I know this question has probably been asked before BUT, here we go again, is it or is it not true that if you get a male castrated too soon, they dont mature properly.

I am owned by a 2yr old goldie still intact, and I am sure he is still growing, seems to be growing upwards still!, feathers in, mane on, big fluffball really, but,someone told me that it can take a goldie 3 yrs to fully mature.

Advice from Goldie experts much appreciated.....

The question that I would ask is, if you have managed to get your male to 2 years of age in an entire state, why do you wish to castrate him now?

Is he a handful and uncontrollable?

Does he run away after bitches?

Does he have unsavoury sexual habits?

If you can answer these questions, I will try and respond depending on the answers.

Snomaes

No  he isnt uncontrollable or have unsavoury sexual antics,( just bonks his bed. !! ) but not as much as he used to, the reason I ask is,does it hinder their maturity in any way?,

My old Lab had to be castrated at 11yrs due to adenomas, and am just thinking of possible medical problems in later life ie cancer etc., better to do it when younger than older.....

If he has no bad habits and is currently pleasant to live with, I can see no reason to castrate him.

To castrate a dog, just because he 'may' get testicular cancer in latter years, seems top be a little bit over the top.

Golden Retrievers as a breed are not pre-disposed to testicular cancer and even if they were, it is a very easy cancer to diagnose and treat. There are other cancers that are more of a problem in older dogs, ie prostate cancer, which is much harder to cure.

If you must castrate, I suggest that you wait until at least three years of age because a Golden is not really fully-mature before then.

Snomaes

Thanks for your reply.

I dont know about Goldens but with my breed (Irish Setter) the coat goes really wooly if you castrate and is really difficult to keep knot free, this is also the same in spaniels.

Hi,

I have male Goldies as well as bitches I find the breed generally speaking very good on this side and strongly advise unless your experiencing some major problems there is never any need to castrate a male Goldie.The vets love to tell people its the answer to everything they make a load of money on something completely unnecessary in our breed most of the time. Just my opinion.
Generally most male Goldies act like perfect gentlemen ;-)

Briony :-)

Thanks Briony think that he will keep them! never had a Goldie before, so any advice from Goldie experts, very much appreciated.

dont know a lot about goldies but my entire male is a dream to live with, and any cheeky moments he does have are just normal doggie antics, im sure my vet would tell me its because he is entire, but i doubt it!! good luck with your boy !!