Just curious on some opinions about neutering.

I know there's a lot of debate on this subject but I'd like input from you guys. Drogo's my first male dog so I'm having trouble deciding when to get him neutered. He was born April 5, 2011 and I initially had the neuter scheduled for tomorrow... but went ahead and canceled it earlier today. I've read a lot of benefits about neutering later in life (i.e., they reach full growth potential, lessens the chance for problems with bone health down the road, etc.) Not sure if there's any truth to this? I've read articles that supported and argued these claims. Has anyone waited until 8+ months to neuter their husky and are convinced that was the best route to take? I've talked to a couple vets and they all seem to say the same thing: there's no harm in neutering your dog early (and by early I mean around 4 months).

Again, I've never owned a male husky before so I'm not sure how likely it would be to encounter all the proclaimed negative aspects of late neutering (marking, wandering, mounting, etc.) Drogo occasionally mounts now, but it's only happened at the dog park after another male has mounted him. Then everyone else catches on and it turns into a mount fest.

I have read pros and cons about it too, but just from my experience with my mom taking in rescue dogs, I've never seen a problem with males getting neutered at a young age. I never noticed them not growing right. I would say just do it when you feel comfortable doing it, but remember to keep him away from females in heat. It will make him go crazy! Plus give him a reason to try and get away (a little problem I'm having with a neighbor dog who keeps getting into my fenced in yard).

I did Koda right at 8 months so I don't have much to say on that, but he is in perfect health and grew just fine

EDIT: HOWEVER it was terrible the 2 months we were on the waiting list for the humanes society.. he was crazy and even tried to cling and hump Jarod's mom and me... ALL.. THE.. TIME! However he has not done it ever since, and we have never in our life had a marking or humping problem. He only started to hump after being at my work and picking it up from other dogs, lol. And he only does it to particular dogs... who are males.

Sabaka was neutered at 7 months but he's only 10 months now so I can't say anything about the long-term effects.

He still humps like a wild man if he is trying to prove his dominance over another dog. I think he has learned that all the people in our family are dominant over him because he has not humped any of us since he was really young.

Humping is less about sex (unless it REALLY is about sex - and then there's a female in heat involved - lol) and more about dominance.

Embry was neutered at 5 months, he still is top of male height standard and weighs 55lbs

Faolan is already humping nearly every dog he can "reach" and he is only 4 months old. He does it in a really playful way, like he starts out with trying to get the dog to chase, and if the other dog doesn't its on to trying to mount. Sometimes he even sticks his butt in the other dog's face and waves his tail around?? I was thinking of waiting until January to neuter him (putting him at 8 months) but am now wondering if that would just make this issue worse and am now thinking of doing it in November, maybe even in October. =/ WDYT?

Mickey was neutered at 8 months old and he is as healthy as anything. He does have this "macho" attitude though and trots through the dog park with his head held high and will take on any challenger...

Odin was neutered very late in life and I can 100% say I would never recommend that! Ugh, he marks EVERYTHING when we walk and in the beginning we had a huge issue with him marking in the house. Personally I would say a year the latest if you're really concerned.

My papillon was neutered at a year old and he still marks everything. In the house, too.

I waited until Braiden was 18 months old due to the negative aspects I read about neutering early. I did keep him apart from Skyla and it was a hassle, but I was willing to accept the inconvenience. He does not mark in the house, only in certain locations in the yard. Skyla came into her first heat the week he was neutered and that was interesting watching him prance around her crate and acting like a lovesick fool. He did fine during the neutering. I know this is a controversial subject, but I feel that it was the right decision for me. He does not hump other dogs and actually hasn't since he was much younger. He is the dominant male in our pack however, and just his body posture and a look is enough to make the other dogs take notice. Since he is an inside dog, his roaming or escaping to get to other females was never an issue. I am glad that he is neutered now so that he and Skyla can play freely now. Hallelujah!!!

