[Hurricane Raven]

Hi, we are planning on getting a new male puppy in the next year or so, and need to start looking at different breeders and what litters they are planning. We already have Raven, who is spayed and almost 7 years old.

Our intention is to possibly use the dog for stud. Ideally, this pup would have a good pedigree, good temperment, we'd obtain a few obedience titles, and obtain a MH (or GMH) prior to breeding, and have pretty strict criteria for which females we would breed to (some of the breeding practices that we see locally bothers us).

Anyways, we're really not sure what to do and are trying to figure out pros and cons. So…for those of you with intact males - what have been some of your biggest difficulties? Escaping yards to find females in heat? Difficulties in field/obed training? Do they actually pee on eveyrthing? Increase in agression? A lot of the articles online do talk about the difficulties, but are they exagerations? (i.e. "the age of 3 is prime time for an intact male dog to be involved with a terrible tragedy, such as those dogs who have killed children. Obviously, not all intact male dogs are aggressive child-killers.") Seriously!!!

Thanks in advance! and I'm not looking for reasons why I should neuter or not breed - I'm fully aware of those! We're just trying to make informed decisions…I'm currenlty of the opinion that it might be too diffiuclt to have an intact male for 10+ years in exchange for the litter or two he might sire in his lifetime.

 

[jzgrlduff]

Ideally, this pup would have a good pedigree, good temperment, we'd obtain a few obedience titles, and obtain a MH (or GMH) prior to breeding, and have pretty strict criteria for which females we would breed to

Sounds like you're on the right track!!

Frankie was intact until about 2 years old and I didn't have any issues with him at all.

 

[justine]

Sorry no help here, but I'm sure that there will be some others that chime in.

Where are you located? I'm sure that the breeders on here could help you locate other responsible breeders.

 

[Snowco Labradors]

If you are talking Bench Lab a reputable breeder is going to want the dog in the confirmation ring to obtain a title, and all his health clearances (hips/elbows, eyes (Optigen, cerf), heart. Its not easy to get a show quality pup that you want to breed from a reputable breeder. And if you can, a reputable breeder will want a co-owner contract and will want a say in who you breed to.

Other than that you should not have a problem with an intact male if you are responsible. Peeing on everything is a training issue, nothing to do with being intact. A well bred Lab with proper temperament will not be aggressive if left intact.

(i.e. "the age of 3 is prime time for an intact male dog to be involved with a terrible tragedy, such as those dogs who have killed children")

That is not a well bred dog.

 

[Hurricane Raven]

We're quite active with our local retriever club so we know just about all of the breeders here in our province - some are great and we'd love to work with them and start looking at when they're planning their next litters. Some aren't so great, and we don't necessarily agree with what they do. There are a couple really nice stud dogs locally that we're following to see when they're siring a litter....and we'd like to develop another great stud dog! There aren't that many locally, so the ones that are local tend to get used A LOT!

 

[Snowco Labradors]

Thats great that you are involved in your club and know the breeders well. Good luck in your search.

 

[Hurricane Raven]

Snowco - we're primarily interested in obtaining field/hunt titles. No showing for us. We lucked out with our first lab - sire's pedigree is 100% field and dam's pedigree is 100% show (really good canadian lines) and we're finishing her MH this year. I'd love a pup from the same kind of lines - show and field. those are tough to find, I know. There is triple titled stud dog here, we watch him closely to see when he's siring another litter.

And those types of comments on the web about intact males - it's tough to know how much is reality and how much is exaggeration...it's why i come here! so thanks for the comments!

 

[Belles mom]

I have an intact four year old, and he is the sweetest dog I have ever met. No peeing issues, never runs away, very gentle and no problems when it comes to hunt tests. (He is the dog in my signature).

