My boy is 7 months now, I'm not planning on getting a pup right now as we have some training issues that I want to address before getting another. As you can see from my signature I have a Border Collie x Sibe/GSD mix he may as well be a full sibe from the way he behaves. I am just wondering what sort of age it would be ok to introduce another? I'm planning on getting him fixed around 18 months and getting a female registered sibe, with a veiw to showing (for fun at first). Would 3 or 4 be a good age? I want to wait until I finish university (I start animal science in september) my husband and I will be looking for our own place a few years after that once I have a stable job as we are moving abroad. But I can't decide if I should get another pup before or after the move. Considering I may well be in the UK for a further year or so. But also the issue of wether I should wait as if I intend to show it would pose an issue if the pup I buy can be AKC registered as aposed to the Brittish Kennel club obviously I'd be more interested in AKC because once we move we won't be coming back!
I'm planning on doing bikejoring or perhaps the scooter equivilent with my current pup when he reaches a year. I would continue to do so with both dogs. Primarly she would be a companion for myself and my current dog.

Ideas? Advice, much apreciated!

This is all a matter of personal preference really. As a general rule of thumb, I would personally never get another until I have all my training issues with my first ironed out (as you have also mentioned). New dogs bring along good and bad habits. For example, Koda was a perfect gentleman at meal times, but after we introduced Hailey, he now gets up and walks around or fidgets because Hailey brings along that energy.

May I ask, why are you waiting until 18 months to get him neutered? They can be neutered safely as early as 4 months old and some breeders do it before they even let the dogs go at 8 weeks.

If you're moving in a year, I would wait to get another one for sheer cost. It costs a LOT to fly a dog over sees with you, that's more vaccinations, paperwork, etc. Plus, if you want to show, that poses a definite problem/hassle for registration. I'm sure it can be done, but why give yourself all that extra work?

The answer is that there is no magic number. It's whatever works for your family and your dog, but from your situation, if it were me... I'd be waiting until I moved.

Hope this helps!

Koda wrote:

May I ask, why are you waiting until 18 months to get him neutered? They can be neutered safely as early as 4 months old and some breeders do it before they even let the dogs go at 8 weeks.

As a disclaimer, I do not condone keeping dogs/cats intact. This post also contains personal opinion as well as cited fact. I'm in no way trying to start a flame war or cause drama, I'm just trying to shed some light on the subject.

http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

The health benefits of spaying and neutering dogs are generally exaggerated to a rather obnoxious extent. There are actually a lot of draw backs to spaying/neutering, most of which are mostly made worse when they are fixed too young. I personally feel that you should wait until they reach sexual maturity before spaying/neutering. The larger the breed, the more important that is, this article doesn't cover that so much, but giant breeds in particular are prone to a lot more bone and joint problems in these situations. For the giant breeds that can mean waiting till they are 12-18 months old, for a Husky or German Shepherd that's not necessary in my opinion. For Huskies, as well as most medium breeds, I'd say do it between 8-12 months.

Can they be safely neutered at 4 months without making a difference one way or the other? Yes. Can they at 8 weeks? Hell no, if any breeder told me that I'd tell them to chop off their own balls and find a different breeder. Just saying.

I'm going to let others handle any debate on this. Just know that your article is just ONE example of a ONE side of an issue. There is just as much research and studies done on the other side that states that there are no increased health risks. I'm not saying one way or the other, as my personal ideal is around 6-8 months. However, it's important to realize that this is a highly controversial and debated issue and that for every article you bring to our attention, someone can find one of the exact opposite.

I don't have the time right this second to dig up the previous articles, so I'm hoping someone else can help me out here.

FWIW- I don't take what you said as flaming at all. This forum isn't about one way or the highway, it's about informed, researched, and educated opinions. Even with all the information in front of us, we're still all going to form different opinions. As long as members remain adults, use appropriate language, discuss an issue, and are willing to agree to disagree when necessary... I don't care what you say Hence the reason for Rule #1 of the forum on the right sidebar

ETA: The OP's dog is also 7 months old. I only said something because she mentioned waiting to neuter until 18 months. I am in no way suggesting that she should have neutered before, just that I don't see any benefit to waiting. As long as both of his testicles have dropped, from my research, there is no health benefit waiting.

I realize this, I've been outright attacked for my opinion on the subject before, hence the disclaimer. I chose that article in particular because it does include (albeit limited) information about the benefits of spay/neuter.

