After speaking to my vet today booking my new puppys injections he said i will need to get my little male staffy snipped at 6 months.Isnt this too young and will it affect his growth.He said if he wasnt snipped he could develop behavior problems.Any advice from staffie owners please
Thankyou

Yes it is too young and yes it will effect his growth and no it will not help with any behaviour problems unless the problems are because of testosterone. IMO it is better to train a puppy rather that remove parts.

Its more likely to cause behaviour problems neutering that young.

vets unfortunately often seem fixated on getting dogs neutered at an inappropriately early time - mostly to stop unwanted puppies being born which sensible people will not allow to happen.  Early neutering will mean the dog grows more (and this can put strain on joints at a later date), other health issues are also raised (including some cancers) and temperament could be adversely affected.  Far better if you must have him castrated to leave it until he's fully physically and mentally mature - then often you find it's not needed after all :-)

Much too young, most behaviour problems need training to overcome, not chopping bits off dogs. Leave your puppy alone until he's at least 18 months old, and if he does start showing a few hormonal things like humping or marking these can usually be cured without castration.

Thankyou i thought it was too young and now you have put my mind at rest i have no interest in breeding from him i just want him to be a happy family pet
thanks for the help

Please please don't do it that young, they need to mature mentally and physically ( or some breeds that will take forever!!) I groomed a dog of a friends breeding and he had been done on vet advice at 6 months not only had the breed been robbed of a possible stud dog ( when mature if suitable, health tested etc) but this had left the dog fearful of situations and very attractive to other male dogs.

It really riles me that vets promote early neutering. Neutering at an older age is acceptable, it's the time when they are saying to do it that I don't agree with.

Hope you have fun with your boy :)

Read the following link first.

http://www.caninesports.com/EarlySpayConsiderations.pdf

Im no where near as experienced as most of the guys and gals on here but theres no way id neuter a puppy that age.ESPECIALLY when theres no need to...do you even want him fixed?is there a good reason or are you just considering it because you vets advised it...my vets advise a lot of things to me but its advise its up to you to choose to accept it or say hmm,u know what thank you but im not happy with that idea right now..

youve done the right thing in seeking a second or in this case 3rd 4th 5th ect opinion....

hes a baby and its way too young.ask your vets the pros of getting him done and then see if those pros are 'actually' pros that affect you/your puppy...id say just enjoy him being a happy bubba right now

if it aint broke dont try n fix it....fantastic advise if you ask me ;-)

good luck..

..do you even want him fixed?

Don't you think that one word sums up their whole attitude ? Fixed implies that it is in some way broken to begin with !!!

Edited to add, sorry I've only just noticed that you say almost exactly the same thing in the last line of your post :)

>>..do you even want him fixed?
>Don't you think that one word sums up their whole attitude ? Fixed implies that it is in some way broken to begin with !!!

That's a common North American euphemism for neutering of both males and females. It's rarely used by vets - certainly not in the UK -  and suggests a reluctance to use the correct terms (castration or spaying).

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">That's a common North American euphemism for neutering of both males and females. It's rarely used by vets - certainly not in the UK -  and suggests a reluctance to use the correct terms (castration or spaying).

sorry was just the first word that came to mind..

Unless your boy lives with an entire bitch and separating them will e problematic, or you have the misfortune to live where irresponsible people allow their entire in season bitches to roam seeking mates there is no need to neuter, as I assume you will not be letting your dog wander unsupervised seeking out bitches to impregnate.

This article is balanced in pointing out the pros and cons, and on balance there are more reasons not to neuter a male: http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

You might like to Print it out for your vets so they can give a more balanced view on the neutering issue.

Hi all
Wow thanks for all the replys no i dont want him neutered i have no reason too will not be able to roam so will not be able to get into trouble.I just wanted to know if it was the right thing to do.He is going to be at puppy classes and i am going to train him well.
Thankyou all so much you have been so helpful and now my little Alphie can keep his boy parts lol