Neutering my working cocker

[j.edward321]

Hi all, so my pup Finn is 9 month old now, and the question about when to get him neutered is coming up a lot. I've read so much advise on it, and we've come to the conclusion we'll probably wait until he's over 12 months. I have been told by someone that neutering him before he is 2 will have 'serious physiological consequences' as cocker spaniels can be quite sensitive, he has no separation anxiety, but can be shy sometimes and sometimes doesn't like people rushing upto him, however after a couple of mins he'll be your best friend! Talking to our dog walker and she said he's fine with the other dogs, and is not afraid to tell them off if play gets too rough, but also submissive when he needs to be, so well rounded in his behaviour.

So I'm asking on people's experience with neutering their males cockers, what age? Did they have any issues with it? How much of a personality effect did it have (if any)?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[vixen]

Why do you need to neuter?  When I have had males I have never had them neutered.  Many vets do urge owners to as they stress the health benefits of castration for the dog but how many male vets have been 'done' if there is so much benefit?      They also stress it is the responsible thing to do.  But as an owner I am responsible and would never let my dog run riot on in season bitches. My vet  said wait and see how the dog copes with his sexuality.  Mine haven't humped or been a problem and I have had no reason to have them neutered.
Unless there was a health problem that required castration, I would just see how he gets on.
This is just my opinion.

[AlanT]

Years back we only did the bitches. This is a recent fashion.

Mine in nearly 3 now and entire and its no problem at all.

He is a great swimmer and tracker. Good recall, obedient and easy to manage.

He is also confident, adventurous and fearless.

[Markr64]

We had our boy done at just over 12 months, we were never going to breed from him and he has been far better since it has been done. He is a show type and has never been a crazy dog except at the cockerdile stage, but now we see a very well rounded dog who is friendly to everyone and everything.

I know this is a contentious debate but I wanted our boy to have a life without the torment of smelling the local bitches in season and him not being able to satisfy the urge that he would get. As he was always going to be a pet and nothing more it seemed the right thing for our circumstances. No one can prove if there are real health benefits as with humans it is down to the genes you have that can determine whether you will develop any condition.

There are many threads on here which bring this subject up and it is a difficult one as many people get quite emotional over it. All I can say is that it is down to the personal choice of the owner and as for when you get it done? That is when the dog is old enough and fully developed.   

[j.edward321]

Why do you need to neuter?  When I have had males I have never had them neutered.  Many vets do urge owners to as they stress the health benefits of castration for the dog but how many male vets have been 'done' if there is so much benefit?      They also stress it is the responsible thing to do.  But as an owner I am responsible and would never let my dog run riot on in season bitches. My vet  said wait and see how the dog copes with his sexuality.  Mine haven't humped or been a problem and I have had no reason to have them neutered.
Unless there was a health problem that required castration, I would just see how he gets on.
This is just my opinion.

Well we were also considering not doing it at all, he sometimes tries to hump other dogs but it's more when he's just over excited and he is pulled away from them straight away. I just wondered about other people's experiences, at the moment we're just seeing how he goes and if it's starts to cause problems then deal with it. Do you ever get other intact dogs being aggressive towards him? My vet had said that recently it's been shown that with males the health benefits don't really make that much difference anyway between being neutered or not.

Thanks for your help though, people keep mentioning 'when are you getting him neutered' to me as if it's the routine thing to do. I know it's a difficult subject that people get upset about, just trying to gain as much info as possible [emoji4]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bizzylizzy]

We have decided to leave our show cocker entire, at least for the time being. He does however still have one undescended testicle, which  we'll have monitor on a regular basis but as long as there is no medical reason, he'll stay as he is. I also think it is, and probably always will be, one of those eternal debates and, as Mark has said, is down to personal choice in the end. My last dog (a rescue German shepherd mix) was neutered at around 18 months in an effort to calm him down but in retrospect, I think his behaviour problems were more down to me not training him adequarely, than to him. I agree that there can be a bit of an issue if there are bitches in season near by but like Vixen has said, this can be overcome and I 'm not personally convinced  that it will have any effect on any other behaviour issues. Another thing that worries me, is that apparently the coat can suffer and become harder to manage. I'd never say never, but at the moment, Humphrey's 15 months, I'm quite happy with his development, and after a little incident recently, I make sure I check out the female situation before he's let off. This may not have made your decision any easier but everyone's situation is different and therefore so is the choice, so ypu have to weigh up the pros and cons but don't just have him done to "calm him down" as there is little evidence to prove that it really has any effect.
P.S. - just seen your latest post- don't let anyone pressurise you, its like people constantly asking when you're going to start a family, - tell them to mind their own business  - its your dog and your decision!

