am i doing the right thing
 

my pup is getting neutered next week.. i dont want to breed him so i see why not to do it.. but i kinda feel bad for doing it, and dont know if i am going to be mad down the road for doing it.. am i doing the right thing?

RE: am i doing the right thing
 

If you have no plans to breed a dog then yes, I would get him cut. HOWEVER!!!! My own personal, totally unscientific opinion about this is not to do this at 6 months like most do. I just think dogs who get neutered that early in development are missing something, an edge, confidence, a physical maturity, something that I can't really describe.
I think they should be given that chance for that testosterone to get in their body and mature it like it is supposed to do naturally. I think it makes a difference.
My male was a totally different dog between 1 year and 2.5 years physically and mentally. I have seen other DDs that were neutered at 6 months and they just seem to be lacking something, that swagger, bulk, toughness that mine got between 1 and 2.5 years. He was neutered at 3.5 and still has all those qualities.
I don't know, like I said, totally unscientific but it makes sense in my head.

RE: am i doing the right thing
 

Here is a good article on spay/neuter http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html

Bruce

RE: am i doing the right thing
 

I gotta agree with MTD on this. I believe a dog needs those hormones to develope properly. You deny him those hormones and his body will develope differently. The way I see it the hormones act on a dog the same way they act on a bovine. Male bovine with balls=bull. Male bovine-the balls=steer. Their bodies, and muscular developement change, and I believe so will a dogs. Maybe not a muchof a physical change as a bovine, but still, why take a chance?

RE: am i doing the right thing
 

Followed your link and that was a great article. I have always been a believer in spaying or neutering a dog while they were still pups, but this article gives me pause to rethink that idea. I raised GSHP's for a while and as usual you end up keeping one or two and had some of the problems mentioned in that article.

RE: am i doing the right thing
 

That is a great article .....

RE: am i doing the right thing
 

well that article really makes you think.im getting all kinds of bad feedback about doing it, a guy at work said his aunts dog died on the table getting it done. thats crazy.. im sure thats a long shot to happen but makes you think. oh by the way my pup is just about 9 months old

RE: am i doing the right thing
 

You could also look at it this way. What if this dog turns out to be the best bird dogyou have ever had.(i assume you are talking about your pointerpup right)Then you had him cut and then you would be saying man i wish i could get a pup out of him. If you dont want to breed him. Why do you have to neuter him? Just my opinion.
Thanks Mike

RE: am i doing the right thing
 

I would NEVER neuter or spay a dog until it was basically sketellay mature (14 + mopnths).



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RE: am i doing the right thing
 

Vets are neuter/spay crazy. They want to neuter the little buggers before they ever developed. All you have to do is look at a steer vs. a bull or a stallion vs. a gelding and you can see that testerone plays a huge role in muscle and attitude.

I just had my GSP netuered at six years of age. I never bred him because while he is a nice dog, he certianly is not a great dog, and there are better breeders out there than I could ever hope to be.

Let him develop, then if you want to neuter later, do it. I would neuter all males somewhere around six or eight years to help avoid prostrate problems later in life and possibly extend their lives.