Male Dog Fixing... options

[DaveM26]

Hi, I have an 4 month old Brittany Male, We havent decided If we are going to get him fixed yet or not as we are leaning towards showing him.

I was just wondering is there any bad habbits a male dog can pick up if not fixed? Humping legs ext? spraying in the house? becomeing agressive towards people?

Ive heard of them smelling females in heat from miles away and they may wonder off, they can be agressive towards other male dogs ext.

IF we later on the road decide not to show him can a male dog be fixed at any time? and will those Neg effects towards other dogs go away once fixed? The Vet wants to fix him now But i was told by another person ( the breeder) that If i choose to get him fixed i'm better off waiting till hes at least 9 months old as his body is still growing and developing now

Dave

[DeLaUK]

Yes to everything you mentioned, marking territory, humping legs and anything else he can, dog to dog aggression especially if there is a female in heat in the area, this is a general though, not every dog will want to tear apart another dog, it depends on the dog but there is a greatly increased risk than if the dog is neutered.

The human aggression might come into it with the territorial aspect....again though, not every dog will become aggresive.

Most of the dogs that animal control used to bring in to the emergency clinic and that had eitehr been in a dog fight or had been hit by traffic were intact males, Ive known dogs easily get over an 8 foot fence and Ive heard of many that can scale a 13 foot wall, they become 'Houdinis'!!
Having them neutered before any of these behaviours start is better than waiting until after because then there are no negative behaviours to 'fix'.

I dont know of any negative effects on having a male neutered young, most vets now (the ones I know) dont have a problem doing them at 4 months, usually a couple of weeks after their last vaccines.

Yu do need to seriously think about if you want to show him though because as far as I know if they are in the 'bigger' shows they have to be intact. Not for agility, obedience etc though.

[myshihpoo]

I also want to point out the positive aspects of neutering.... besides the obvious ('puppy control'...hehe).... I have heard that it just makes them much more healthy! I read an article in my vets office about how statistics show longer life and less chance of cancer when a male dog is neutered. Makes you want to go "hmmmmmm"

[DaveM26]

Ys we had Hunter into the vet today getting a check up the "talk" of fixing came up and we have decided ( specially after reading your post and thanks for the input_ that we are going to have him fixed but we are going to wait for another 2 months when he will be 6 months of age, just because we dont want him to pick up any bad habbits, hes been an awsome dog so far ( for a puppy) its just like raising kids and hes learning and growing so quick we dont want him to change we are thinking and leaning more towards agility now as it will be fun for both us and the dog.
Dave

[myshihpoo]

I hear lots of positive things aobut the agility... lots of fun! Good luck with that..

Just so you know... the recovery time on the neutering is minimal (not like when a girl is spayed)... my dog was LITERALLY BACK TO NORMAL that night once the anesthesia wore off. ugh....... lol....I was actually hoping for at least a day of peace and quiet! LOL.... He was neutered at 6 months of age too.

[DeLaUK]