Did you notice his personality changing and evolving, in other words not being frozen in place when he was neutered?

I have never heard of a dog not maturing because of being spayed/neutered early. I can tell you that Balon was done at 6months or a bit before and has matured beautifully. He is 64lbs so a little bigger then standard but who cares? Never planned to show any of them anyway, and Balon has a snap tail so he would be disqualified anyway lol.

Actually there is a very large debate about the "appropriate" age to neuter a dog. From my personal experience if I did it again after reading and watching my own males develop I feel that the time frame above is what I would aim for. Rodeo is very immature in his mannerisms, his physical features ect. Not saying that that's the case for everyone. But after seeing dogs who were allowed to naturally physically and mentally mature and then neutered later (and by later I mean around 16 months) I found a more stable dog who had matured more appropriately. Odin has a much different build than Rodeo or even Mickey did. It has nothing to do with showing them or being "standard" it's about being healthy. And I personally think waiting until after 12 months at least is healthier for their bodies physically. You don't have to agree, but the statement of "my dog was neutered at x age and is fine" means just as much to me as those who say "my dog eats *insert food here* and is fine." Each dog is different, I agree. For reference, most say their dogs are very healthy, glossy coated, and happy on x food- yet when they are turned on to raw their whole perspective changes. That's all i'm sharing: that after observing my dogs, observing others, and reading and researching- my perspective has drastically changed.

Kristina, I'm curious. Since none of your dogs share lines (that you know of) how do you determine that Rodeo's immaturity both physically and mentally is a result of the early neuter and not genetics?

I can totally believe your experience and agree that it is likely neutering is the case, but just playing a little Devil's Advocate here.

With Rodeo I can only make an inference, but I do truly believe if I was able to neuter him later in life he would be "better put together" than he is now. He is very small in the chest area and quite honestly behaves like a puppy still. This has nothing to do with obedience or intelligence- his behaviors and mannerisms are truly very immature and puppy like. That's what i'm trying to get at.

I know a family who had 2 Siberian littermates. They were in over their head (obviously) and I put them in touch with someone who I knew would be a great home for the 2nd pup. Both are male. 1 family neutered their male at 5 months old per their vet, the 2nd family just neutered him about a month ago. The dogs are both about a year and a half. The one neutered later I feel is more "adult" looking and has lost a lot of the puppy-like features that the sibling still has. I think the one most recently neutered is also much more adult and mature in his actions and his interactions. I wish I had pictures to show but I don't. I see it a lot at work too. The separate dogs who we can't place in the daycare due to their intact status are usually more masculine and adult looking than their breed counterparts who are in the daycare, most who were neutered at <6 months old.

arooroomom wrote:

Actually there is a very large debate about the "appropriate" age to neuter a dog. From my personal experience if I did it again after reading and watching my own males develop I feel that the time frame above is what I would aim for. Rodeo is very immature in his mannerisms, his physical features ect. Not saying that that's the case for everyone. But after seeing dogs who were allowed to naturally physically and mentally mature and then neutered later (and by later I mean around 16 months) I found a more stable dog who had matured more appropriately. Odin has a much different build than Rodeo or even Mickey did. It has nothing to do with showing them or being "standard" it's about being healthy. And I personally think waiting until after 12 months at least is healthier for their bodies physically. You don't have to agree, but the statement of "my dog was neutered at x age and is fine" means just as much to me as those who say "my dog eats *insert food here* and is fine." Each dog is different, I agree. For reference, most say their dogs are very healthy, glossy coated, and happy on x food- yet when they are turned on to raw their whole perspective changes. That's all i'm sharing: that after observing my dogs, observing others, and reading and researching- my perspective has drastically changed.

I totally agree with what you say in the above.  When I posted about my experience it was just my experiences, and actually I was referring more to how they did with the surgery, should have stated that better.  I am rather new to the whole older is better debate.  I honestly had never heard that it can affect how they mature and I must say I find this all very interesting.  I really like these kind of discussions because I constantly learn from them.  Honestly I have actually read several articles this week that have actually stated it may be healthier to not neuter at all!  Not sure about that one.  The old vet I went to recommended 6 months and that is when Balon was done.  My new vet says most do it between 6-9 some wait longer and she would leave it up to me.  I had actually wanted to wait longer for Loki then I did with Balon but unfortunately a few things began happening that my vet thought might become worse or habit and that he should be neutered.  Now after reading all this I am sorry I didn't research it more.  But in researching marking and/or overly aggressive play are accepted reasons for an early neuter.

Hmm and as a side note wonder if early neutering can cause some Huskies to be hard to housebreak? Balon sure was, though Loki was easy

Interesting subject. I have spayed my girl at 5 months old before her first heat as I was convinced by my vet it will prevent pyometra, mammary cancer etc more so when done before first heat and more estrogen entering her body. She has recovered extremely quickly and have seen no change in her personality. She was always quiet, doesn't get worked up or overly excited, sweet natured and extremely friendly and she continues to be the same so I am happy with that move.
With my male my vet wanted to neuter at 6 months also but I said I am not comfortable with that and I want to wait longer and do more research. I read the benefits of neutering are outnumbered by negatives so I am still researching. Most likely I will neuter him at 16 months as it seems to be the age coming up across different studies. He is 5 months old now and a baby really. He is big and heavier than my 10.5 month old girl (he is 19kgs already) but very puppy like in his behaviour. He has the sweetest nature ever, very affectionate and is not dominant at all. When you pet him he turns on his belly straight away waiting for a rub and he is friendly to all dogs in the dog park. He also never tried to lift his leg and doesn't mark at all - it's a learnt behaviour so I guess he never had a chance to pick up on it yet.
I am worried that neutering may change my sweetest boy... I am reading through different studies so if you have any interesting and legitimate links suggesting either way - please pass them on as I am very open minded. I just want what is best for my little boy

He's most likely too young to be marking. It's not entirely a learned behavior, it will kick in once his sex hormones do if you leave him intact. You can train them not to, but I wouldn't consider marking a learned behavior.

Chuck started marking at the 6-7 month range and I got him neutered just before 8 months old. The breeder suggested there was behavior benefit from neutering around when he started marking - that the need to mark doesn't stay as ingrained. She did say they can fill out physically a little more if you wait, but I'm not very concerned about it.

I've also noticed he's better behaved, more at ease, and responsive. Impossible to tell how much of that was just general improvement with time and practice, and how much was the fixing, but I'm going to go with "probably didn't hurt."