Hello just letting everyone know at the weekend we got an 8 month old boy Zak to join us and Missy. He is the complete opposite of her - very calm and placid and is an absolute stunner. He is a little underweight but has been for a health check at the vets and everything else is fine. He has also been booked in to be castrated next week. So far all is going well. There has been a lot of 'play fighting' but no aggression between the 2 of them so we are just leaving them to it so they can sort out whos dominant - at the moment its definately Missy! There have also been lots of cuddly moments to. At the moment at night or when we are out we are putting them in separate rooms (one in conservatory so they can still see each other) and it will stay like this until Zak has healed from his castration. Anyway, just thought I'd share my news - he is a cracking dog and I really think he's going to fit in with Missy and us very well! :D

Great news ,
it sounds like your off to a good start with them both getting to know each other.
Good luck.:)

Congrats! It's lovely when you get another dog and it all goes well and they get on. A couple of weeks ago I got a 8wk old Yorkie boy in hope that he'll play with my 2yr old Bichon boy as my 4yr old yorkie X jack russell girl wouldn't really play with him. Now all three tear round the lounge having a great time. Its good too because you learn so many little things about your dogs that you wouldn't know if you just had one, good luck hope it continues to go well.

Congratulations on your new dog!!!!!!! :-D :-D

You must be thrilled they are getting on so well and he's a gentleman, its great they get on so well, sounds like they will be lifelong friends! :)

What breed is he? Is he a Husky like your avator?

How exciting, you must be thrilled. But just out of curiosity and because it's my thing, why are you having him castrated so young? Was it on your vets advice?

We took him to the vet for advice on castration and she certainly didn't discourage having it done at his age but any other advice is more than welcome:) The main reason we are having him castrated is because we have an unspayed female in the house and have no intention of breeding. We do intend to get her spayed aswell and despite the benifits it can have she has had a severe reaction whilst having an op in the past that is likely to occur again so the vet has some reservations. As I am a teacher I would like to have her spayed during thre long summer holidays so I am at home with her 24/7 should she have another reaction. However, by the time it gets to summer she will have had another season so castrating him seems the more sensible option for us at the moment. Have heard though having a male castrated under 12 months can make them grow a lot bigger - any truth in this?

Yes Rach85 he is another husky. Hes a lot different though in looks and personality to the one we already had. She is quite small and dainty and is mainly fawn and white with a dark strip down her back and tail. She is also very excitable and stubborn! He is silver and white and is very placid and more cuddly than she is and despite being younger is quite a lot bigger. I don't think it helps hes going through his leggy, gangly stage so looks even taller than he really is. We've only had him 2 full days but it seems like hes been here forever, has fitted right in and him and Missy are getting more and more relaxed around each other and started to show each other lots of affection.

Here are the long term effects of neutering explained: http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

Castration before the growth plates close will prolong the length of time the growth plates are active for, and the dog will grow taller.

Its not quite that simple though, as im sure you know there are several bones with growth plates and these naturally close at different stages. Left to their own devices everything works fine but halt the process before it is finished and some may keep growing longer than others. In the parts of the limb where there are two bones, this can cause twisting and leave a dog more likely to suffer ligament/tendon/muscle/joint damage.

Additionally it is thought that castration will affect bone density and that also appears related to an increased risk of bone cancer - the increase in risk is significant and more so when you consider bone cancer due to its fast metastasizing rate and the difficulty in spotting it early, has a very poor prognosis for the dog.

I would consider kennelling him when she is in season if he cant stay with a friend, or having him vasectomised rather than castrated - these are the options I am considering for my own entire male when my Deerhound bitch comes into season as it will be at least 3 years before she will be spayed.

Castration before the growth plates close will prolong the length of time the growth plates are active for, and the dog will grow taller

Does this apply to females as well?

.> Does this apply to females as well?

Yes.

Also chest developement is affected (width) which can be a real issue with some large breeds.  Teh upperarm for example and the coresponding bones in the rear asssembly does not finish growing until aroudn 14 months, so the dogs proportions are affected.  Neuterign tends to affect weight, so more weight on a compromised boen structure are not exactly beneficial to the dog.

There is more to neutering than birth control.

I think I need a strong word with my vet.

I asked her when we took Mitz in to be spade (At their recommendation I might add) when she was 7 months old, if it was the best thing to do to spade now as I had head it could effect growth in a SBT, 'Oh no' she said and we went ahead.

Mitz now has exactly what you just described, her chest never filled out all the way and she is now over 2 yrs old, she also does look out of proportion. and her rear is rather small compared to the rest of her.
She's now suffering a little with shoulder problems, wonder if this is their fault???? :(

Trouble is you will never really know if her skeletal issues were exacerbated by youthful spaying.  Certainly on balance there are definite pro's to having bitches spayed, but the benefits of having it done before puberty in my opinion are not worth the extra risks re growth, increased chance of urinary incontinence, and the mental effects (Peter Pan syndrome). 

The increased risks re mammary tumours by having a season or two are more acceptable, especially as if the statistics (which have been challenged, and certainly not in my expereince) are true half of all entire bitches will get them, and of those about half are malignant, but they are very treatable, and with normal care should be spotted when very small.

I have now owned 7 bitches that have had at least one season, and only one ever had a Mamamry tumour, which was removed at pea size when she was five, reapeared at 8 1/2 so that gland was removed.  She lived to over 13 1/2 and Cancer did not kill her.

I would print off that article (PDF document) above if you really intend to have words with yoru vet.  It may well be news to them.

Thanks Brainless.

I will print it off and have a word as they misinformed me that there were no risks involved, even if the risk never came about, we deserved to know what could happen.
Do you mean Peter Pan as in never grows up or?

Yep immature puppy like behaviour into their dotage, some may like it but I like my serious  wise oldies.

And you have to ask yourself what you would think of your neighbour having her son castrated before he was 10? He'd have a lovely singing voice though!

LOL ..... And very appropriate for your breed ...

Very good article brainless and one that every owner should read before deciding the next step, that's why forums such as this one is so invaluable to the novice and even the experienced owner.

> Very good article brainless and one that every owner should read before deciding the next step, that's why forums such as this one is so invaluable to the novice and even the experienced owner.

I totally agree, I had never seen this article before - very interesting reading.

On the advice of my old vets I had our staffie spayed when she was a year old as they told me her aggression towards other dogs would go away!

Hence why I now believe very little of what any vet tells me!

OOh i wonder if this is why my welfare girl is so huge and donkey like ? She was spayed at six months before her first season and is a very large and wide (not fat i must add) dog for her breed,to the point that other husky owners i have showed her to think she is a mal X .And she, although is a real sweetie who is very excitable like a puppy  (to us that know her) to strangers she is just a very big dog running to greet them with a little too much vigour.I have always wondered about her odd behaviour and connected it to her being spayed a little too early. Sometimes she acts like a male dog with the leg cocking thing on every tree but also the bitch came out in her when my daughter brought her pup round.(she looked after the pup like it was her own and still does, even to the point of telling him off)) we love her anyway but now i can understand why she is different.