kgerard Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 Hello, everyone - Lloyd is now 5 months old, and we're starting to get inquires as to his neutered status. This was initially precipitated by the dog day care that I take him to each week for a half day's socialization. (At six months, they require all males to be neutered). Lloyd is my first male Siberian. (I've owned two females in the past, which were of course spade before their first heat.) There are a variety of perspectives in terms of neutering. Lloyd is never overly-aggressive nor exhibits any dominant qualities around other dogs (at this point, anyway). He's actually quite thoughtful and very well behaved. Our own vet claims that the *need* for neutering is on a case-by-case basis, and is rather subjective. Some males require it due to behavior and temperament issues, while others are perfectly benign and well-adjusted with "parts intact." That said, I do not intend to breed him (despite his handsome physique and impeccable pedigree :-) ) Other vets say that it's only a matter of time that he'll develop wanderlust and become anxious / unhappy if he remains unneutered. 'Your collective thoughts? Cheers, - Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tan J P Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 Hello Keith i personally would neuter him,if you have no plans to breed him then there is no reason not to,at least then u'd have no worry of any cancers forming in that area. ultimately its your choice,but its something most vets advise too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgerard Posted February 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 Hello Keith i personally would neuter him,if you have no plans to breed him then there is no reason not to,at least then u'd have no worry of any cancers forming in that area. ultimately its your choice,but its something most vets advise too. Thanks. To what extent does neutering affect personality / temperament in everyone's collective experience? (I grew up with / have exclusively owned female canines my entire life.) Some claim that neutering too soon adversely influences social development / independence -- or neutering itself alters the "alpha" mentality and induces considerable submission when in the presence of other dogs. Others say there's no meaningful effect from neutering, with the exception of possibly inducing a calmer dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snssewell Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 I am with Tania, I would also get him neutered if you don't plan to breed him. Especially if you want to continue taking him to day care which IMO is a great way to socialize them and tire them out. I would also do it as soon as possible as some dogs may develop behaviors as they get older , but that depends on the dog as well. As far as the wanderlust I think he will develop that regardless of being neutered or not....he is a Husky . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snssewell Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 Thanks. To what extent does neutering affect personality / temperament in everyone's collective experience? (I grew up with / have exclusively owned female canines my entire life.) Some claim that neutering too soon adversely influences social development / independence -- or neutering itself alters the "alpha" mentality and induces considerable submission when in the presence of other dogs. Others say there's no meaningful effect from neutering, with the exception of possibly inducing a calmer dog. Can't really say what happens when they are neutered early, but I got Whisper neutered at 3 years old and he was still very dominant and to this day he is still marking when we go somewhere. I have been told that sometimes when they get neutered later on in life all those hormones have already developed. He is definitely calmer and all he wants to do is sleep and eat and sleep some more He is a lazy mutt. He also gain a lot of weight right after being neutered where my Shepard mix that I used to have was fine as far as weight and I had neutered him at 6 month old. I also don't recall my Shepard ever lifting his leg when he took a wee. He always peed like a girl! So from my experience if I got another male dog I would get him done asap, but others say to wait till they are about a year old. We had a few discussions about this on here lately and there are really a lot of different opinions and experiences, that is why I think it depends on the individual dog on how they will react. However, he will definitely benefit from it health wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutsibe Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 I also vote for neutering if you don't have any intent to show or breed him. I have always neutered my boys when I'm done showing/breeding them, and find that they are less anxious when there are females in season around, and additionally, they are less likely to be argumentative with others - especially when there are girls around that smell lovely! They also tend to focus their interest on me, more (more of an issue after the hormones set in) than on other dogs once neutered, in my experience. Where in the Chicago area are you? Are you aware of the local Siberian Club? (www.shcgc.com) They do a lot of fun things as a group like sledding, picnics, hikes and so on, as well as their annual dog show. Some very nice people in the club, and most are not into conformation showing (more obedience, agility, and sledding for fun)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgerard Posted February 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 I also vote for neutering if you don't have any intent to show or breed him. I have always neutered my boys when I'm done showing/breeding them, and find that they are less anxious when there are females in season around, and additionally, they are less likely to be argumentative with others - especially when there are girls around that smell lovely! They also tend to focus their interest on me, more (more of an issue after the hormones set in) than on other dogs once neutered, in my experience. Where in the Chicago area are you? Are you aware of the local Siberian Club? (www.shcgc.com) They do a lot of fun things as a group like sledding, picnics, hikes and so on, as well as their annual dog show. Some very nice people in the club, and most are not into conformation showing (more obedience, agility, and sledding for fun)... Many thanks for the shcgc.com referral! We'll definitely be involved. We live in Downtown Chicago. Lloyd is very much an "urban" Siberian. We live on the 48th floor of a corner high-rise unit in the center of the city. Lloyd is exceedingly cute - gazing out the window for 15 minutes (or more) at the industrial traffic and crowds of people below (photos attached). I'm fortunate enough to work from home these days, so we're constant companions. We walk and exercise daily. Raising a city-boy Siberian can indeed be done. ;-) He frequently surprisies our doorman (and my Visa check card) with spontaneous delivery orders from the pet store down the street. (Never grant a Siberian Husky a free feature phone and accessibility to Sprint's unlimited plan.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snssewell Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 Awww how cute is he and sooooo spoiled....Thats a great window there to lay and watch downtown Chicago!! He is one lucky Husky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgerard Posted February 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 He also gain a lot of weight right after being neutered where my Shepard mix that I used to have was fine as far as weight and I had neutered him at 6 month old. I also don't recall my Shepard ever lifting his leg when he took a wee. Yeah - I neglected to state that weight gain was among my concerns. Lloyd's Siberian breeder has stated that their neutered males tend to get overly paunchy after a while. Incidentally, at 5 months, Lloyd doesn't lift his leg (yet). 'Not sure he's figured that part out. At what age does a male Sibe typically inspire his "leg-lifts"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tan J P Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 Yeah - I neglected to state that weight gain was among my concerns. Lloyd's Siberian breeder has stated that their neutered males tend to get overly paunchy after a while. Incidentally, at 5 months, Lloyd doesn't lift his leg (yet). 'Not sure he's figured that part out. At what age does a male Sibe typically inspire his "leg-lifts I think as long as you watch their food intake and maybe reduce it a little and obviously plenty of exercise you shouldn't really have an issue with his weight,we've never had with any of our dogs. As for leg-lifting,Marley is 3 in june,sometimes he does and other times he pee's like a girl and sometimes he does it as he is walking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuskyCouture Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 i think you should just get him done. my embry was done at 6 months, he weighs 55lbs and is the perfect height for a male Siberian. He also had no personality change after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutsibe Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 Leg lifting varies at what age it starts - I've had one start and consistently lift his leg from not-quite 4 months on, and my six-month old has been doing it occasionally for about 2 months now. Others never seem to care, especially when neutered young and with no marking competition around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuskyCouture Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 embry didn't lift his leg until he was about 10 months old Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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