14 months old.. should I neuter my mal? Health

My male malamute is 14 months old. Almost 15. He's a big boy. was 145lbs when he was 10 months old. I was told by so many people that all males should be netuered to prevent aggressiveness..

My Mal is NOT aggressive at all. He loves people and loves other dogs. He will let 10 week old puppies climb all over him and he will only sniff them and play with them using his nose..

I called the vet and he has a appointement (I have to confirm it still ) to have him neutered.

He's great behavrioual wise except 2 things.
1)he marks his territory in the house. It's getting better, but its a constant battle. This started in november.

2)when he plays he can be rough. THis again is way better as time goes by.


I love my dog and my concerns about neutering are
1)will it stunt his growth? He's still growing and I don't want him to be anything less then what he should be ie-big shoudlers, tall, working dog, large head etc.. he's a great looking dog and I would like to see him mature into a great looking adult. Is their much growth left in him? The breeder told me "he won't stop growing in length and height until he is 2, and he won't stop filling out until he is 3".

Neutering absolutely won`t stunt his growth, thats an old wives tale so don`t worry about that, it won`t happen :smt001
Some neutered dogs do need less calorific intake [ slower metabolism ], and many owners don`t adjust food to suit which is why some might put on weight afterwards but thats down to correct feeding/exercise, whether neutered or not.
So you can go ahead without worrying, and you`ll have the benefit of knowing you will have dramatically lessened his chances of developing some serious hormone/reproductive health issues later on as well as being absolutely sure that he will never sire unwanted puppies, wont have the stresses that many entire dogs have when entire bitches in heat are around, and it may well lessen the indoor marking but you`ll need to make sure you have got rid of every trace of scent to help him with that, their noses are far more acute than ours so just because we *think* we have eliminated it oes`nt mean we actually have done so ;-)

I would neuter him - you aren't going to be showing him so why not.
It may help with the marking and it won't aletr his growth - could make him a nicer pet

thanks for the info!

as far as getting rid of the scent in the hosue.. I've tried everytttthinnggg in the book.. I am tossing my couch in the next couple of months because he marked the one end so bad the smell will not come out.

I am told vinegar is best for removing the scent. WHich I tried endless times..

No it wont "stunt" his growth, but remember Malamutes are slow maturing dogs, if he were mine I would wait untill he is around 2yrs "if" I was neutering.

Mals coats do tend to thicken a lot after neutering, particularly the males, this will require more grooming and does tend to have a more "fluffy" look to it.

Weeing in the house, it will probably stop, but it will probably stop anyway given time. Some neutered males are a target for entire males, they tend to fancy them for some reason. Neutering a dog with a behqaviour problem, i.e nervousness can have a bad effect and make the problem worse, if your dog is not nervy then that wouldnt apply.

You could ask your Vet for a "Tardak" injection, its a chemical castration that lasts for around 4-6wks, if you like the effect, then opt for the permanent solution, if not, then nothing is lost.

Good luck in your decision.
Dawn.

Thanks for the replies. No, he is NOT a nervous dog so that won't be a problem.. he's extremly outgoing..

I m inclined to go with Border Dawn on this and for the same reasons. I too have a slow maturing breed and feel fefore 2yrs old is too early.

''14 months old.. should I neuter my mal?''


Going by what you say, I don't think there is any reason to castrate him.

Of course it's your decision, do you want to castrate him? If you're only thinking about it because ''so many people told you it should be done'', don't be pushed into something you don't really want.

Dawn R.

I've only had three of my males castrated, and each time it was for health reasons, two with testicular cancer and one with continual cystitis, it was a last resort but it worked,but they were, on the whole show dogs.

As for the problem of sent marking all over the place I suggest you look at www.bactonature.com , I have used it for years and it even got rid of the smell left by my old cat when she got senile and incontinent. Kath

You guys are making me reconsider getting him neutered. I really don't think its human to not let a dog fully mature befre you castrate them, but I was told by the vet it wouldn't affect his growther or matruity. I think most vets I've talked to do not understand the Malamute breed at all. They are very slwo maturing breed. My vet wanted me to have him snipped at 6 months of age. And they wanted me to put him on a reduced cal diet at 6 months even though he wasn't anything but skin and bone.

this product is not available in Canada

Also if you want him to develop full male characteristics (breadth of head etc) then you will need to wait until these features mature, otherwise he will stay girly like any Eunuch.

We have Sibes and find that neutering makes them shed a hundred times worse,
Terry

how long does it take for a mal to fully mature? the breeder told me bones-2 years old.. muscles-3 years old

Have you used the skin care product?

Your vet is correct regarding maturity and the snip. It does not affect final maturity in any way, it makes no difference if a breed is slow to mature or not, that will be the case with or without extra testosterone.
To give you an example, my now 12 year old Border Collie was not done until he was 2 years old. He was clown before and he is still a clown now.
My 11 year old Border Collie was done at five months [ in rescue ]. He was a serious dog before, more like an adult than most adults even at such a young age.
The snip made no difference either way with either dog.

A dogs final mental `maturity` is partly genes and partly nurture / upbringing, training, day to day situations. Its nothing to do with hormone levels.
Many dogs however, are more relaxed after the snip, because they are not feeling the same hormone driven stresses as an entire dog, many have better concentration, and are often easier to socialise without the hormones getting in the way.
People often mistake a playful dog as being `immature` but thats humans assigning our emotions to them instead of what the dog is actually feeling about life in general.
I`d rather have a playful dog with better concentration when it counts, or which wont run off in to the road after a bitch in heat, than a hormone driven stressed out bolshy entire male, and above all I like being able to sleep at night not worrying about serious and painful but so easily avoidable future health issues which the snip prevents or drastically lessens the chances of happening.
Op recovery is also much easier on both genders when younger.

From my own view with my own dogs I consider it this way :
Would I rather have a young healthy dog snipped or would I wait til he`s older and takes longer to recover or wait even longer until he`s suffering from a serious health condition needing it to be done as an emergency when already of compromised health by then....;-)

Trust your vet, he`s the one who has trained for years and has done the op more often than most of us have had hot dinners, he`s going by medical facts not just instinct ;-)

I had my male Malamute castrated at 2 years old as we were getting a bitch and I didn't want to breed from him. He is a big lad, fully mature and has had no problems before or since Malamutes tend to be fully mature at about 7 years old , the head being the last thing to grow

Had him snipped yesterday... I hope I made the right choice..

This is absolutely *not* true !!
When it comes to someone making an important decision I think its best to stick to real facts, not this kind of fallacy

You did :smt001
You will have far less future health issues to worry about for him now