If & when to neuter?

[polly]

Griff is now just six months old. I had my lovely Rowan neutered at 6 months largely because we also had a saluki X girl who had had a badly busted leg, and I was terrified of Ro getting jiggy with her ... she was neutered, but he was so much bigger and heavier, I was scared of her breaking another bone. Later on, we had some issues with his growth plates not closing, and the vet gave him a testosterone jab, remarking,"Well, you did have him castrated VERY early!" Which upset me, as he nor anyone else at the vets made any mention of that at the time ... if I'd been counselled to wait, I would have. Subsequent problems with Ro's bones, his amputation at age 4 and then his death last November due to bone cancer, has given me many sleepless nights fretting over whether I was to blame for being so quick off the mark with his castration. Rowan was my first male dog.

So now I'm wondering what to do about Griff. He has definitely not done growing, his growth plates are still up, and there's some room in his skin, so I think he might put on another inch or so. He is 3/8 Greyhound, 1/8 each Deerhound, Beddie & Border Collie, and 1/4 Wheaten. He is a lovely, funny and intelligent lad, looks like a small deerhound but his thick shaggy coat is super soft and glossy, and he doesn't shed! At the moment I am minded to leave him entire until and unless it poses any problems, i.e. he becomes aggressive or starts humping everything in sight. My whippet girl, Willow, is neutered, and as far as I am aware there are no entire bitches within scenting distance. I know GG neuters before rehoming, and I definitely don't want to be responsible for any more Lurcher pups. We got Griff from a local farrier who had bred from his lovely grizzled bitch, expecting to have only 4 or 6 pups, all of which were already spoken for by family members. (She is a lovely dog.). Griff was the 11th pup to emerge.

So ... thoughts please? I was told by a neighbour that the longer you leave it the better.

[samburns]

Mar 19, 2014 6:00:48 GMT -5 polly said:

Subsequent problems with Ro's bones, his amputation at age 4 and then his death last November due to bone cancer, has given me many sleepless nights fretting over whether I was to blame for being so quick off the mark with his castration. Rowan was my first male dog.

Hi Polly I just wanted to comment on what you say about osteosarcoma and neutering.  I am aware of the purported link between castrating and OSA but haven't read any of the research into it.  However, my first greyhound who died of bone cancer was entire and my second greyhound to get bone cancer was castrated when he was five years old.  Personally I feel that there are likely to be much greater risk factors in them getting OSA: genetics and bone injuries in particular. 

Personally I will always neuter my dogs.  We were about to neuter Jazz when he was diagnosed with OSA.  He was always a very placid dog so he never bothered other dogs.  However, being entire, he was CONSTANTLY bothered by other dogs, many of them trying to hump him, which really was quite stressful for him.  I wouldn't want a dog that was constantly stressed by how his hormones were making him act.   While your lad may grow into a perfectly behaved dog with perfect recall etc, if acting on his hormones I would still be worried that instinct could take over - it would only take someone visiting with an in season bitch for your boy to potentially do a runner.  Also, in terms of a risk assessment, not neutering leaves your dog at MUCH higher risk of other health problems obviously testicular and prostate cancers. 

I know you just want to do the best for your boy and that having lost Rowan to bone cancer you would never ever want to do anything that would heighten the risk but I do think you have to look at the much wider picture

[Nettie]

I waited until Bertie was 9 months before having him neutered - I do believe that there is some science that says its better to wait a bit longer before neutering large breeds as they tend to mature more slowly than smaller breeds, B is also a deerhound cross. Rio my lurcher bitch didn't have her first season until she was 18 months old but in most breeds the first season is normally at around 9 months old.

Sent from my Hudl HT7S3 using proboards

[dash4misty]

My lurcher boy was neutered at seven months , we never had any health probs and he lived to a good age almost thirteen

[polly]

Thanks ... I will wait til his bumpy knees subside I think, ATM he hasn't shown any tendency to get frisky with Little Willow, he's still quite puppyish really. He's keen to please and picks up command quickly, tho he is strong minded, there are definitely signs of Lurcher Deafness emerging. On the other hand, he loves us ... he has come out of his shell so much since he arrived ... guess being one of 11 pups meant he was overlooked a lot. Luckily he was raised with cats and poultry, so he's been such a great fit.

I still miss my Darling Ro every day, I am glad that Griff is such a different looking dog, black and shaggy, not golden and sleek. Hard isn't it?