To neuter or not ?

[Barklessdog]

We have our new 3 year old male to be neutered. My question is it the right thing to do. The vet said he will loose muscle mass and probably gain weight. He has no behavioral issues and is a great dog. We are not going to be breeding or showing him.

He does no mounting, no aggression , no marking. Just a great dog. Not that it matters much as our last dog was the devil and it did nothing to change his behavior. People look for a quick fix in neutering rather than the real problem in behavioral training. I was at that place once.

I also read that neutering can cause problems with the thyroid?

We might be getting a new girl puppy, so neutering him would make life easier for us. Also our boy can't be crated.

Any advice is appreciated. The vet weighed him today and he was at 32 pounds! The vet said he could loose a little weight, but he said he is solid muscle. He thought 30 pounds would be ideal for him.

[agilebasenji]

@Barklessdog:

We might be getting a new girl puppy, so neutering him would make life easier for us. Also our boy can't be crated.

.

well that would be one reason to neuter. But really it's up to you. you sound like you have a nice, well-behaved dog.

I neutered both of my boyz when I got my female who I was going to show. It was a real bother running 3 different "packs" when my girl came into season (I had a spayed malinois at the time who could go with anyone, but none of the basenjis could). So, when there was a tooth that needed extracting, I had the boyz neutered, but because they were both in double digits (Digital was 10, jet was 11? when they were neutered), I wasn't going to do anesthesia just to neuter (other than my girl coming into season, I did not have any problems. Digital did loose some muscle mass, but, due to his age, I cannot say if it was due to loss of testosterone or just advanced age. Jet did not loose muscle mass, but he's a less refined dog than Digital. Life in my house got easier, but no real change to personality or temperament. Digital did seem to work better on the agility courses.

[eeeefarm]

I got Perry at three years old, and his breeder wanted him neutered (which I would have done anyway). I didn't notice any appreciable change in muscle mass and he didn't gain weight. Well, not because of neutering, anyhow! (his weight does fluctuate a bit with the seasons…..usually he is lighter in summer due to more exercise, and the weight will creep up in winter if I don't pay attention to his nutritional needs). I didn't have him long enough before the neuter to know whether it made any change in his personality. He was still adjusting to living with us at the time. He is dog aggressive, but I think that would be true in any case. He's gotten worse about that over the years, and it didn't help that a large dog jumped him last fall…..

[DebraDownSouth]

LOL okay so I fixated in on he CAN'T be crated. Why?

That said, dear lord I had a Rottie who cried ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO all night long when a bitch here was in heat. I kept them in my room, him in the livingroom/kitchen but of course they know if it's a mile away. He'd get tired, sleep a bit and off he'd go again. Never again, lol.

I have become less and less a fan of neutering in general. But if it helps your household, then that to me is valid. That said… you say you MIGHT be getting a female... well, you can wait til you do. At 3, it is too late to make any changes in behaviors in him, not of any health benefit, so if you can wait til you SEE if you get a puppy (and even then you have a few months before she goes into heat, and also decide if you wouldn't rather spay her than neuter him). I see no reason at this point to rush into neutering UNLESS you got him with the agreement to neuter. I really would try to hold off.

[lisastewart]

I get all mine neutered at age 2 as I have intact female whippets and basenjis, Trog is nearly 8 now and has actually slimmed down from his age 2 wt. Xander gained a little wt, but that was because we were totally inactive last summer with nearly 3 months of hot humid weather keeping us indoors. Since coursing season started a few months ago, he has trimmed off the wt, and the muscle is still there as he consistently placed in the top 3 in racing and coursing. I would neuter him 2 months before you get your next dog, that way he is totally healed and ready to play.

[Barklessdog]

@DebraDownSouth:

LOL okay so I fixated in on he CAN'T be crated. Why?

That said, dear lord I had a Rottie who cried ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO all night long when a bitch here was in heat. I kept them in my room, him in the livingroom/kitchen but of course they know if it's a mile away. He'd get tired, sleep a bit and off he'd go again. Never again, lol.

I have become less and less a fan of neutering in general. But if it helps your household, then that to me is valid. That said… you say you MIGHT be getting a female... well, you can wait til you do. At 3, it is too late to make any changes in behaviors in him, not of any health benefit, so if you can wait til you SEE if you get a puppy (and even then you have a few months before she goes into heat, and also decide if you wouldn't rather spay her than neuter him). I see no reason at this point to rush into neutering UNLESS you got him with the agreement to neuter. I really would try to hold off.

He is kind of a rescue dog. He spent most of his life (3years) in a small plastic kennel. He has severe claustrophobia and physically harms himself to get free
. Then when free he paces in and out of rooms for hours!

I talked to a lady from Brat and she said he spent enough time in prison and needs to be given a chance. So we did and he has become the most mellow dog ever. Still does not like to be confined anywhere. He also freaks out if goes under a blanket. He's fine till he realizes he trapped, then he freaks out, heart racing and pacing.

[DebraDownSouth]

Okay so here is a suggestion… you can desensitize to crates. I had a Lhasa rescue that was in a crate nearly nonstop 5 yrs, it can be done. If you want info, let me know. My biggest concern is that there are times when a dog must be crated... either hospitalized or if for some reason you had to board him. Since nothing planned, you have time to do it slow, easy and not stress him.

[Buddys Pal]

At 3, it is too late to make any changes in behaviors in him,

why do you think it is too late? How can you possibly substantiate this????? no, it is not. Positive reinforcement can help at any age… it is the degree and the reason for the bad behavior that is the variable for the way one goes about for helping to 'change' the re-activeness or behavior modification....anyway:

There are many links, the one here from the ASPCA is interesting, but overall neutering is a choice you will make for him. There are actually benefits not to neuter, I could not find the info I read just recently, but they live longer.....years ago eggs were bad for you, now they are ok....if not broke, no need to fix????? A lot of info out there.

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/how-will-neutering-change-my-dog

[Barklessdog]

He actually does go in our other dog's crate to steal food and my wife actually caught him laying down in the bed in it. Nothing is ever impossible. We did try crating him for a short car ride and he chewed through his lead trying to escape.