age to get male puppy neutered
A very legitimate concern, pet overpopulation, has been the primary driving force behind 30 years of national and local spay/neuter campaigns. When it comes to deciding at what age a companion animal should be sterilized, the standard for most spay/neuter campaigns has been sooner rather than later. In general, dogs neutered before they go into puberty grow a bit bigger than those neutered after puberty because testosterone is involved in bone growth; sometimes that growth is preferable and sometimes it’s not. Most dogs are sexually mature by the age of five or six months (the blink of an eye). If your dog’s testicles don’t descend, you still need to have him neutered. These dogs tend to have more testicular tumors than normal dogs. When to neuter. A male dog can be neutered any time after eight weeks of age. A few years ago, most veterinarians advised waiting until puberty hit at about six months, and some still make that recommendation. Talk to your veterinarian about what’s best for your dog. If you own an intact pet, I can offer a general guideline for timing a spay/neuter procedure. Your dog should be old enough to be a balanced individual both physically and mentally. This balance isn't achieved until a dog has reached at least one year of age. For both male and female Rotties spayed or neutered before one year of age, there was a one in four lifetime risk for bone cancer, and the sterilized animals were significantly more likely to develop the disease than intact dogs of the same breed. For example, if the femur has achieved its genetically determined normal length at 8 months when a dog gets spayed or neutered, but the tibia, which normally stops growing at 12 to 14 months of age continues to grow, then an abnormal angle may develop at the stifle. 1 He’s less likely to get certain diseases, such as testicular cancer and most prostate diseases. 2  He will be calmer with less testosterone in his system, and thus you’ll be calmer too. 3  He’ll mark less, inside and out, since he has less incentive to announce his presence. Benign prostatic hypertrophy/prostatitisBenign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) is age-related change in prostate size. By 6 years of age, 75 to 80% of intact male dogs will have evidence of BPH; by 9 years of age, 95 to 100% of intact male dogs will have evidence of BPH. The increased size of the prostate is associated with increased blood supply. 1 He can still show interest in females in heat or hump your knee.). 2  In the case of senior dogs, neutering reduces the size of an enlarged prostate. 3  The health and behavioral benefits occur whether your boy is a wee puppy or distinguished senior citizen. For the most common type of cardiac tumor, hemangiosarcoma (HAS), spayed females had a greater than five times risk vs. their intact counterparts. Neutered male dogs had a slightly higher risk than intact males. The study concluded that, … neutering appeared to increase the risk of cardiac tumor in both sexes.
After eight weeks of age.