[MagicalReality_Designs]

Hello all, I have a 16 week old German Shepherd male "Codey" I have recently went to the vet to get his shots and she mention to be about getting him nutered (snipped) Now I don't plan to breed at all. I just want to know what are the benefits of doing this? other than the vet making money. He is a really calm puppy who obeys, and is well trained, as much as a puppy can be. He responds and obeys to , sit, stay, come, up, down, he is almost leash trained-does not pull most of the time, totally potty trained, etc..so I just dont know if its really necessary to get him nutured? The want to do it when he is 5 months old, pretty much after Holidays. Please share your input with me! Greatly appreciated! Thank you! Ohh what I meant to say is that hes not out of control, and they say its good to do it to calm them down.

 

[bocron]

I just want to know what are the benefits of doing this? other than the vet making money.

Having worked as a vet tech for 8-9 years and a professional trainer for the past 14 years, I can say in my experience, some of the most difficult dogs to work with were the neutered males. Especially the ones who were neutered on the young side.
The one vet hospital I worked at (very briefly) told all the front office staff they better be booking those neuters if everyone wanted a pay check on pay day! Do a google search on it and you will see studies supporting both view points. You are on the right track starting your research, your pup is still very young, no need to make the decision today.
On a personal note, we currently own 6 German Shepherds ,5 of which are males and none of which are neutered. For us, it's all in the training and expectations.

 

[selzer]

It sounds like your pup has a good jump start on training, etc.

Take him to classes, train him, work with him, play with him, love him.

There is a tiny chance of testicular cancer so long as testicals exist. It is a cancer that normally has a good prognosis if caught early and neuter is done.

There is an increased risk of hemangiosarcoma, osteosarcoma, and prostate cancer in neutered dog, and it seems like the earlier you neuter the worse the risk of these.

Also, if you neuter before the growth plates close, the long bones will continue to grow giving the appearance of a leggy dog. If the long bones do not fit into the joints as nature intended, perhaps hip dysplasia risk may increase. Secondary sex characteristics may not be as well pronounced in dogs neutered before sexual maturity, giving the appearance of a bitchy dog.

If you are not showing your dog, the chances are you will not notice these small changes, and they will not be a major problem. Your dog will still be beautiful.

Behaviors can be trained. If the dog has never been allowed to breed a female, the chances are good that he will not mark and not be a nuisance.

Train and socialize the dog, and there is no reason a neuter should be necessary.

 

[DJEtzel]

Excellent advice above.

Keep in mind if you do want to get him neutered, it would be best to wait until after 1.5-2 years so that his growing can finish and his bones will be safe. I'm basically just simplifying what Selzer's saying.

Also keep in mind that keeping an intact dog is a big responsibility and you do need to be prepared to make sure he's not getting loose and mating, etc. if you don't neuter him. (Although you should be making sure he's not getting loose anyway) I have an intact male dog a little over a year and he's a pleasure to be around and isn't hard to care for at all.

Here is a link to some pros/cons about neutering so you can weigh the risks and benefits yourself.
http://www.baerental.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs-1.pdf

 

[MagicalReality_Designs]

These are very good points all! Thank you so much! I will definately look into the link DJEtzel. What got me thinking about whether to do it or not was that the vet was being very pushy, she printed out a total of the cost and already trying to book the appointment, actually never said why or why not, just made my appointment for January and thats it. I also think I will change my vet. I do have another question though.... He has something called "Hernia" they said, around where his belly button is, she said it will need to be operated on, is that necessary? or is it just like an outter bellybutton humans have? Thank you again all for taking your time in replying to me. I really appreciate this. Have a wonderful weekend all!
Hugs

 

[selzer]

It sounds like an umbilical hernea. We are not vets here. Some of us are breeders and have dealt with these. Usually, and I cannot see this, so I do not know, but usually, a small hernea is nothing to be concerned with. Often the bitch will have cut the umbilical cord a little too aggressively.

It can be a genetic problem. In any case, they will often say to fix them during the spay, but otherwise just leave them be.

However if it is large, it may require surgery. I would get a second opinion. The pup is young and it may close up on its own.

Just because a vet wants to sign him up for a neuter would not for me be a reason to find a new vet. Many vets do pro-bono work for animal shelters, and often have to euthanize puppies that no one wants. THAT would KILL me. So having them a little more aggressive about spay/neuter if they do not know you, would not make me think you should throw in the towel.

You might tell them that you would like to wait until the dog is 24 months old before neutering. At two, you can make the decision.

 

[Emoore]

I agree with Selzer. Most vets are going to push spay/neuter very strongly because of the HUGE number of unwanted pets in this country. The sad truth is that most people aren't as vigilant as they should be about keeping their intact dogs from breeding. Also, lots of people start thinking that they'll let their dog "have just one litter" to "experience mother/fatherhood." Neutering young is a good way to nip this in the bud.

I believe that if a dog is going to spend much time at all unsupervised in an outdoor yard or kennel, that dog should be spayed or neutered. There's just too much incentive and free time to use their considerable brains to figure out a way to escape and go breed.

