Difference in personality after neutering?

[intotheblue]

My puppy is going on 5 1/2 months. He has a wonderful temperament and great personality. He is friendly with other dogs and people. My husband and I are trying to figure out if we want to get him neutered or not. We don't have plans to breed him. We are concerned it might change his personality. In your experience, in getting a male GSD neutered, has their personality or temperament changed in postive or negative way? Thanks!

[Emoore]

In my experience, no, neutering doesn't change personality for the positive or negative.

If you're certain that you can keep him from accidentally impregnating a female, I personally would wait until he's older to neuter. I'm not a fan of neutering that young.

[msvette2u]

It certainly does not hurt to neuter that young, sometimes you can eliminate problem behaviors if you do neuter that young (such as marking in the house).
I'd advise pet owners (not show or working) to neuter as soon as they want to and as soon as their vet would do it.

[fuzzybunny]

I had no change in personality or temperament when I neutered Jazz at 15 months.

[Stosh]

Stosh was neutered at 20 mos and the only change, if any, is that he's more focused on me- but that's probably due to his age rather than the neuter. And he gained 5 much needed pounds. My vet recommends waiting until 18 mos but not over 24 before neutering. Obviously people differ on this subject

[GSDkid]

There was no change when we got Abby spayed when she was 5 months.

[mssandslinger]

no change in zero other than he does not act crazy around females anymore. and its helped with his anxiety a bit. but nothing negative at all!

[Freestep]

I used to groom a Wire Fox terrier that was totally incorrigable when he was intact--he would constantly try to hump me while I groomed him. After his neuter, that behavior was almost extinguished. He'd still get into amorous moods, but his humping was easier to discourage. He was neutered around 3 years of age, though.

A friend of mine had a GSD who was a real menace--he attacked other dogs, growled at his owner, and bit a kid in the face. And she wanted to BREED this animal. After neutering (thank God) he was much more manageable, not so much "on edge". I think he was about 4 years old when neutered.

I used to groom an intact toy poodle who was always a shivering, nervous little bag of bones. His owner had a terrible time keeping weight on him. He was a cryptorchid, and why they left him intact I do not know, but the time came when the vet recommended that he be neutered. Afterward, the little dog became less anxious, and was finally able to put on weight. He was older also, probably about 7 years when finally neutered.

Those are the examples I can think of where I noticed a difference in behavior, and all these dogs were older when neutered. I've seen a LOT of dogs before and after neutering, and Other than those aforementioned examples, I can't say that I've really noticed much change to a dog's personality if it is done young. If anything, neutering sort of takes the edge off a dog. But it might not be noticable if it is done prior to maturity.

Some SchH and sport enthusiasts say that leaving the dog intact gives them more drive, but I don't really know if that's true. It certainly lessens their drive for breeding, and can lessen their drive for fighting with other males, and may make them less prone to lifting their leg on every. single. thing.

They say a full load of testosterone makes males more aggressive, and that aggression is valuable for bitework if channelled properly. Having only owned females, I can't really speak to that. My females did not change one single iota in terms of drive after they were spayed.

There are also health issues to be aware of with early neuter on large breeds; their long bones grow faster and longer, making the dog appear taller and more "weedy" than they would have been if intact, and there is a small risk of osteosarcoma. However, for most pet owners that aren't interested in breeding or sport, the benefits of neutering outweighs the risks. Like I said, I've always had females; if I had a male I'd try to leave him intact as long as I could possibly stand it. But if I had a small breed male I'd probably neuter young.

Right now my 11 month old female is in heat, and I can't stand it... I'd have preferred to spay younger, but I'm gritting my teeth and doing it later for health reasons.

[intotheblue]

Thank you everyone for all the information and input. We would perfer to hold off on neutering him until he has matured. Our vet and trainer have asked if/when we will be doing it, but I think we'd like to wait.

[jprice103]

I was planning on neutering my male GSD (who I don't have yet and wont until next year) at around 12 months to avoid issues like agression and marking. After talking to the breeder, and a lot of REALLY sound advice and information, I have decided to wait until at least 18 months.