 

[brody]

often nuetered male dogs don't react well to intact dogs ...
I presume you knwo the long term health risks ( just in my mind as I have a shi coming in who needs emerg nueter as his prostrate is enlarged to the point he's having trouble pooping)

 

[millstonekennel]

I have a 5 yr intact male thats just fine. My 14 yr old male was neutered @ 10 yrs old he was a little hard headed about things but not bad. Training is a key for a happy intacted male.

 

[rubberballs]

I have a four year old intact male. Loves all people and female dogs, spade or not. HATES all male dogs, neutered or not.

 

[lubmylabs]

3 year old intact male here. No issues with him whatsoever, apart from he tends to get humped alot at the park. He never instigates anything, doesn't pee on everything, doesn't run away and certainly hasn't killed any children (although I almost wouldn't blame him, with the way my daughter climbs all over him).

 

[Thunders Mom]

Have a 6 yr old intact male and very gentle and does not pee in the house. Can be a little hard headed sometimes, but just being a lab.

 

[dweck]

Have a 6 yr old intact male and very gentle and does not pee in the house. Can be a little hard headed sometimes, but just being a lab.

FFWD to nine years old (almost -- bday is April 15), and this is us as well. He's only marked ONE thing in the house in his entire life. And I let it slide. It was the crib our youngest daughter was in. I took it as him saying to any/all outside threats: This is mine, and if you dare want to challenge me on it, bring it on!

 

[blackandyellow]

Homer is 20 months old and intact. I don´t plan on breeding him. He is a very sweet dog, has never peed inside the house (in the yard he does mark his spots), never gotten into any kind of trouble with other dogs (he´s very friendly towards males and females), doesn´t hump any dog or person. I separate him from Misha when she´s in heat, that´s it.

I guess it depends on the temperament of the dog. I know MANY neutered dogs that get into fights, mark territory, hump... It´s more temperament in my opinion.

 

[kaznalf]

Issues I had were constant marking outdoors, he seemed a target for other male dogs and not concerntrating on training as he rather be peeing up the nearest tree

 

[Scalli]

Bailey is nearly seven and still all there !! At least in the bits and pieces department-not sure about the brain dept

He is so affectionate and a joy to have around. He pees all the time when we are out but has never done so in the house since he was a pup.

I have noticed over the last few weeks though that he is obsessed with sniffing and it sometimes takes a bomb to move him along. Could he be a bit horny do you think?

 

[BuddyHsMom]

Buddy is 3 years old, still intact and will remain that way. We have no problems with him peeing in the house, but he does mark everything outside, no big deal for us. We don't live in town so he can pee all he wants He has never been exposed to a female in heat and there aren't any dogs nearby so we don't know how he would react in that situation. He plays just fine with other male dogs, though he does try to hump them. They eventually sort it out and go on playing...

 

[kaytris]

I waited till Tristan was 13 months old before snipping, and the biggest issue we had (and as I work as a dogwalker and am in the offleash areas every day, I have seen this happen again and again): male puppy hits around 9 months of age, the testosterone surges, and other dogs (neutered males especially, but not exclusively) start trying to kill him. Doesn't matter how submissive/friendly/social the puppy is, that testosterone is a trigger for many dogs... and the violent interactions can have significant impact on the puppy's temperament. I live in a large city and rely on off leash areas for exercising my dogs, so this was a huge issue for us - it may not be a concern for others.

The other issue we had was his complete lack of focus - he was incredibly easily distracted. Once we had the snip, within a few weeks, he was back to being focussed on me, instead of sniffing and peeing and peeing and sniffing and peeing and peeing....

 

[ObedienceLabs4Me]

I guess it depends on the temperament of the dog. I know MANY neutered dogs that get into fights, mark territory, hump... It´s more temperament in my opinion.

I agree! I have two intacted males without any issues. I have always said the marking is a house-breaking issue and the other is training, temperment. Now, with that said, just like with some people some dogs just don't like other dogs but I know the dogs my boy does not like and there has always been a reason--been attacked, harassing him in his crate/x-pen.