aware of the tragic effects of castration on young males. The narrow chests which result are inadequate to support the weight that so many neutered animals, male or female, put on. These dogs then have to develop a 'toe-out' stance, with valgus deformity of the carpus, in an attempt to broaden their base for weight bearing. Once you've seen the harm caused by this practice in person, you quickly change that 'knee-jerk' reaction so often seen, of 'neuter everything that breathes'. If you do choose to castrate your male dog, by all means wait until he is at least one year old for small to medium size breeds, or at least 2 years old for giant breeds.

Exactly I used to be a big "fan" of castrating, till I saw 2 very very bad cases of this with 2 dogs (Rottie and Giant Schnauzer). Since then I'd need to have a very good reason to castrate.

I'm still going to have Tetley done but will wait till he is 18 months.
My reasons for this are;
1)We have 2 older male collies who have been castrated and Tetley is trying to dominate them all of the time.
2)My B-I-L has a live bitch, of whom Tetley has already mated (by accident) and he won't get her done so I will have Tetley sorted so that it doesn't happen again

No no, if a person is in that kind of situation then its the best thing by far to castrate.