[Londongirl]

Vets talk as if it is just what everyone does, but it's entirely a personal choice.

We had Henry neutered for several reasons. Living in the city, he meets lots of dogs every day, both entire males and unneutered females. Being such a friendly little soul, we though it would make his social life easier for him. A recent concern has been the marked increase in dog thefts in London - thieves are targeting dog walkers van, and following owners on their regular walks to snatch dogs. Very often when the dogs that are stolen have been neutered they are dumped in a local park and quickly returned to their owners. So having Henry neutered makes him less attractive to thieves. Sad, but true.

I haven't noticed any difference in his personality, he's still the same sweet goofy boy he always was, still confident and happy. And no sign yet of any major coat changes. His feathers are maybe a bit curlier than before but the rest of his coat is still thick and glossy.

[BobnDot]

Both of our cockers have been neutered.

Milly, our female show cocker came to us as a rescue at 7 months old and it was a condition of our rehoming her that she be neutered. This was done a month or so after her first season.
Irrespective of our promise to have her neutered we would have done so even if the condition had not been applied.

Chaz, our male worker, was neutered at a year old after getting advice from his breeder and our vet. We've not seen any difference to his behaviour or his interaction with other dogs. His coat is still nice and shiny but his feathering and tail does seem to need a little more attention and tidying up.

While I appreciate that neutering can be a very emotive subject my take on it is that, while opinions may be sought beforehand, it's the responsibility and absolute right of the dog's owner to make the final decision.

Those who have chosen not to have their cockers neutered have every right to do so… Their dog, their decision, end of….

Whatever our views on neutering I'm sure that all cocker owners, both pro and anti neutering, have the best interests of our cockers at heart.

Bob.

[elaine.e]

It's a personal decision, but I'm in the camp of not having then castrated unless there's a medical reason.

I've had male show type Cockers for 29 years and they've remained entire unless there's been a medical reason. In fact 29 years ago when I got my first Cocker, then his half brother 2 years later, castration wasn't even routinely discussed when you went to the vet, let alone pushed like it is nowadays.

My first one ended up being castrated when he was about 10 because he had an anal adenoma and an enlarged prostate. Both conditions were benign and castration + removal of the adenoma were suggested and done. No further problems apart from his coat changing for the worse and a battle to keep his weight down for the rest of his life. William, now 12, is also castrated. He had an undescended testicle which failed to put in an appearance, so I waited until he was 15 months old to give him time to mature and then had him castrated. It ruined his coat and I battled with  his weight until I changed his diet to raw a few years later. I have to say that he's the least robust and most unhealthy Cocker I've ever had, but of course I've no way of knowing if any of his problems are linked to being castrated or not, so I don't spend time dwelling on it.

I can honestly say that none of my male dogs has marked indoors apart from a bit of juvenile confusion over a real Christmas tree by 13 month old Sam! None has ever run off after a bitch, or pined, whined or exhibited any other sexual behaviour or frustration around bitches. Josh went through a tedious teenage phase of humping the legs of other dogs (male and female) and people's legs, but he soon outgrew it and stopped as he matured and went back to just humping his favourite toy!

Castration prevents testicular cancer and decreases the risk of benign prostate problems, but increases the risk of prostate cancer, bladder cancer, hemangiosarcoma and bone cancer, although the last is mainly in large breeds. The risks are still relatively small, but they are higher in castrated dogs than in entire ones. Early castration, before physical and mental maturity, is linked to an increased risk of joint problems and a tendency to leave dogs stuck in a permanent puppy mentality.

