# When to neuter my poodle?



## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

All of my males were neutered around 8 months, but since then, I've heard waiting until 9 or 10 months is best. I don't know about when one of their testicles hasn't dropped yet though. I would think that your vet would be able to give you the best advice.


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## Sammy the spoo (Jul 7, 2016)

My Sammy is 10 months old but is still intact. I'm still torn whether or not I will neuter him. If I were to neuter him, I am planning to wait until he is at least 18 months old so that his growth plates have closed. I was thinking that if I neuter him before reaching adulthood, it's like removing all masculine hormones out of my 6 and 9 year old human boys. It didn't feel right to me... 

Now I'm not sure if your case warrants a different perspective. Is the undescended testicle always undescended? Sometimes one could have a tendency to pop in and out of the body or it is always there. What is your vet's thought on this? This issue comes up on this forum every now and then, I would search this topic in this forum as well to get more ideas


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Both of my male dogs are intact (and likely Javelin will not be neutered). With a dog that is cryptorchid though neutering is a must. I would ask your vet if they think that sooner than later is important in this case.


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## oshagcj914 (Jun 12, 2016)

I also advocate waiting until the dog is physically mature and the growth plates are closed to neuter (if you neuter at all), but that undescended testicle throws a wrench in things. Do you have a vet that advocates waiting to neuter? A lot of vets thinks it's A OK to neuter young, so I'd be wondering if they're telling you to neuter now because he really should be neutered now because of the testicle or because they don't ever see a need to wait. If that rambling makes any sense


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Being a cryptorchid has nothing to do with it. Our silky terrier was a crypto. and was neutered at 9 years old when we adopted him. 

I'm planning on neutering my male standard at 18 months when he's mature. If I had a toy or mini, 12 mos.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

My understanding (with data to support it) is that there is a greatly elevated risk of testicular cancer in males with retained testicles.

This quote is from the VCA hospital website article on cryptorchidism.

"_There are several good reasons for neutering a dog with cryptorchidism. The first is to remove the genetic defect from the breed line. Cryptorchid dogs should never be bred. Second, dogs with a retained testicle are more likely to develop a testicular tumor (cancer) in the retained testicle. Finally, dogs with a retained testicle typically develop the undesirable characteristics associated with intact males like urine marking and aggression. __"The risk of developing testicular neoplasia
is estimated to be at least ten times greater
in dogs with cryptorchidism than in normal dogs."_​_The risk of developing testicular cancer is estimated to be at least ten times greater in dogs with cryptorchidism than in normal dogs. Just over half of all Sertoli cell tumors and one third of all seminomas occur in retained testicles. Additionally, 36% of all spermatic cord torsions occur in dogs with cryptorchidism. A recent study concluded that a retained testicle, even if replaced in the scrotum surgically, had 13 times higher risk of developing cancer."_

_Retained Testicle (Cryptorchidism) in Dogs | VCA Animal Hospitals
_


ZM I think with your silky terrier he probably should have been neutered at a younger age. I am glad he had no adverse consequences.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

lily, the median age in dogs diagnosed with testicular cancer is 10 years old, though (Testicular Tumors | The National Canine Cancer Foundation). I agree, our little Dustin should have been neutered long before he was. We adopted him at the SPCA so he had the surgery right before we brought him home. Also, testicular cancer almost never metastasizes. For these reasons, I don't think it hurts to wait until the puppy is physically mature to be neutered.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

ZM I don't disagree that most cancers are diseases that show up later in life rather than sooner, but if I could make a decision to avoid cancer I would, but generally agree that a neuter for a cryptorchid dog isn't an urgent matter necessarily.


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## Dina (Jan 24, 2016)

Unless something arises (health wise or unwanted behavior i guess) we plan on leaving hugo intact

Sent from my HUAWEI G7-L03 using Tapatalk


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## LittleAussiePoodle (Jun 2, 2016)

I fixed Hendrix at around 6 months, I believe. I got it done before he dropped, so that he would never get the male hormone surge, which would have probably happened very soon at that point.
I always get mine done before they drop, because I don't want their personalities to change. My dog Pickles was done right after his dropped and he totally flipped personality when he hit puberty. Started trying to run off, started barking, started being more reactive, ect.
This is just something that me and my family all do with our dogs, because we would hate for there to be unwanted puppies or our dogs to get prostate cancer or them to change tact. Maybe people see it to be too young but it's something I stick by and I don't regret it. I grew up with a lot of undesexed male dogs and I always hated seeing them change.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

On the flip side littleaussiepoodle both of my boys are intact. Peeves is 8 years old and Javelin will be 2 years old in May. Neither of them marks. Neither of them is prone to wandering. And I can't say that either of them has had a personality change with regards to people or towards Lily by virtue of being intact. She was spayed before her first heat because I didn't want Peeves to be exposed to a bitch in heat in the same house and there was no chance we were going to breed her but there was with him. I can't say that Peeves loves Javelin much, but Javelin respects Peeves and while we do keep them separated in the house we don't have the need to keep them out of each others' sight as I know some people with two intact males need to do.

I still think the OP here though needs to consider an earlier neuter because of her pup being cryptorchid. Other than that the health benefits of neutering have been largely repudiated, while there are known benefits to spaying.


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## LittleAussiePoodle (Jun 2, 2016)

I think it varies from dog to dog, but I have a strong policy on making sure none of my dogs will ever have any babies, because we have a lot of dogs in my area. Also Hendrix has always been such a mushy baby and I would never want him to grow up to be looking for girls, ect.
It may just be my own experiences swaying my view. I am aware that there are potential health risks with fixing them early, but I feel the pros outweigh the cons in my situation. We have a desexed female dog, two desexed male dogs (both mine), and an undesexed male (he's 11 and while he is healthy I don't want to risk surgery). The difference between Hendrix, who was spaying before the hormone surge and the other three is quite striking, although again, this may be because of some predispositions.
I couldn't have left Hendrix to start chasing females if I wanted to, if he had ever tried humping or even just intently sniffing at the female dog, there would have been blood. Not to mention if he started fighting with my MUCH larger undesexed male dog (two undesexed males is a total no-no). I would never want to put him in danger and I plan on keeping him in a flat with me, where if something was to happen to my other dogs it's likely I'd end up with a female. Obviously that wouldn't work out if he was entire.


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## Verve (Oct 31, 2016)

I looked into this a bit when one of the boys from my first litter had an undescended testicle. I would neuter due to the increased risk from a retained testicle, but would still wait until 18 months-2 years for a standard. I think that way you get at least some of the health benefits of waiting while addressing the increased testicular cancer risk with the retained testicle. 

Another benefit of waiting until a standard is physically mature is that I think it's also a good time to do a prophylactic gastropexy. I haven't seen any research on it, but intuitively, tacking a stomach on an immature dog makes me a little queasy.


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## FireStorm (Nov 9, 2013)

Verve said:


> .
> Another benefit of waiting until a standard is physically mature is that I think it's also a good time to do a prophylactic gastropexy. I haven't seen any research on it, but intuitively, tacking a stomach on an immature dog makes me a little queasy.


Our vet recommends waiting until 18mos-2yrs for the gastropexy as well, as she wants to be sure they are done growing. I didn't ask her for any research to back it up, but the idea makes sense to me as well


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