# When to neuter male dogs?



## arabee (Nov 12, 2015)

I was just wondering when most of you neutered your male dogs? I was always told between 6-7 months but recently I heard it's best to do it at the one year mark?


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## boomana (Jul 9, 2015)

I neutered my boy at six months, mostly because I work and I had him in doggie daycare as I didn't want a puppy to be alone all day, and the daycare wouldn't take him after six months if he wasn't fixed. I've read/heard so many pros and cons of earlier vs. later, and I'm no expert, so I'll stay away from giving advice. I am going to wait for my little girl to go through her first heat before she's spayed, and probably wait until she's about a year old. I'm leaning that direction these days. Plus, she, and also my boy, have the benefit of staying with my very good neighbor while I'm working, so I don't have that factor coming in to play this time.


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## Teddy Bear (Apr 11, 2015)

I had asked 4 vets about this before getting Teddy neutered. All said between 6 -8 months.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

IF I had a male puppy now, and IF I could live through adolescent male-ness, my choice would be to wait until at least a year old. While cancer is NOT a big problem in our breed, there is VERY strong evidence that neutering before sexual maturity is a very strong risk factor for certain very bad cancers in other breeds. (hemangiosarcoma and osteosarcoma, both of which are a death sentence) Early spay/neuter also predisposes ALL breeds to ACL/CCL tears, something that we do have in our breed, though this can be surgically repaired.

That said, some adolescent male puppies are MISERABLE to live with, and because the two above named cancers are not not prevalent in our breed, even among spayed/neutered dogs, there is a much smaller risk factor. I neutered Kodi at 7 months because I didn't know what I know now. Would I have been able to make it to a year without neutering? I honestly don't know. He wasn't marking, but he was humping everything in sight.  I guess I could have lived through the humping, but I SURE don't want a marking dog!!!

Of course, the other thing you have to be VERY clear on is whether you are willing to be responsible for never EVER letting your un-neutered pet breed another dog!!! It's a big responsibility, and VERY important!!!

And especially in a breed like ours where the risks of early spay/neuter are not as dramatic as with some big breeds, (no WAY would I spay/neuter a Golden before 2 years old!!!) I can CERTAINLY understand where the convenience of neutering the dog earlier is worth the SLIGHTLY increased risk of problems, especially when it can increase the dog's quality of life. (like in the case of having to leave a puppy home alone for months on end because a day care won't take an unneutered dog after a certain age)

I think the "right" answer for when to spay/neuter is different for every dog in every family. I think you need to read a lot, understand the risk factors (in BOTH directions... there are some cancers, specifically mammary cancers, that are more common in dogs spayed later, but they are also a relatively curable form of cancer if caught early) and then make the decision that is right for your pet and your family. Some vets can be helpful in making your decision, others have an "early spay/neuter agenda", so that's the ONLY answer you'll get from them.


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

My preference would be to neuter a male Havanese immediately after their one year birthday. However, after consulting with his Vet, we neutered Ricky at 10.5 months. Our decision was based on the upcoming Christmas holiday last year and then we were going to be in Mexico for three months after that and I didn't want a convalescent dog at Christmas with all his cousin doggies at our house and I didn't want some unknown Vet in Mexico performing the surgery. Also Ricky was not completely housebroken at this time (thank you breeder for selling us a dog you assured us was "completely house broken") and our Vet said neutering would help us in training him not to mark in the house. Ricky's Momi, who is a neatnick, was very unhappy about the urine in the house and I had to do something to give her relief! 

So, yes, age at neutering is dependent on individual circumstances. And just to complete the story, Ricky's breeder in Washington is now refusing to send us his AKC papers because we had him neutered at less than 12 months! Before anyone purchases a Havanese from a breeder in Washington, send me a PM first and I'll give you all the sordid details on this particular breeder.

Ricky's Popi


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## Askavi (Nov 5, 2015)

I was very curious about this topic as well. I bought Raffy with limited AKC registration and the breeder told me not to get him neutered before 8 months old, but before one year to uphold our contract. She said there were drawbacks to neutering too early and felt that 6 months was too young. I've been thinking about if we should do it closer to 8 months or the year mark.


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## arabee (Nov 12, 2015)

Thanks this is helpful! I'm starting to lean more towards 1 year.


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## Napria (May 17, 2015)

When we were deciding on the right time to neuter I read that un-neutered males have a stronger tendency to wander or try to dash out an open door to get outside. We lost a house cat that way. We neutered Baci at 6 months and microchipped him at the same time. 

I would be absolutely heartbroken if he got away and got hurt. We don't live on a busy street -- we're actually at the end of a quiet cul de sac -- but we're out in the country and we have coyotes in the area. Even though our backyard is fenced, we don't ever let him out alone. And the only times he's allowed out front is on a leash.

I felt the danger to him getting loose outweighed the possible cancer risks. Hopefully we made the right choice.


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

We had Scout neutered at six months per our contract. Truffles breeder recommended she not be spayed before one year. I think between Scout and Truffles there was a change of thinking. The vet said that it is now recommended to wait until one year for the benefits of hormones.


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