I work with a chap whose sister has a 7 month old Great Dane, lovely dog but apparently it tries to 'hump' everybody.

Under vets advice they are going to get him neutered soon. I said that I thought that this is a bit too soon and they should wait for a while maybe till he's about 2 years because of the adverse effects on growth etc. He said the vet said nothing of this and that if not breeding they should get him done ASAP. Is this a good idea?

i breed and show my danes and would not consider nuetering untill it has fully matured, which for a giant breed is 24 months.

I thought that was the case, seems like a vet with eyes on the till and not the dog :(

> I thought that was the case, seems like a vet with eyes on the till and not the dog

I dont think this is always the case, Just not many vets have a real understanding of the growth patterns of a giant breed.  :(

not all vets are up to speed with giant breeds as they rarely see one. when i go to my vets (its a university so they have lots of students watching) all the students make sure they are there to watch the examination. and sometimes i inform the vet on certain issues. this is rare but it has happened even though they are a leading vetinary college, so a small vets that doesnt see a giant breed often may not although they should know this

I would print off this article for the owner and their vet.

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

I'll give the vet the benefit of the doubt then, maybe they ought to keep up to speed with things though as this is a small practice that is going to be seeing a giant breed and does not have all of the knowledge particular to their size.

Firmly believe it is the way they are taught, when a new pup is before you inoculate it and suggest the owners that you neuter at the first opportunity, then sell them Worming and Flea medication and if possible the food you stock.

I know they are told that all dog owners are irresponsible and can't be trusted not to allow their animals to breed so it is their duty to make sure the dogs brought to them for whatever reason should be neutered. They also seem to be told that a show dog is a bad thing and the owner of one is even worse.

Give me the older vet any day, one that has switched on their thought possesses and is not using those of their biased tutor.

I would definatley wait the growth plates have closed before neutering, the puppy will probably go very leggy, and never body up.

> Firmly believe it is the way they are taught, when a new pup is before you inoculate it and suggest the owners that you neuter at the first opportunity, then sell them Worming and Flea medication and if possible the food you stock.
>

Maybe we're cynical Nova but I agree with you. It feels to me that every available vaccine, treatment etc is pushed on the uninformed owner.

I'm about to adopt a rescue dog that has Kennel Cough at the moment, and even though the rescue centre have said they'll not release him until he's clear, on checking with my vet about the rescue centre covering costs of future vet bills it was suggested to me that it would be best if I get my 5 dogs vaccinated against Kennel Cough to be safe, at a cost of £30 per dog. :(

Brainless I have printed off that 'study' I'm just going to highlight a few points for the owner to read, I suspect if there's too many words it may put her off reading!

At 7 months old!!   I agree with you - two years old sounds about right if they particularly want to get him done.

With a giant breed I'd even be tempted to go with 2.5-3 years old.  I've got a small breed and this was when they finished maturing - breed is as important as size.