Castration????

Hi,

Need to pick your brains

Mack is just over a year old, and I haven't castrated him as I wanted to wait until he had mature physically, not mentallyI was going to have him done, but as he has got older, I wonder is there any real need.


He is slightly mental,,but not at all aggressive towards other males, does not hump, is fantastic with people etc. What I am getting at he has no aggression or unwanted behaviour, which is a reason that so many people seem to castrate.

I am have no intention of breeding him. But feel under a lot of pressure from my vet to get them lopped off My vets are brill, but they do think a dog of his size should lose them.

But I really don't want to put him through an operation if he doesn't need it TBH.

How many of you have large intact males , and have found no problems.

Thanks for your help. xx

Biff and MO (Collie/terrier cross and Border Collie) weren't done until they were about 5/6. They were fine...never wandered etc. Biff ended up being done because he and morris developed issues with each other after my son was born and Morris was done at a later date because he developed quite bad prostate problems.

I think it is a personal thing. You are more than capable of handling an entire male (so to speak) so the choice is yours. Don't be swayed by your vet, decide for you and your dog. Castration does effect their coat and can effect temperament, they can realy calm down and not be scent marking all the time...BUT it can also effect in a negative way in that they can become more nervous and wary, I think, from past experience, there is a crucial 3 month period, where you have to monitor them very closely post castration. Inevitably their hormones are all over the place so you can end up with a teenager again for a while that really pushes boundaries, then the next day you can have a more jumpy dog...it can vary and you need to be prepared for that and deal with it properly (as you would.)

I guess what I'm trying to say is, totally your choice, if he is fine around other dogs and isn't humping everything in sight, has shown no desire to wander and you can be as careful as possible about keeping him away from bitches in heat, leave 'em be!

I've seen a fair few dogs castrated now and I truly believe it impacts greatly on them and is not the simple operation some would like you to believe.

Cosmo is almost 8 months and a bit humpy at points but can be distracted pretty easily so far. His little furry plums future remains to be seen.....I suspect thought that they are fairly safe....

Good luck with whatever decision you make, there is NO right or wrong on this one.

Why does your vet say that it's because of his size?

I haven't had Loki done - I would be worried to put him through under an anaesthetic with the epilepsy. My vets don't mention neutering at all.

I had a very well endowed pup done (he was a big boy in more ways than one) and he ended up with post op problems, apparently that can happen in bigger boys..not sure in what way the vet meant bigger...but she was obviously well impressed with size of his furry plums!!!!!! LOL

Ramble- he is really good with other dogs, can sometimes be too much for some dogs, but not aggressive at all. He can scent mark a bit on walks , but I just distract him, he has outgrown the humpy stage,( Meg is more humpy TBH) and is a good boy in general.
He hasn't shown any desire to wander yet,
He is healthy, and I really don't want to put him under unless I had to.

There is nothing wrong with his temperament, so I am worried getting snipped off, could change him, I know a GSD who went very wary like you said,and it actually made him worse Mack has huge dangly bits, so that is another thing to think of


Lucky Star- As I have said before I am all for animals getting neutered but I am not sure if it is right for him, don't want to rock the boat TBH. He isn't casuing any problems so I am swaying on the subjsect.

Not sure why the vet keeps mentioning his size, I suppose it could be if he went on a hormonal rampage he would be pretty unstoppable


Thanks both of you

Inka was done Kain wasn't, never saw any real differences from either of them, Inka was the bully boy and still was even after castration...only you will know whats right for him, he is only a year so won't fully mature for another year or so, so imo you have quite a long time to think about it and see how he developes, all the best whatever you decide, he is a very handsome boy xx

If he is a normal well balanced Dog with no behaviour issues, leave him alone!

Thanks, I am finding this very interesting to hear others experiences.
He sends you big licks and woos for the compliment x

Hmmmm NORMAL , well as about as normal as he is ever going to be. No, he doesn't have any isssues except being young and enthusiastic .
Thanks Dawn

At the end of the day its down to you. I have had all the boys done, 1 reason being I am not going to breed from then so imo it's a responsible thing to do. They has been no problems with the ops and how they were afterwards