04ctd

wife got a Bull Mastiff, he's about 35lbs at 4 months old.

a male Bull Mastiff should run 100~130 lbs,
but the larger they are, the more health problems they have in older age,
just like a Great Dane or any other large dog.

they want to neuter him next week

How late should I have him neutered, to make sure he reaches his maximum size?

Or do I want to neuter him now/early to keep him small, to minimize health/hip/ankle problems?

DECEPTiON21

Don't know much about the breed, but i usually wait until my dogs are at least 9 months before snipping them.

DPS

The younger he gets done, the easier his recovery will be on him. Young animals don't usually miss a beat, but an older animal will experience more pain, swelling, and general discomfort. Neutering him now will also keep him from developing male tendancies (marking, etc.) As far as health problems, hip problems can be genetic (german shephards, labs, etc.). The best thing to ensure that he has minimal health problems is to keep him from getting overweight.

Becky (the other half of DPS)

steelblitzkrieg

What DPS (oops, Becky) said, earlier is better...This is coming from someone that has Tibetan Mastiffs.

CrashCade

I waited till my dog matured more. I wanted him to fill out and develop as much as possible without being to cruel and waiting too long. I had it done around 7-9 months because he was getting big fast. I had it done before he was over 85 pounds because the cost almost doubled with the next weight up.

berner

This is the opposite of what I've heard from more than one dog breeder. Neutering later will give you a shorter, stockier dog. I just had my Caucasian Ovcharka done 3 weeks ago on his 10 month birthday. He was 90 lbs. They did laser surgery on him. No stiches, supposedly kills the nerve endings for less pain, etc. His appetite has increased dramatically.

My last dog was a Bernese Mountain Dog. I had him neutered at 6 months. He hit 30+" at the back and weighed a skinny 135lbs; very big for a BMD. He also squatted to pee.

4 months is a little young I think. If he was mine I'd leave it until he was too raunchy to live with.

steelblitzkrieg

Did he have any male influence as a pup? I've always had girl dogs until recently, but have heard that male dogs will squat to pee unless shown how to lift a leg by another dog.

berner

I had trained him to go in one area of the yard. I had a neutered male Rottie; same thing. I used to call him a degrading name for people practising an alternate lifestyle. He'd pee whenever I said that word.

My C.O. I let pee anywhere. He lifts his leg and kicks up dirt when he's done to get the scent up higher. He hasn't been around too many other male dogs.

Having them squat is sure easier on the shrubs in the yard.

Hoss

My stupid dog squats when he pees, but I would expect nothing less from a dog that barks at the sky...or the fence...or a rock. My smart dog does too, but she's a female so I don't make fun of her like I do him.

Both of ours were fixed pretty early. Around 4 months I think. Both still got plenty big. The stupid one is a Great Pyrenees. The smart one is a black lab. He's 130 pounds of hair and stupidity and she's 78 pounds of solid muscle.

GO 4LO

The primary health concern that is most affected by the timing of the neuter is bone cancer. The earlier he's fixed, the greater the chance of bone cancer, which is fairly common in larger breeds. If I ever neutered my pet, I'd wait until maturity, personally.

Please be sure you research and weigh out the advantages and disadvantages of neutering before making the final decision that best fits your situation.

Chris

04ctd

i thought only little dogs did that - to cover it up, so larger animals could not track them by waste odors and eat them.

never thought about it like that.

good points from everyone.

FWIW, we always let our girl dogs have one litter - gives them some good instincts for being protective as a watch dog.
settles them out a lot.

Becky - tell DPS you want your own CTD, and then you can get your own screen name, and be our local Dog advisor....

steelblitzkrieg

I've been reading a lot about this today and it sounds like nobody in the veterinarian field can quite agree? It's one extreme or the other?

Here is a decent article that doesn't really do either, but it provides some pro's and some con's.

CIN'S DODGE

I have been told by the vet that they won't touch a dog under 6 months. I was also told that if you wait to have it done it's harder on them.
Hope this helps.Cin

04ctd

steel, you left out the link to the article, get the "happy fingers?"

here's another question along male tendencies line:
--if he can mark his area will he be more protective over it?

our japanese akita is pretty protective of our yard, but she is VERY protective of my wife...

we had both dogs in back yard (put board in dog hole) and someone walked up in garage, and stole my weedeater last week.

we have them on a electric invisible fence.

the bull mastiff pup was barking at people and other dogs in the road today.

steelblitzkrieg

Doh!

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/h...-age_neutering

We just put down our 13yr old Akita a few weeks ago, she was much less protective than our TM's, but she would wait until the last second before showing herself.