Hi there, I would really apreciate your thoughts on this. i have recently taken on a Two year old Boxer Boy "Leo" after the loss of my last boxer lad. My previous Boy was casterated at about "yrs old  and his behaviour altered, he basically hated people, and dogs from that point on. I castrated on the advise of the vet who, basically put across the "argument if your not going to breed" etc etc.

Leo my new Boy is just about perfect, loves all people,all other dogs and yes im being given the same information again.... Castrate it is the responsible thing to do etc, etc. How do i know it wont alter his personallity so drastically like it did with my previous boy??? My phylosophy is pretty much at the moment "if it isnt Broke, dont try and fix it! what do you lot think.

thanks.

Basically, if you are happy with his behaviour now then don't do it! He is old enough to have gone through the 'Kevin' stage, so his behaviour shouldn't change too much now. With castration, as you've found out, you just don't know how his behaviour will change. Unless there is a medical reason for it leave him entire. Next time the vet talks about the op ask him/her if they would be willing to pay for it? ;)

My feeling is, if he's not living with a female that you can't keep sererate when in season, and his behaviour is normal and manageable, I would leave well alone. I keep three entire males together and there are no particular issues, so it doesn't neccessarily mean trouble if he is left UNcastrated.

Dawn R.:)

I was wondering, when is actually the best time in case I decide doing it? My male is 6 months old and since I probably won't be showing him  and might get another girl in the future that would be the best option......

Hi,

How sad that your other Boxer's personality changed. I have had dogs all my life and always had my males castrated and have never noticed any change in personality at all! It probably would not happen a second time, so I would not worry about that aspect of it.

In this day and age because most people do have their females and males neutered it would not be such an issue to leave your Boxer alone if you wished. Vets always advise on castration to stop unwanted pups coming along and bad behaviour from SOME male dogs, who quite frankly can become sex pests (the urge to mate overtaking everything else) and some even aggressive to other dogs. As long as he does not become an escapee or a nusience dog in trying to find in season females or harrass your leg and other people. Then by all means leave him be. Only you can tell if he needs the snip. If he stays a happy, go lucky dog (which he seems to be) yes, leave him be if you wish. You do not need to feel under pressure to have him done.  Though I will say again, I have never had a bad experience having one of my dogs castrated.

Leo is two so yes he will have gone throught the kevin the teenager stage by now i would have thought. I have a Boxer bitch who is neutered so breeding is not a danger (She developed urinary incontinence from being Spayed)
Leo like most Dogs will occasionally mount my leg if he gets overexcited, not a regular thing though, and he would roam if the garden wasnt secure, i do think the roaming issue is for us to control by making sure our gardens are escape proof, and by training our dogs in the first place, personally if that was the only issue i would not castrate on that basis alone. Trouble is you get so many people now trying to make you feel it is not in your dogs interest to keep them entire. Ie they are constantley thinking about nothing but sex.

I am also under the impression that the risk of a tumour on the testicles is small, and that they are usually benign, as opposed to an increased risk in prostrate cancer which castration predisposes them too, and most of this are usually malignant. Am i correct in this thinking?

louise.

Louise -

One thing you could try is a Tardak injection.  This is just a regular injection that your vet will give and it _temporarily_ mimics the effect of castration.  So you can 'try out' what your dog will be like if you have him castrated.  If you like it, you could have him permanently castrated.  If you don't like it, it will wear off after a few weeks.  Ask your vet about it.

I don't think there's any reason to get your dog castrated if he shows no aggression and seems fine as he is.  There is a slight risk of cancers, but they are very treatable if caught early and the health risk is no where near as high as keeping an entire bitch (who could get pyometra).  You'll just have to be careful if you come across a bitch in season...

Hi Louise,

Yes,

There is an awful lot of talk to do with urine incontinance and cancers caused by spaying and castrations.  I am not going to say that these things do not happen, they certainly do.  I luckily have not had to face any of these things as of yet over my many years of dog ownership. But if I had then I would probably be very wary. You are damned if you do, and damned if you don't! Everyone has an opinion on it. I guess what you have to ask yourself is why would any vet want to do something to your dog to cause it harm in the future, vets weigh up the pro's and con's and most would still prefer to neuter. And most netured animals will live a full long life. We have generations of dogs to prove that.

Life is a lottery, none of us know which dog will be the unlucky one. My advice would be to only listen to your vet, after all they are the experts, they have trained for years, and have more knowledge than most of us have in our little fingers.

But I also agree as long as you are happy with your dog and have no problems controlling him then do not feel you must do something you are not happy about.

Leo sounds to be a lovely happy go lucky chap! If he's no problem to you, and is not causing any trouble, don't worry about it, keep him whole. I'll happily volunteer a few human males to take his place on the operating table. Hee Hee!