I appreciate your response, it puts me a little more at ease for posting that in the first place

Rhet: It is the bone and joint issues as to why I won't be nuetering my boy till he's 18 months. Needless to say I am very cautios about walking him and responsible. He doesn't have any issues with humping so I don't mind waiting. Besides here in England my local vet will not do it until he is 1 year anyway.

Koda: I am waiting because from what I have read it is surgested that larger breeds can later in life gain issues to do with bones and also retain puppy like features. Their heads and certain other parts sometimes remain smaller and sometimes they don't bulk out quite as much. Of course I'm only going by what I read, but to be on the safe side I'll keep him in tact until he's 18 months as he's already nuts as it is! Don't need him retaining puppy like behavior forever

Back on subject, I think it probably is best if I wait. It will be longer than a year (probably 3) but by then I should have addressed any training issues I currently have. I feel Yuri would benifit from a play friend but again I do want to show, so probably not best to do it while I'm at university and I may visit some more shows etc

And on a side note, no he only has one decended ball at the moment.He's also part German Shepherd so very prone to bone problems later in life anyway, so need to be cautious on that side too! But lots of thought has been put into when or if to get him fixed so I think I should stick with my intial instinct on that No offence what so ever intended.

Getting mad at people for disagreeing is like being mad at others for existing. It's a rather stupid thing to do

And again, I'm not saying that I'd get a puppy that were spayed/neutered at 8 weeks. I'm just saying that it IS done, and there is debate as to the risks involved in it. I've been witness to this discussion on SEVERAL forums. So there really isn't much that will surprise me.

As long as we're not trying to force our opinion on people, again, I don't care We're all better off for the education no matter what side it falls on.

To the OP: I understand your hesitation. With a mixed breed dog, I appreciate you wanting to be safe than sorry. If it were a purebred husky, who's classified as a medium sized breed, then I would say 18 months is probably overkill, but because of his mixes, I very much understand your decision

We can't get them nuetered before 6 months depending on the vet. The only vet that does before 1 year for medium breeds in my area does it at 9 months. I've never heard of people doing it at 8 weeks in the UK to my knowlage. I can see why people do it, but if you want to show/breed or be aware of other issues that could arrise, then IMO it's best to wait. But everyone should do and will do what they think is best for their dog/s. I must admit if a breeder told me I had to nueter with no discression at a certain age I would be looking elsewhere.

This discussion, in my mind, is exclusive of dogs that we want to show/breed because clearly that makes a huge difference.

I looked at old forums for the threads I'm thinking of, but I can't find them. I'm hoping when other people come on, they will know what I'm referring to (Val, Kristina, Heather?). Once again, I'm not saying that I would buy a pup that had been fixed that early... just saying that there are some who believe based on studies that it makes no difference (from what I remember, but perhaps I am remembering wrong-- I clearly can't claim that without evidence, but I know I read something about it-- there's unfortunately about 3-4 forums that it could have been on and their search functions do not work right now, which is beyond annoying).

In the states it is DEFINITELY different. You can get them neutered/spayed at almost any time. Most vets will do it between 4-8 months standard, but what is more important to vets is whether both testicles have dropped. In females, most will WANT to do it before their first heat, which is around 5-8 months, I believe.

I am afraid that's all I can say on this for now because my memory isn't serving me well and I can't find the articles/threads that discussed this.

Okay... found some. Here are just a couple (again, this is just presenting the early side to demonstrate my point that there are scholarly and legitmate articles on BOTH sides of the issue):
College of Veterinary Medicine
Danes Online, Veterinary article
American Humane Society

These are all advocating safe neuter/spays at 8 weeks of age and they show no increased health risks to spay/neuter than the more traditional ages 6-7 months. The only thing they cite is to make sure the puppies are HEALTHY, which is really a consideration for ALL dogs, not just puppies.

ETA: I am NOT trying to change anyone's mind. Again, this was JUST to support my point that it's a highly debated issue. I am in no way saying that the OP should change her mind, this is just my support for my opinion I hope I have made that clear

we had embry done when he was 6 months, then put him through two obedience classes, and then when we felt he was good to go, we brought in our second when he was a little over a year old. our new girl Zoey who is now 6 months(and got spayed Wednesday) and we haven't had any issues

I've never heard of young neuters affecting bones and joints to a considerable degree to where a companion animal should have to wait. Yes, if you are raising a working dog who will be put through their paces throughout their life then you'd be more likely to wait on neutering to that they develop to their full potential. But for a companion animal it really isn't necessary...as far as I know. I respect peoples' decisions on when they feel is best to fix their pets especially when they have valid concerns. I'd consider the OP's concerns plenty valid but not really worth waiting IMO if it is only a companion/pet.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I'm just doing what I feel is best for my comanion He may not be compeating but he will be ''working'' when he's old enough although it is more for leasure than working.

