neutering - 11 year old dog, is he too old to be castrated?

Hi All!
We are now in the position of having an 11 year old male and a 6 month ond bitch. The plan was to wait until the old boy had gone before starting with the next phase, to be bitches. However, Ice came into our lives unexpectedly a month ago! Question is, is 11 years old TOO old for him to be neutered? I appreciate the risks of surgery in an older dog, but should we have it done? When she is in heat, I'm not sure if we could keep them apart for that long. One of the reasons we never had dogs and bitches before!
All advice appreciated!
Lynn

I wouldn't say 11 years was too old to be nuetered. I would however suggest a pre-op check with the vet who you want to perform the op. They will give the boy a check over to make sure he is fit and well and it gives you the opportunity to discuss the procedure with the vet. It may also be wise to get a pre-anaesthetic blood profile if your practice offer this. This will check that the kidneys and liver are in full working order and can cope with an anaesthetic. Just that extra bit of reassurance that everything will be fine

Can't you get the bitch spayed?

Hi Hevvur
I would rather not get her speyed. She will be shown and as a heavy coated breed anyway, I don't want to run the risk of her coat getting any thicker, shown or not. Once we no longer have our boy, whenever that will be, the next pup will also be a bitch. Then we will no longer have a problem.

I'm sorry you see your old dog as a problem, its a shame. Why dont you board your bitch when she is in season, or make extra effort to keep them apart, at 11yrs, the old boy can do without an unessasary aneasthetic and operation.
Dawn.

I would have a word with your vet and see what he recommends as long as you have the pre-anaestetic testing then I can't see there being much of a problem if everything is okay. The last thing you want is unwanted puppies. My mums poodle was 10 1/2 when she had to have all her teeth out and she was fine She has the testing done first though before the op. Castration isn't that big of an op anyway is it.

I don't see my oldie as a problem, far from it. I see potential unwanted pups in an already pup heavy breed a problem.
I would also question the suggestion of boarding the bitch for her season too. Surely the kennel owners would prefer not to have a first time in sason bitch for the duration. She has already had 3 owners when she came to us at the agge of 4and a half months, so puting her in kennels for another 4 weeks will undo all the hard work we have put in with her.
I would prefer not to board either of them, just as I would not dream of sending either of my teanage daughters to their Nan's house one a month (though the temptation.....!!!)
Lynn

can you not just keep them apart for the 4 weeks once every 6 months..

Or save the money on the op and build a small kennel to put your bitch in while she is in season..

I would rather build a kennel than put an old boy throught that.. I would never forgive myself if something went wrong

Thats a bit silly!

Point is you have the dog now and your priority should be with the old dog you already had. At 11yrs you should be more concerned about his health and wellbeing and state of mind, rather than a pup, I knew a 12yr old dog that dropped down dead cos they tried to keep an inseason bitch in the same house, so frustrated he had a heart attack. Bitches in season are not a problem for kennels.

You could consider a "Tardak" injection, which is a temporary castration, will last 4-6 weeks.
Dawn.

I really can't see the problem with the older dog being castrated I know its a bigger risk when they are older but if all the tests are done first then surely he will be fine. Castration isn't as big as an op as speying is so in my opinion its the best option. Lots of older dogs have bigger operations and live and even young dogs die under anaestetic too.