Advice on 'the op'

[gifdy]

We have a 15month old male Viszla and are currently debating if/when we take him for 'man vegetable' removal. The advice online is widely varying; all the way from 'must be done as a pup' to 'don't do it'. Most of it suggests waiting until 18months to make sure he is fully developed but I was hoping to get further advice here before making a decision.

The reason we're considering it is twofold. First, we hope it will calm him down a bit. He's very well trainined around the house but on a walk he is a maniac trying to sniff everything and insists on marking every bush/tree/twig he comes across. It's part of the breed characteristic I know, but it doesn't make for a relaxing walk for him or us. He's also extremely excited around other dogs and can't calm himself down. The other reason is for health reasons since I understand it can reduce the chance of some cancers.

Our vet is an old school rural type who's told us to get it done asap as it makes everyone's life easier. He's not one for long conversations and not open to discussing pros/cons ( yes,we are considering moving vet ).

Anyway, and advice would be very welcome.

[Challo]

We have two males (Cockapoo & Springer X) and had them both done under a 1year old. The guidance from our vet was that if we weren't going to breed from him it made sense to get them done ASAP.

I dont think it has had an impact on them from a behaviour perspective, they dont really have seem to change. Still wee on everything on walks, sniff everything and still are manic at times. They also still try and hump things but I think thats more dominance than anything else.

The only question mark we had was on the Springer X. He is quite a nervous dog and unsure if having the chop made the issue worse or not? To be honest I think its more to do with him relying on his big brother all the time, but we can fix that.

I would just take guidance from the vet. They all will have different opinions based on their experience.

[gifdy]

I beleive Viszlas mature slowly which is why 18months is suggested. Interesting there is no behaviour change. My brother has two who are both older and don't have the manic sniffing thing going on. Maybe they just calm down a bit naturally ?

He's an absolute delight and I wouldn't want his puppy enthusiasm to go completely but it would be great to just have him dial it back from 11 to 10 when we're out walking !

[HappyMidget]

Our Staffy is still entire at 4. We too decided to wait it out to let him develop fully before making the decision. We are unsure whether we will breed him still, I think it is more of a case of whether we would want another pup

There are quite a few studies that suggest that keeping them entire, especially with larger breeds, can reduce the risk of a lot of joint and musculature issues vs the very few cancers removing them prevents, of which if they do get those cancers, whipping them off pretty much cures them.

It is not guaranteed to change any personality traits they already have except for maybe aggression, but has been shown to make a nervous dog even more nervous due to the lack of testosterone.

The only problem we ever really have is larger, neutered males attacking him. Especially black labs for some reason.

[LordGrover]

I can't speak for proper sized dogs, but my little Ted wouldn't be without his crown jewels. He's so proud of them, he takes every opportunity to display them to all and sundry - lying on his back, legs akimbo.
His sister has been spayed, which was a selfish decision by me to minimise unwanted attention from dogs, and home hygiene.

[HappyMidget]

LordGrover said:

I can't speak for proper sized dogs, but my little Ted wouldn't be without his crown jewels. He's so proud of them, he takes every opportunity to display them to all and sundry - lying on his back, legs akimbo.
His sister has been spayed, which was a selfish decision by me to minimise unwanted attention from dogs, and home hygiene.

Yeah, with the bhes it is better to get them done after their first season if you are not mating them, as there are all sorts of complications with having their parts that can cause rapid death!

And yes, my boy is rather proud of his balls

[rxe]

gifdy said:

I beleive Viszlas mature slowly which is why 18months is suggested. Interesting there is no behaviour change. My brother has two who are both older and don't have the manic sniffing thing going on. Maybe they just calm down a bit naturally ?

He's an absolute delight and I wouldn't want his puppy enthusiasm to go completely but it would be great to just have him dial it back from 11 to 10 when we're out walking !

Certainly, German Shepherds are slow maturers - our bh didn't fill out until after her second season - we thought she was a skinny thing, then suddenly she grew a pair of hips. From the cancer POV, all the data seems to say spay/neuter early, so you either have an under developed dog, or one that is a bit more prone to cancer - hard to win.

Our first dog was bonkers, and we considered spaying - advice from the breeder (who has kept GSDs for decades) is that they saw no correlation at all. Some got worse, some got better, most stayed the same. No idea what it is like for Viszlas. A friend had her lab done in an attempt to calm him down, and I can confidently report it made zero difference, he's still as mad as box of frogs when walking.

[gifdy]

Interesting feedback, thanks. The comments about displaying their tackle made me laugh. He certainly likes rolling about on his back, legs akimbo. No shame. His nickname round the house is 'ginger nuts'. If behaviour may not change and the health risks can be managed then maybe he keeps them. It will certainly help with my guilt towards a fellow 'bro. He doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body but he always approcahed other dogs to play - I don't know if other dogs would receive him better if he was nutless ?

[Mr_Yogi]

Ours still likes to lay on his back even though he's lost his veg

[Challo]

gifdy said:

I beleive Viszlas mature slowly which is why 18months is suggested. Interesting there is no behaviour change. My brother has two who are both older and don't have the manic sniffing thing going on. Maybe they just calm down a bit naturally ?

He's an absolute delight and I wouldn't want his puppy enthusiasm to go completely but it would be great to just have him dial it back from 11 to 10 when we're out walking !

I think its more to do with the breeds on ours. The springer is always busy when on a walk, pulls like a train on the lead and cant keep still for more than a min.
The other is a Cockapoo, but more poodle than cocker and therefore tends to be more chilled out, very stubborn though. Also we got the springer when our Cockapoo was 1, so its hard to see if any behaviour changes was due to nuts off, or the other dog in their lives?

[Lotobear]

I would never have a healthy dog castrated unless for actual medical reasons, it just seems wrong somehow but it appears to have become a 'mainstream' must do these days most notably among the chattering classes.

We had our Welsh Terrier castrated when he was 1 year old as he had one undescended testicle and consequently there was a significantly increased risk of cancer and other future complications. He's no different than before as a result and just as frustrating with all of his sniffing and scenting habits when out on a walk and occasionally being aggressive to other dogs so you have no guarantee of stopping any of that - you bought a dog after all.

You should really accept what you have in my humble opinion, we don't castrate humans when they develop inconvenient habits (though some might argue we ought to) and so have no right to inflict it on a defenceless animal (IMO)