When should I neuter my dog
Ask The Vet Home > Dogs > Dog Care > Neutering
It used to be that 5-6 months was the age when most dogs were neutered and in the ideal world, this would be a good time to perform neutering because the dog is not too young and also is just before 'puberty' in dogs where females will start to cycle and males start to exert typical 'male behavior' like roaming, aggression and wandering. This was fine for owners who would bring back puppies that had been adopted from shelters for their neutering operation. In reality, this didn't always happen and more often than not, owners 'forget' or opt to let their dog have 1 litter before the operation.
Shelters and humane organizations have enough on their hands and with the growing number of unwanted dogs that come to them are adamant that every dog that goes through the system should at the very least not be contributing to the problem. Hence they insist that all puppies and dogs are to be neutered BEFORE they leave for their new homes. This meant that puppies as young as 8 weeks were neutered.
Veterinarians prefer neutering young puppies because their reproductive organs are quite small at this stage and there is a reduced chance of bleeding and with youth on their side, they do seem to recuperate well.
The disadvantages of early neutering is that once neutered, you've removed their internal source of testosterone and estrogen. These hormones do seem to play some part in healthy development of puppies - there have been reports of medical problems later on in life with early neutering. Personally I would like to keep to the 5-6months neutering age as an ideal but I can see the point of view of animal shelters who promote early neutering.
Don't leave it too late to neuter your dog. It's near nigh impossible to ward off unwanted male dogs in the neighborhood if you've inadvertently left it too late and your female dog comes into heat. If she gets pregnant and you decide to neuter her then, there's an increased risk in bleeding and complications during the operation (which is also why it's usually more expensive).
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