Question about getting a dog "fixed"...

[bensgirl1222]

We have an eight year old golden retriever. Recently we have been talking about getting him fixed (for a # of reasons) but wasn't sure, bc of his age, if it that was "Ok" to do. I have asked several people and have gotten mixed thoughts on this.

What do you think?

No we havent talked to a vet yet. We've just been discussing it and i wanted to see how you all feel about it.

TIA!

[jesvet]

Do it! The older a dog gets, particularly Goldens, the increased risk of cancer. You will eliminate the chance of testicular cancer. There is also a greatly reduced risk of prostate infections and prostatitis with neutering.

[katiadarling]

I'm so not a vet, but I don't see why it wouldn't be ok to go ahead and do it. As long as he doesn't have any medical issues that would make being anesthetized (sp) dangerous for him. I work at a humane society and we spay and neuter all dogs before they enter the adoption center regardless of age. I think most are "taken care of" if they are older, but I know a few have been altered at our clinic.

[bensgirl1222]

Thank you both for the reassurance. One of the main reasons is bc of the cancer. He is 8 and healthy so if we do it now, then we hopefully wont have any problems. When my boyfriend got him years ago, he didnt want to fix him bc he said, "If you were a guy you'd know why!" Guys and their "boys". Anyway, now that he getting older, we think it might be smarter.

Another reason is bc we moved back in February. There are 100times more dogs in this neighborhood than our old neighborhood. They are everywhere. So Casey will whine at the door ALL day and night until you take him out and then when you try to walk him, he DRAGS you everywhere bc all he wants to do is smell and pee on things! Not to mention he is the HORNIEST dog I know and tried to hump my 3 year old little sister!

We are thinking if we neuter him, it will not only reduce the risk of cancer but it might even calm him down a bit. Not sure if it will, but it might. He is a VERY hyper dog. Even at 8.

We are also going to take him to get his teeth cleaned bc it smells like something died in his mouth! It stinks SO bad. Like rotten fish or something. Totally off subject... lol

[Chile]

My OES was about eight when he was neutered (and it was after his testicular cancer was diagnosed). He came through the surgery fine.

He may still mark though since he's been doing it for 8 years of his life. But the chance of him not getting cancer is definitely worth it!

[katmg]

At this point he may still mark things and possibly even hump things even if you get him fixed. That's pretty engrained behavior at this point. IMO, it would be worth it just to eliminate the risk of cancer.

[Nigellas]

My husband got his cat spayed when she was 12.
:)

[greenbunny]

They will likely need to put him under to do his teeth, so if you schedule both at once, you save him one dose of anaesthesia. We did this with my cat, and it worked out great. She was a breeding cat, so she wasn't spayed until she was 7.

As far the "boys" issue, dogs aren't capable of taking pride in testicles. That's just a human projecting his own issues onto his pet. So that's really nothing to worry about.

[Sophia]

My dogs were all neutered when they were puppies, and they still occasionally try to hump things. It's not always sexual--sometimes it's a dominance thing. We have to keep on our toes around here because even though they're all small dogs, they all have tendancies to dominate and we have to keep them in the proper pecking order.