If the dog will be a housedog and you're committed to keeping it from breeding, I see no reason he has to be kept intact.

 

[Stosh]

My vet is not opposed to neutering but not before 6 mos and is recommending I wait until Stosh is 18 mos. He's 11 mos now. If I choose to neuter she wants to do it before he's 2 yrs old. So not every vet pushes neutering. However, she does know that I'm a responsible owner, keep my dog under control and supervision and train. I imagine she would recommend spay/neutering earlier to an owner who doesn't do those things.

 

[KZoppa]

for neutering i would wait until he's 1 1/2 to 2 years old so he can finish growing and stands less chance of developing bone related issues. as far as the hernia goes, i would get that taken care of because it can actually get worse but because your vet is so insistent on neutering and pushy about it, i would find a vet who i could trust to ONLY do the hernia repair surgery. Sounds like your current vet might do the hernia repair surgery but also would do a neuter surgery without your permission as well.

 

[Emoore]

Sounds like your current vet might do the hernia repair surgery but also would do a neuter surgery without your permission as well.

Wow. Couldn't you sue for that?

 

[Jax08]

Legally, your vet can only do what you authorize them to do. I would really doubt that a vet is going to risk a lawsuit by doing an unauthorized neutering. If you like this vet, and you trust their medical competence, then there is no reason why you should switch vets just because they suggested neutering.

 

[MagicalReality_Designs]

I am new to the area but have done research and most pet owners recomend and use that vet. I am really aiming now for not to do it, at least wait till hes older. About the hernia I will have that taken care of I think, Its about size of nickel (5cents) my puppy is very well trained for his age, and is never out by himself. Always on a leash when not fenced in. He interacts with other dogs on daily basis, we have a gathering everyday for them to socialize but always supervised.

 

[selzer]

My vet is not opposed to neutering but not before 6 mos and is recommending I wait until Stosh is 18 mos. He's 11 mos now. If I choose to neuter she wants to do it before he's 2 yrs old. So not every vet pushes neutering. However, she does know that I'm a responsible owner, keep my dog under control and supervision and train. I imagine she would recommend spay/neutering earlier to an owner who doesn't do those things.

Actually, I think most vets work on the philosophy of "guilty until proven innocent." If you have a good repoir, good history and working relationship with your vet, they may not be as pushy about speuter.

A nickel sized hernia in a 16 week old puppy, I think I would wait on. Have you discussed this with the breeder? They may have some good advice.

Breeders are not always as quick to recommend surgeries. I have had only one dog with an umbilical hernia and that was smaller than the size of a quarter, maybe a little larger than a nickel. I pointed it out to my vet. She said that we could deal with it when she is spayed, or we could leave it alone. If I want to breed her though she would have it fixed beforehand (at about six months of age) as the process of carrying a litter might be problematic for it.

I do not intend on breeding Tori, so I have left it alone. It has not caused ANY problems whatsoever. She is four years old now.

 

[Lesley1905]

I would think you could sue for unwanted surgery! My vet was a little pushy as well about neutering. Not sure what the reason was for, most likely money. They called me 3 times to schedule the surgery and I finally told them that we are going to wait till later on. I myself will most likely wait until he is 2 if I chose to do it.

 

[BlackGSD]

If the vet is too pushy, (which they obviously ARE.) I would just tell them to BACK OFF.

Many vets have a "know it all" attitude. And will continue to try to "bully" or walk all over you until you force them to stop.

Luckily I have a vet that treats me well. He has NEVER even so much an mentioned altering my dogs. Maybe because he has known me and my dogs for 10 or so years and can tell by the way I speak and handle the dogs that I'm not a moron. (I'm NOT saying that you are.)

If they mention a procedure that I disagree with, I say NO. And they don't argue. They respect my decission.

He even tells his office staff to stand back and let ME hold my own dogs when he is checking them out. He KNOWS I can handle them and there is NO risk of me letting him get bitten. (I've had some that do NOT like anyone in the vets office and they let it be KNOWN. And he has never so much as suggested a muzzle either.)

 

[Zoeys mom]

Our one vets does not ever recommend neutering a male while our other vet says wait till 12-18 months. There is too much overwhelming evidence to suggest especially with males waiting or foregoing neuter surgery. For females it's a different story though we are waiting with Zoe who is 13 months- I'm thinking end of the winter.

As far as the hernia get a second opinion. Many do close on their own though with an active puppy surgery may need to be done. Our lab had one of similar size that our vet said to keep a close eye on....by 6 months it was almost perfect so we never had to do it.

 

[Zoeys mom]

Also, though our vet did say he could tell by looking at it it was from the mom being overzealous in chewing his chord, and not genetic. I have no clue how true that is or if that makes a difference

 

[selzer]

I think it does make a difference. Still, I was reading about them, the true umbilical hernia is more of an issue because it can allow stuff to come out and get trapped, and they are harder to close. What is often considered an umbilical hernia is delayed closure.

I have never had any issue with Tori's and we did not opt to do anything with it.