I know I've posted about this subject before, but I need help more now than ever.

Last night my Mom and I had a disagreement over whether Houdini should be neutered when he turns one year old next month or not. I do not want to neuter him because there is really no medical reason, nothing is wrong with his testicles, he is a perfect young gentleman, especially seeing as he is a Siberian husky. My mom believes that he should be neutered as soon as he turns one year old because "that's when he'll start acting mean and aggressive and he'll start peeing on everything in the house." I told my mom that Houdini was a sweet boy and wasn't going to change the moment he turned one year old just because he wasn't neutered. I told her that some male dogs to develope unwanted behaviors, such as aggresiveness or territory marking. I tried to tell her that even if Houdini does start to lift his leg in the house, he can be taught not to do so, its all a matter of training and keeping a close eye on him.

But Mom regains her confidence and says that the older Houdini gets the meaner he'll get. I got angry with her at this point. I said that I know of 14 year old un-neutered dogs who are the sweetest things in the whole wide world and were never "mean" in their entire life! Then she goes back to him peeing on everything in the house. I had to tell her once again that this wouldn't be a problem; it could easily be fixed.

Oh but she wasn't finished yet. She said that he was going to start humping everything in sight because his hormones were raging. This could happen, yes, but only because he turned a year old? I explained to her, once again, that this behavior is not a major thing if caught early enough and that Houdini can be trained not to hump anything or anyone.

Oh yeah, she also said something briefly about him never being used as a stud dog, so what's the point of not neutering him. I just rolled my eyes at this comment and kept my mouth shut.

So pretty much my point is, my mom wants Houdini to be neutered right away for behaviors that probably won't even develope. I don't want to neuter him as he is a perfectly healthy, beautifully tempered young dog and I don't think its right to neuter him for any reason other than a medical problem.

Should I go with my mom and get Houdini neutered when he turns one year old next month? Or, should I stand my ground and not neuter him unless something happens, medically wise or seriously bad behavior wise? What should I do? Thanks for any advice!

-Tara

Is he your dog?

If it's any reassurance to your mom, my two entire males are now 5 years old. The only one who has humped is the one who's been used at stud (and then only on the bitches who have been visiting him for that purpose!) and neither of them have cocked their legs in the house. They aren't aggressive or mean to people or other dogs, and they don't go running off after bitches. So I'm still waiting for all this 'bad stuff' to happen ...

I lost my only entire male dog to testicular cancer :(   How avoidable would that have been if I had been in your position and decided to neuter?  Your mother might be pushing you to neuter for reasons which may not be correct but if you get it wrong it can be quite hard to come to terms with one way or the other.  Do what you think is right.
Lara x

Lara,

I am sorry for your loss of your dog :(

I dont believe in neuturing other than for medical reasons personally. And, as has been said, these problems probably wouldnt occur anyway. You cant plan for illnesses in the future, so do what is right in the present. :)

You might also like to bear in mind that neutered dogs sometimes become VERY attractive to other entire male dogs, as they can smell like a bitch coming into heat - and this can actually make the neutered dog more dog to dog agressive :(

I must be very lucky then?

I have an entire male 2 in fact but one is only 7 months that come into the house and they certainly dont lift their legs anywhere inside.

I've also had had an inseason bitch brought into the hose when I needed to and poped into utility room and one of my entire males also in house different rooms properly supervised but for the tome he was in the house he did not once mark the house.

All 4 of my dogs 2 bitches and 2 entire males share kennel and large run apart from when one of the girls is in sesason she comes ino my utility room and kitchen.I dont have any problems with the dogs.The dogs are not aggressive in any way.

So am I lucky then?

Briony

Sounds normal to me, Briony. None of the people I know with entire males and females have problems. But the temperament is sound to begin with, and they are well-trained ...

I have 2 14mth old Staff boys (and their dam) and neither of the boys has lifted their legs once in the house, and are just as reliable and friendly with other dogs as they have always been.

I have no intention of castrating either of them unless for medical reasons.

we have nearly 40 dogs on the firm, 20 of these i look after, only 5 of these are bitches the rest are all dogs, of the all dogs on the firm only 2 are neutered one for medical reasons (retained testicle) the other was neutered on tuesday mainly because he wont leave Bo the 10 month old labbie alone, and as they both live in the house it was a safer option to have he neutered esp as he has hip dysplasia and nobody wanted any accidents.
All of the dogs are lovely dogs with lovely temperaments, live with kids and the ones that live with their handlers live indoors none of the dogs cock their legs or are they aggressive to other dogs,
Of my own dogs Jack is neutered but as he is a cross and we had no intention of breeding, and at the time tess hadnt been spayed it was best that jack was neutered, Bruce is not neutered and as tess has been spayed i have no intention of getting bruce neutered unless there are any health issues, the subject was raised by my mum the other night but i said there is no point, and it was left at that.
If your vet isnt totally for neutering take your mum along to talk to him about her concerns, or someone else who can talk her out of her misconceptions.
hth
tanya

I dont know who is going to have the 'final word' when it comes to your dog, so I would say that whilst I agree with the other posters that the vast majority of un-neutered dogs are absolutely fine, I would also say that the same goes for neutered dogs as well.

On that basis, I wouldnt lose a great deal of sleep if you cant talk your mother around. I have yet to meet a vet that wouldn't encourage you to have a dog neutered, although I'm sure that there must be a few out there?

If hes your dog its your decision, dont let anyone pressure you into doing something that you are not sure about.  I have a stud dog that lives in the house, he has never ever cocked his leg to anything in the house, hes a well mannered boy.

Thanks everyone for the great advice. I'm aware of the risk of testicular cancer and know how painful a loss could be. One of my male friends of the age 15 (16 now) was scared out of his wits because he believed he had a testicular lump. Turns out it wasn't cancerous, but the scare was enough to deal with.

Anyways, do some owners give their male dogs monthly check-ups at all? And females too, with mammary cancer. Would it be terrible if I was to give Houdini a monthly check-up so as to catch anything new that may arise?

I think at this point right now, I do not want Houdini to be neutered. He isn't even full grown yet. Even though he is almost one year old, he has a lot more growing to do.

Thanks again for all your helpful advice. I really appreciate it!

-Tara