So I scheduled Faolan for a neuter on November 17th, he will be exactly 5 months and 3 weeks old. I am a bit worried that it will affect his growth but he has been crazy about humping lately so I am also just glad I will only have to deal with it for another 2 months.

I think he'll still hump...



Like I said, it hasn't stopped Sabaka. Others should chime in because I know I've seen a humping picture or two taken by other members at dog parks.

Mickey still humps, so does Odin if there's really a dog he's after. Actually i've seen Cheyenne and Mishka hump too lol

It will decrease the humping, but humping is a thing dogs naturally do.

Dakota was neutered late, between a year and 1 1/2 yrs. He did mark at first but only outside. After working with him and showing him that i did not like marking, he went back to squatting. If he marks at all now it's only at the dog park and usually dominance related. Bottom line: do it when you are ready and comfortable with it.

On a side note: Guess who humps more out of my 2?..........
you guessed it: Montana.
It's a dominance thing.

Definitely a dominance thing. My Shania use to hump (she would hump people too) and would pee everywhere another dog did.

Well if he only does it sometimes then thats fine....I just don't want him to become obsessive about it. There are two dogs at work that come in regularly and they are just CONSTANTLY humping when they're outside with other dogs. They will hump the same dog over and over and over and over....I just don't want Faolan to be like that.

I neutered Kale the day that I could. He was 5 months. He has filled out beautifully and weighs 58.8 pounds. The only time I tend to worry about neutering too soon is with cats; large male cats that are neutered at 4-5 months have a slight chance of fracturing their growth plates. Dogs however don't have this risk. Kale's personality didn't change at ALL haha that's also a misconception. But there's nothing wrong with waiting till they are 8-9 moths when they hit sexual maturity. It's all in personal preference.

oh Kale humps too... Like everyone else has said, it's dominance. He does it to my boyfriends ranch dogs and the seem to not mind it at all... i wish they'd teach him a lesson so he'll stop

Yeah but is he OCD? I just don't want Faolan to do it to every dog he meets at every chance he gets. I swear the two dogs I have met at work that are OCD, we have had to push them off dogs at least 20 times within 5 minutes.

SabakaMom wrote:

I think he'll still hump...



Like I said, it hasn't stopped Sabaka. Others should chime in because I know I've seen a humping picture or two taken by other members at dog parks.

You talkin' about me Lisa!? Hey, Koda isn't the only one! EVERY dog humps Storm, he's just got some kind of charm! Literally.. I think every dog at Jenn's bday took a turn humping him, lmao.

Legend_of_Faolan wrote:

Yeah but is he OCD?.

Kale does try to hump every dog he comes in contact with, ever since he was 5 weeks lol one of these days he's gonna get himself in trouble and that will be the end of it... wishful thinking Thankfully he's never done it to any people

Heatherlee wrote:

SabakaMom wrote:

I think he'll still hump...



Like I said, it hasn't stopped Sabaka. Others should chime in because I know I've seen a humping picture or two taken by other members at dog parks.

You talkin' about me Lisa!? Hey, Koda isn't the only one! EVERY dog humps Storm, he's just got some kind of charm! Literally.. I think every dog at Jenn's bday took a turn humping him, lmao.

Poor Storm! That's probably one of the pictures I remember.

Delilah does it to blankets! She does it if you take a blanket away that she wants, I actually find it humorous, because it is literally the only time I ever see her do it. Anyone else see this happen?

So, I have a question pertaining to neutering....when do they reach sexual maturity? Is it better to neuter after that age? Why/why not? What might happen if I neuter at 6 months? I tried googling these questions but the amount of information I had to wade through was a bit overwhelming =/

Males sexually mature between 6-8 months but every dog is different. There is nothing wrong with waiting till they are 6-8 months old to neuter; some people wait till they are a year. All it really comes down to is personally preference. Some debate that neutering closes their growth plates or stunts their growth but there is no factual evidence that supports it. Some people wait to be on the safe side and there's nothing wrong with being cautious.

Yeah but I just feel like I have no real information to base my decision off of....