castration

[Mary's Mama]

This is something I have been researching for a little while now. I want to neuter my new boy as soon as possible, so I wanted to research the positives and negatives of early spay/neuter. In my research I found two things (already mentioned)

1. Dogs neutered before 5 months will on average be taller, the decrease in hormones causes their growth plates to close slower. I seriously doubt leaving a dog intact will allow it to develop a larger head (JMO).
2. In males there is a possibility of urinary tract problems, while this mostly occurs in cats, there have been instances in dogs too. The odds are really quite small, smaller than the odds of complications during surgery.

I have decided to have my boy done at 4 months. I am doing this to avoid marking and humping issues. Also, I can get a great deal at our local spay/neuter clinic. I would highly recommend that everyone consider early spay/neuter an option. Shelters all across the country have been practicing early spay/neuters for a long while with very little negative effects.

Hamrhedd - I would ask your vet to show you research proving that leaving him intact will increase his head growth. There is nothing wrong with asking for factual information rather than taking someones word. My guess is he wont have anything he can put in your hands, it is simply his belief.

[RescuerAndVetTech]

What your vet said about waiting to neuter your akita is the biggest load of BS I've heard. No dedicated vet would ever say that, especially not to an owner of a breed with so many problems.(not a bash on Akitas, but they are usually more challenging than most breeds) As someone said earlier, the last thing you need is more problems. Neutering not only has health benefits , but also behavioral.
Typically dogs and cats are spayed/neutered at 6 months of age. You'll see shelters and rescues doing it at early age though, and I've yet to see any case where that was a problem.
A female should be spayed before her first heat. The older an animal is spayed or neutered the MORE complications you encounter during surgery. The recovery time is also typically faster when they're standard age for the procedure(6 months).

Also, I forgot to add in the whole aspect of Pyometra. If people saw the surgeries we've done on that, they would never even think twice about questioning whether or not to spay their pet. You'd be surprised how many owners out there are clueless about what hapepns when you don't spay and neuter.