What age to castrate my dog

[cheggers]

I have a 6 month old cocker spaniel and was wondering the best age to have him done

he has no bad habits

 

[a2]

Apache has given some advice to another member here about castrating a dog.

http://www.talk.electricianforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3101

This'll give you something to read till he is online again, and can answer your question better.

 

[Apache]

I would usually wait until they are there adult size, ~9mths to a year for a cocker

(away for the weekend - better answer tomorrow night if you need it)

 

[Apache]

Good question. The usual reason people have dogs castrated is for social and convenience reasons - they are less likely to wander, less aggressive and less likely to spend the evening humping your left leg! If you have your dog castrated while it is young it prevents all the above behaviours - as the dog ages the behaviour becomes learnt. Sometimes we castrate old dogs because they are grumpy/ aggressive with other dogs - and it often doesn't have any effect!

The issues regarding testicular tumours is interesting. They are common in older male dogs - I couldn't give you an estimate of dogs that die from them, but old male dogs have their testicles checked at booster vaccinations and any alteration in size is a reason for immediate castration. I'd like to hope we catch many quite early, so not so many dogs die from them. My gf saw a dog with a testicle the size of a grapefruit and put it to sleep end of last year.

We mustn't forget the prostate, this is a bigger issue than testicular tumours IMO. The prostate enlarges in older entire male dogs and can get to quite a significant size. When enlarged it can make passing urine and faeces difficult or impossible. It can cause blood in the urine. Some of these enlargements are non-cancerous some are malignant - either way the prostate shrinks when the testosterone is removed.

The disadvantages of castration include the tendency for the dog to put on weight, and some dogs get changes in coat (can go bit curly).

A direct answer to your question would be - chance of testicular tumour low-medium, chance of prostate trouble medium-high. The risk of the operation is minimal and the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages IMO.

If I had a male dog I would have him castrated - I have a ***** and she was spayed withing a month of getting her (she was a year old!)

If you want any further clarification please ask

 

[Andy™]

it took less than a minute to write all that?!

 

[a2]

it took less than a minute to write all that?!

He copy and pasted it from the link above(his reply)

 

[cheggers]

I did read all other posts before submitting mine

but Apache never mentioned about age

I thought he had to be older because he doesn't seem to have any balls yet.

I will wait until they start to show

Thanks

 

[Apache]

I did read all other posts before submitting mine but Apache never mentioned about age

I thought he had to be older because he doesn't seem to have any balls yet.

I will wait until they start to show

Thanks

ooh now this may add to the fun. If they are retained in the abdomen it is vital that he is castrated whilst a young dog as there is a very high chance of them developing cancer. This is because they are been kept at a higher temperature than they are designed to.

When I say young I mean before he is 1 or 2 years old.

As I said in general they want to be their adult size (small dogs ~6 months, medium dogs ~1year giant dogs 1.5 years)

 

[cheggers]

Thanks apache I will keep checking

 

[Apache]

Thanks apache I will keep checking

not too often now

 

[Adrian]

My cocker spaniel is now 9 months old and finally his balls have dropped or should I say ball

this has been down for the last 2 months but the other one is no where to be seen.

Should I wait or should of they came down together ?

I would like to get him sorted because he has started humping his blanket

Thanks Adrian (cheggers)

 

[Apache]

My cocker spaniel is now 9 months old and finally his balls have dropped or should I say ball this has been down for the last 2 months but the other one is no where to be seen.

Should I wait or should of they came down together ?

I would like to get him sorted because he has started humping his blanket

Thanks Adrian (cheggers)

Get him done! Cocker should have droped by now. I have just castrated a 1 year old Lab with a retained testicle this very morning!

 

[Adrian]

he's been booked in for monday the 14th

Thanks

 

[Apache]

he's been booked in for monday the 14thThanks

Good man Applaud Smiley

 

[Adrian]

Thanks Apache for the advice the poor chap has been done his retained testicle would have never found its way down so he ended up with quite a large cut

he is not very happy at the moment but I'm sure he will forgive us

thanks again

Cheggers