[Leone]

I whole heartedly agree with the opinion of the majority people in JL in regards to breeding with their female Labs. I have a question tho.

Hercules is a boy (obviously with a name like that..lol), I have no intention of breeding with him even tho he is registered etc.
Would I be best to have him neutered, or leave him whole? No one in my family think I should get him neutered, but I figure if I am not going to breed with him, why not.

I still have a few months to concider what I am going to do, but I guess I have been thinking about if from the day that he was born.

I look forward to some reply's and opinions so that I can weigh up the odds.

cheers
Leone

 

[Kathryn]

If he for some reason got out away from you would you want him finding a female who was in season?? I would have him neutered.

 

[Tatyana]

I would recommend neutering him. Only extraordinary speciments of the breed should be bred. I have a male Lab who is also registered with the AKC, comes from champion lines, is very cute, and has performance titles, however, he got neutered. In the conformation sense, he is not extraordinary. Neutering helps prevent pet overpopulation and has many health and behavioral benefits, such as significantly reducing risks of testicular cancer (if not eliminating) and reducing chance of your male roaming (and as often happens getting hit by a car).

It is your dog, you should do what you believe is the responsible thing to do.

 

[Bob Pr.]

Neutering eliminates many aggressive problems that otherwise can occur among intact males and reduces tendencies to wander off in search of an opportunity to mate.

 

[SugarLab]

Neutering usually prevents lots of health problems down the road for a non-breeding male as well.

 

[CaliforniaLabLover]

I would neuter him. It will be much healthier for him down the road.

One other thing to consider is that you will be able to take him to dog beaches and dog parks (or anywhere else with a other dogs) without having to worry quite so much about other dogs seeing him as a threat and acting aggressively toward him. Some dogs still have personalities that don't make this true, but typically it is MUCH worse with an intact male (or even female for that matter). I have seen and hear horror stories about friendly, goofy intact males getting attacked at dog parks waaaaay more than those who are neutered. Anyone else have this experience?

 

[kaytris]

I have seen and hear horror stories about friendly, goofy intact males getting attacked at dog parks waaaaay more than those who are neutered. Anyone else have this experience?

Yep, all the time. And as a petsitter, I spend most of my workdays in off leash parks - so I can say I've seen this way way too often.

 

[MumtoEllie]

I have seen it too. My last foster lab was a neutered male. He got along great with other dogs (especially the girls), but he absolutely hated intact males. He was such a marshamellow all the time unless he was around an intact male. He was actually quite aggressive at the dog park with any intact males that came anywhere near him or my female.

 

[JacksAndLabs]

I have seen and hear horror stories about friendly, goofy intact males getting attacked at dog parks waaaaay more than those who are neutered. Anyone else have this experience?

Yep. That's why I rarely bring Darwin to dog parks. Other dogs constantly want to hump him or posture in his face. I don't want him to get to the point where he feels he has to defend himself, so I usually avoid those situations. He regularly runs and plays with other intact boys, so I know the issue isn't his

To the original poster.... I know people tout AKC registration as if it's the deciding factor of a dogs worth, but in reality it's just a registering body, not an indication of quality. If you have no inkling of actively competing with your dog as well as taking care of all the necessary clearances prior to breeding, there is no reason to keep your dog intact. Discuss the when with your vet and breeder.

 

[myfavoritedog]

I agree with everyone else about the neutering. I had Tal neutered at 7 months. Even though he never seemed to have any inclination to wander off from me, I knew if there was ever a female in season that would go out the window. I did not want to risk him wandering off, helping to produce a litter of unwanted puppies nor did I want him bothered by another intact male. He has always been about as aggressive as toast.

The neutering will not change his personality so you should see no difference, unless he has shown some aggression, marking or wandering tendency. Those should diminish. I could not tell any difference in Tal's personality or temperament, except that he is a little bit more affectionate than before. Not alot, just enough to notice. The only thing he ever humped was an occasional toy and that has not occured since he was neutered.

 

[Leone]

Yep. That's why I rarely bring Darwin to dog parks. Other dogs constantly want to hump him or posture in his face. I don't want him to get to the point where he feels he has to defend himself, so I usually avoid those situations. He regularly runs and plays with other intact boys, so I know the issue isn't his

To the original poster.... I know people tout AKC registration as if it's the deciding factor of a dogs worth, but in reality it's just a registering body, not an indication of quality. If you have no inkling of actively competing with your dog as well as taking care of all the necessary clearances prior to breeding, there is no reason to keep your dog intact. Discuss the when with your vet and breeder.
[/quote]

Thanks so much for your input (everyone) seems as if my initial instincts were in fact correct - and as Hercules is my responsibility, not the rest of the family (although they all do LOVE him to bits), I think that in a couple of months I will be posting in here for every one to wish him luck as he goes in to the vets to have his "man hood" removed..

thanks every one

 

[labby]

Yep. That's why I rarely bring Darwin to dog parks. Other dogs constantly want to hump him or posture in his face. I don't want him to get to the point where he feels he has to defend himself, so I usually avoid those situations. He regularly runs and plays with other intact boys, so I know the issue isn't his

Been there with Nicole when dogs have postured at both Darwin and Seamus. The boys just kinda look at each other and play with each other. Seamus has been attacked at dog parks because he still has his "boys".

Darwin and Seamus have both been very interested in another friend's female yet they never fight. They're buds. However, they are usually growled at or snapped at by most of the unneutered males. I call it "ball-envy."

 

[DostaffLabs]

I call it "ball-envy."

Now that just cracks my stuff up!!!!!

Jager will be my first 'intact' male (of course, if everything goes as planned) so I can't really comment.