4 month puppy - good age to neuter? (poodle, vet, schnauzer)

[djshinodalp]

We adopted him when he was 8 weeks old and he's done with all his vaccinations. Thoughts on getting him neutered now?

[Honeycrisp]

First and foremost, what does your vet say? Oftentimes it depends on the size of the dog, mine wasnt comfortable spaying mine til she was past 6 months (small breed).

[chiroptera]

What size?

Many people (and vets) advise waiting until long bone growth is completed/growth plates are closed. Which in a larger dog may be 14-16 months.
Or, not ever neutering. It's not mandatory, you know.

[djshinodalp]

He's a schoodle and 8 pounds now at 13 weeks. Vet said 6 months.

[chiroptera]

A "schnoodle/schoodle" is a cross between some kind of schnauzer and some kind of poodle, I guess? And at that, size, I am guessing not the standard size of either breed, so you have a smallish mixed-breed dog.

Six months is the standard age that most vets recommend. Chances are he'll be fine being neutered at that age...I'm assuming you are not training him for anything. There is no medical reason to neuter a dog unless you don't think you can manage to contain an intact dog responsibly; doing a pediatric neuter may make the dog more puppy-ish and easier-going for his whole life. Most people like this.

Personally I would wait another six months (or not neuter at all, unless there's some reason you want to) but if your goal is an easy-going, socially-acceptable pet, then now is as good a time as any. He'll be fine.

[djshinodalp]

Schnoodle = Schnauzer + Poodle mix and he'll grow to 14-15" height, I guess. I'm definitely going to neuter him; just a question of when.

He's a pretty quick learner - taught him potty training by hanging a small bell on the door handle and ringing it announcing "outside" and then we go out for him to pee and go potty. Since last week, he either stands at the door and stares or barks once at my me or now that he's tall enough, jumps and rings the bell! Its awesome - I'll try and get a video next time. Also, sits, down and hello.

Anyways, I digress, he is pretty stubborn and does nip at times and barks at a lot of things - almost bit my vet/snapped at him, lol - I know thats probably for a number of possible reasons. I don't intend to make him a stud and so don't want him frustrated and to develop an aggressive side to him once he hits puberty, hence the decision.

[stan4]

I have always heard (from vets) that 6 months or before a female dog's first menses.

[chiroptera]

Aggressiveness towards humans is not associated with gonadal (sp) status....if he is barking and nipping and active he sounds like a feisty, fun, normal puppy who could probably benefit from obedience training and structure! Neutering won't change his drives; training and exercise will do that.

I like feisty puppies. But it's not really a "lol" that he snapped at your vet, although that may be just normal puppy uppitieness. Don't let his relatively small size lull you into thinking that it's somehow cute that he snaps at people...that is never cute or acceptable. Neutering won't change that.

[foxywench]

chiro, thile i agree that neutering doesnt change traits and drives,
i dont think suggesting a normal person keep thier dog intact is a good idea either, there are MANY risks to keeping an intact make who will never be bred, unneutered males not used for breeding are highly prone to testicular cancer and more so a scilent killer of prostate cancer.

in the op's case they want to neuter so i say go for it...

in terms of when...generally with TOY and Giant breeds i wait, 8 months minimum for toy breeds (i like them to get a little larger for saftey before surgery) and for GIANT breeds i like long bone development to finnish out (generally around 1 1/2-2 yrs of age...

for medium-large breeds i usually like the 8-12 month window, but for anything thats going to mature in the 15-50lb range i generally suggest (after much discussion with vets about the topic) between 6-8 months of age.

i dont like pediatric spay/neuter or anything before 6 months, but for many breeds the 6-8 month range is usually the "safe zone"
if your vet says 6 and your comofrtable with that, then that should be your aim.


side note...
would love to see pics of your little schnauzer mix...i love shcnauzer faces :P

[Squirl]

A good number of the stray dogs who wind up in the shelter are unneutered males. They can sense a ***** in heat and escape to go seek out that female in heat. The result -- a stray dog and an unwanted litter of puppies. In North Texas alone over 17,000 unwanted dogs and cats are euthanized each month. I wholeheartedly support the practice of neutering all but dogs being bred by a responsible breeder.