YurixLeah- Please don't get the wrong impression. Again- no one is suggesting that you change your mind! Your decision is a perfectly fine one and you SHOULD do what YOU think is best for your companion

I think people (including myself) are offering another side for people who maybe HAVEN'T thought about this topic yet, or who might still be doing research. There are a LOT of people who browse this forum without ever posting It's important to me that, especially on controversial topics, that we present both the pros and the cons to both side of the issue. That is all What you decide and what someone else decides may be totally different and that's okay No one is suggesting otherwise!

Please don't let this taint your (hopefully) positive view of our community We welcome you and can't wait to see pictures of Yuri as he gets older!

we only waited a month to get jack after sierra, but they were grown. i would not wait to long to get a 2nd, the sooner the better i think to let them bond, if your boy is an "only" dog up to 3-4yrs old he might start to like that and not like the idea of someone new coming in to the pack? just my thought. i do second Tori and if you are moving soon (in the next yr) then wait till you move then add a 2nd after the travel.

jbealer wrote:

i would not wait to long to get a 2nd, the sooner the better i think to let them bond, if your boy is an "only" dog up to 3-4yrs old he might start to like that and not like the idea of someone new coming in to the pack? just my thought.

Not that that isn't a possibility, but my sister's dog was a solo dog for 6 years and they just got another and she's integrating fine. I think especially with huskies, they like the companion, but that's always a consideration.

We got our second pretty quickly, but the dog trainer I go to recommends you wait until your first dog is 4yrs old (if you got it as a puppy) before getting a second. So it really just depends on what works for you.

Tori, in the UK it's very common for most dogs to remain intact for most of their lives. We're very "spay/neuter happy" here in the US. It's much much different overseas.

Personally, i've had all my dogs spayed/neutered. All were done at different ages. Cheyenne was done at around 3-4 months old. She is in perfect health and is probably one of the most flexible dogs i've ever seen. Her personality is very "mother hen" like and she puts dogs in their place whenever the situation calls for. I'm truly happy I got her spayed so early (before a heat) as I don't know what i'd be in for if I waited for all her hormones to kick in!

Odin is the oldest dog I have and was neutered the latest in life. He is generally good natured but I cautiously watch him around intact males as well as pushy neutered males. I believe this is due to the fact that he was neutered so late in life.

It is my preference to spay/neuter from 6months- 1yr. In females I definitely want to have it done before their first heat. Again, that's a personal opinion. Males I can wait a little longer for, a year old is really a cut off for me.

As for the original question... we got Cheyenne within 4 months of Mickey and that was the best choice we ever made. Mickey was extremely well behaved and extremely intelligent. Before getting Cheyenne he had been through basic OB and was extremely reliable. When Cheyenne was a year old, I began to ponder the idea of a 3rd. Mishka. After her things kind of just came at us. But I refused to take on any "permanent" residents until she was a year old as well as behavior was under control. I think the basic rule for adding another dog is make sure you can handle the dog you have... be able to double that... and throw a little chaos in the mix.

As for when... the decision is yours. If you're ready to open your home to another dog now, go for it. But I know it's rather expensive to transport them here. If it were me i'd wait until the move.

arooroomom wrote:

Tori, in the UK it's very common for most dogs to remain intact for most of their lives. We're very "spay/neuter happy" here in the US. It's much much different overseas.

I am aware of this

My original mention of the topic was merely an innocent inquiry. The following posts presented one side of the issue in a very matter-of-fact way and I find it important to recognize that in terms of health benefits, the issue is highly debated.

The truth is there is no definitive answer and there is no right or wrong here. As stated in the other thread, all we can do is educate ourselves and make the best decision for us and our dogs based on that information. I advocate responsible ownership, whether a person neuters at 8 weeks or 18 months it doesn't matter to me so long as the best interests of the dog is at heart (which in all cases mentioned, they clearly are) and that precautions are taken to prevent unwanted animals (which again IS the case). My insistence on the subject was not to change someone's mind but to present the other side of an issue when it was originally stated in a way that lead someone less informed to believe there was a definite right or a wrong. I hope that makes sense.

YurixLeah- I'm sorry your thread got hijacked!

Getting back to the original topic... I reiterate that it's definitely a personal decision! As long as you're confident with the first dog's training, you can add another to the pack at any time you are comfortable