This question has come up in the last few weeks. We have a 1 yr old English Springer Spaniel that we got about 6 weeks ago. I have heard pros and cons about neutering and would appreciate any input here. Simply put: What does the dog gain or lose and we (my wife and I) gain or lose as handlers? We do not expect to breed him or show him. We want a good hunting (family) dog.

If you don' t expect to breed him, it is not a bad idea. May not change him much at this age, but he won' t be siring any neighborhood mixed-breeds if you go ahead an lop ' em off.

seattle...Change him in what way?...that' s what we have been trying to find out. Seems almost everyone generalizes....What changes would we see, what are the +' s and the -' s ?

Some people believe that if you neuter a dog before he' s about 6-7 months of age, it will calm him down. It is also said they will be less territorial and will refrain from " humping" things you don' t want them to hump. I have noticed they have less of a tendency to mark their territory (pee all over everything), as well.

Jimmy,

Check out my buddies site and email him. He may be able to help. This kennel has been breeding and training ESS for many years (I think around 30). Good Luck and tell him Bob sent you.

www.guadairakennels.com

ODH....I took your recommedation an sent the EMail. I will certainly keep you updated....Thanks for the time to help out.........Jimmy S

Jimmy S,

An old roommate of mine has a springer that I was around and had the opportunity to train and hunt with for a few years. He was a male and not fixed as he wanted to breed him. He was definitely a feisty boy around other males and that was a little bit of a problem when hunting around other male dogs. When he was bred with a female, I got pick of the litter and took a male. I didn' t hesitate in having him neutered as I had witnessed some undesirable behavior and didn' t intend on doing any breeding with him.

He is definitely mellow for his age of 1.5 years but in a good way. He gets along great with other males and is still a fireplug of energy. This is really my only experience with it being my first dog so I' m just relating what I' m seeing. I' ve heard that neutered dogs can be healthier than those that aren' t but don' t really know if that' s true or not.

ironranger...Thanks for the reply. I just wanted to get as much info as possible so we could make an educated decision. We are definitely leaning in that direction (to have him see the vet). Thank you again......Jimmy

i guess it is up to you but when u go to the bathroom next time or want to make love with your wife just think what u would feel like with no balls. just think. they got to have lifes to evryone needs a little u know what good luck.

duckhunter - as poignant as your observations may be, unless you personally wear a collar, eat dog food, roll in fresh dung, and pee on fire hydrants... your comparisons are somewhat " apples and oranges"