I am 7 and a half months pregnant and have a lurcher puppy that is 1 in February. I am thinking about having him neuted because i've been told it should calm him down and make him better on his lead. Since i was around 5 months pregnant i haven't been able to take him for walks as he's too strong and can pull me along so my partner does it. I currently work part time but will be going on maternity leave in 4 weeks time so will be at home with him all the time for around 6 weeks (if the baby is on time!). I suspect that being home with him all day will callm him down abit but i wondered if getting him neuted would make him alot calmer inside and outdoors? The main problem i have with him at the moment is that he gets very excited when we have visitors. We had a few training sessions for him and the trainer said to ignore him while he is jumping up, wait for him to calm down, then say hello. It is vertually impossible for people to ignore him when he is jumping up as he's such a big dog and can make people lose their balance! As there is going to be a new baby in the house soon i will be getting lots of visitors and wondered if there is anything else i can do to stop him? Would having him neuted stop him from doing this or is it because of his age? I would be really grateful for any advice on lurchers being neuted or advice about having a puppy and a newborn.

You've mentioned a lot of issues here, and IMHO neutering will not be of assistance, some days it may calm them down to some extent, but if you have a naturally exuberant dog, which lurchers tend to be, then castrating will not actually change their personality as such.

What your dog needs is consistent training, which can take a longtime, especially with hunting dogs, not that they are any less intelligent, it's just they often don't see the point! :-)  You also need to train your visitors, and I mean that in all seriousness...when they enter the house, they MUST ignore the dog, and that includes eye contact and ONLY acknowledge the dog when he has calmed down.  When they then do greet him, they must do so calmly and without fuss or raising voices etc, you know how people can coo over puppies, I know I'm guilty of it! :-)

You will not get an instant response, and it could takes weeks, but whatever method you use, you must use it consistently and not give up after a few days, you will just end up going back to square one with his training.

How about keeping a collar on him in the house and maybe a short lead, and then when visitors come round, you have control of him, and calmly and quietly ask him to set next to you, with everyone ignoring him until he's settled, then the visitors can greet him.

I agree with Juliets advice, infact was about to post the same sorts of stuff when the phone rang.......

agree absolutely here, with one side note - I'd get him neutered anyway, as well as doing a lot more training.  Unless you're going to breed him, which in most instances isn't recommendable (though not knowing more about him i won't apply that here!), it's usually a good idea.  It'll save him a lot of potential frustration (dogs can smell bitches in heat from a good few miles away), as well as removing the possibility of testicular cancer.  And it'll be one less potential doggy father in the neighbourhood!

If he is managed and looked after properly then he won't be fathering puppies anyway.  In my opinon if he is to be neutered it should not be done until he has matured.  There is anectotal evidence that it interfesers with mental maturity having them neutered before puberty. Also it can make them attractive to other male dogs and if they are submissive can lead to them being pestered by them.  Testicular cancer is very rare, and the more common prostatic cancer is actually found more often in castrated dogs.