Please don't be rushed into a decision j.edward321. Take your time, do some research and go with what you believe is best for Finn and for you

[tenaille]

I totally agree that it is really just a personal choice and unless there is a specific reason (medical or behavioural) for neutering then I wouldn't.

[hoover]

We had Ollie neutered at 11 months and we decided on it finally because of behavioural issues.  We knew there were no guarantees, we had heard stories that some dogs' behaviour became worse but on balance it seemed the right thing to do, not least because his temperament is not one that should be passed on to puppies and we could never guarantee 100% that he would not get away on an off lead walk and manage to mate with an in season bitch. (And he for sure would not let you intervene in his interest in bitches as he would snarl, snap and lunge at anyone who came near him at these times)

Fortunately the decision paid off for us.  His problem behaviours, whilst not disappeared, are generally at a much lower level.  He still resource guards, but has a reduced response, we can lead him anywhere by the collar now whereas before if he was guarding a spot he would challenge and snap. He doesn't escalate so suddenly and we can get him away from food that he finds in the park whereas again, before, he would have snarled and snapped if you approached. His overall reactivity has diminished although he seems worse now with tolerating puppies for some reason. He would still get startled and snappy if someone rushed up to him, especially when on lead so that is an ongoing management issue for us.

The rest of his personality hasn't really changed, although he is overall calmer and less agitated so will cuddle up more in the evenings rather than needing to be constantly on the go.

We were at a point however where we were fairly desperate (dog walkers and doggy day cares places wouldn't have him and we'd had to change our working lives so we could be around enough) and felt we had to try something.   

There's a poll I started a while ago: http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=117148.0   which shows that of the 6 male dogs that were neutered, one had no overall behavioural changes and the remaining 5 had overall positive behavioural changes.  No male dogs were reported to have negative behavioural changes after neutering.  Very small scale however.

[j.edward321]

Thank you everyone for the replies, I know there are very divided opinions on this. If we were going to neuter him it wouldn't be until he's fully matured anyway, will also have to wait and see if any behaviour issues arise, but he's doing very well so far! It's all been very helpful [emoji4]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ben's mum]

Both my boys are castrated. Ben was done at about 11 months, but he was our first dog, we didn't know a lot and the vet was very matter of fact and said it needed doing, and we were not experienced enough to question it.  That was 12 years ago and I wish we hadn't made that choice. We made lots of mistakes with Ben and if I could do it again I would do things differently. He has some issues that I suspect were not helped by having him done so young.

Harry came castrated at 8 months so not our choice.  Reading bout people's experinces on here I would wait now unless there was a medical reason.

Like others have said don't be rushed until you are sure, you can't put them back on again if you change your mind 

[AlanT]

I had a wonderful new mobile groomer come yesterday. I told her to use a muzzle to do the feet.
She told me afterwards that he was so obedient that she had not needed this.

Today I sat and looked at the wonderful body shape and musculature on my dog. I wondered if he would be the same if he'd been castrated.

I've seen castrated dogs more bothered by bitches than my dog. His life is about searching, finding and retrieving balls not bitches.

He is an outstanding tracker and can retrieve from water that's 3ft deep. Maybe he'd still do these things if castrated but maybe not.

[bizzylizzy]

Both my boys are castrated. Ben was done at about 11 months, but he was our first dog, we didn't know a lot and the vet was very matter of fact and said it needed doing, and we were not experienced enough to question it.  That was 12 years ago and I wish we hadn't made that choice. We made lots of mistakes with Ben and if I could do it again I would do things differently. He has some issues that I suspect were not helped by having him done so young.

Harry came castrated at 8 months so not our choice.  Reading bout people's experinces on here I would wait now unless there was a medical reason.

Like others have said don't be rushed until you are sure, you can't put them back on again if you change your mind 

I think lots of us feel like that, I made loads of mistakes with my previous dog (but then I probably did with my children as well  ) which also resulted in problems as he got older. But hey, that's life -none of us is born with a university degree and we  learn as we go on. This forum wasn't around then either, unfortunately, and good advice wasn't easy to come by. We've always made decisions with the best interest of our dogs in mind with the information available to us at the time, so I try not to dwell too much on past mistakes.(And I'm sure Ben doesn't bare any grudges!!😉)