# What can I expect after neutering?



## HeyJude (Feb 2, 2011)

Harley is going to be a year old in a few days. He is showing his male parts, not something I want to see. When he gets neutered, will he stop showing that? He seems to have it out alot lately. Also, my DH and I were wondering, do they take all the testicle parts off? I know this is gross, but with my house being so small, we notice this stuff often. Thanks for your answers. I know it isn't good to neuter till they are close to 2 years, but I don't now if I can wait that long.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Sorry, males don't change their habits much after neutering.


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## amber83 (Nov 29, 2011)

Getting him neutered will not stop him from showing his stuff. They remove the testicles but he will have his scrotum it will just be smaller without the testicles. Is it your vet that said two years? You typically do want to wait longer with larger dogs so their bodies get adequate hormones needed for development but I hadn't heard of waiting that long.


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## Draugr (Jul 8, 2011)

Your dog in all likelihood doesn't care about his appearances, but you should probably put more thought into this big of a decision than "I don't like how it looks."

As for expectations, it's probably best to expect that nothing at all is going to change.


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

The ONLY thing neutering stops is his ability to make puppies. Nothing else. People who say it will stop things like marking, being territorial/aggressive, humping, running off, ect are full of crap. As for him showing off his red lipstick, he has no control over that and yes, it is apart of being a male dog and will happen regardless of his testicles being there or not. If you think that's gross, consider the cases where people have to manually clean their dogs peewinkles.  Ahh....The things we do for the love of our dogs. LOL! Welcome to the world of owning a male.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

HeyJude said:


> Harley is going to be a year old in a few days. He is showing his male parts, not something I want to see. When he gets neutered, will he stop showing that? He seems to have it out alot lately. Also, my DH and I were wondering, do they take all the testicle parts off? I know this is gross, but with my house being so small, we notice this stuff often.


If male parts disgust you, you probably shouldn't have gotten a male dog. 


They will take the testicles out of the sack, but the sack will remain. Over time it will become smaller. His penis will still peek out about as much as it does now.


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

PaddyD said:


> Sorry, males don't change their habits much after neutering.



Hahahaha! 

Balto was cryptorchid and I put off neutering until he was 11 months old. His constant humping of my female and visiting dogs was driving me crazy! 

Sadly, he does not show his stuff anymore. I liked seeing that because I knew he was happy. Now once a year, maybe, I see it.  But I know he's happy.

After neutering, no humping, still happy happy, but fat. Still quite the sniffer! He surfs the squirrel and rabbit tracks in the neighborhood.


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## HeyJude (Feb 2, 2011)

Being my first big male dog, didn't know about the lipstick showing thing until he matured. I wouldn't trade him for all the money in the world! I still would rather have that than a female in heat, nothing worse than a crabby female! For some reason I figured if you took a males testes away he would stop that, that is what I get for thinking! LOL He only does it when he is excited about playing ball or having a wrestling match with my hubby. Guess I will have to get used to it. Really no reason to have him altered, we don't have any other dogs and we live about a mile or from the nearest dog.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Neutering _will _stop him from running off "in search of a female", if your neighbor has one that's in heat.
If he just likes to roam (and it's unrelated to mating) then it might not stop that.


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## Rahrah (Oct 30, 2011)

If you're going to neuter him, why not wait until he's in his second year (after he's finished growing/filling out)?

Is that him in your avatar? if so, Gorgeous Boy!


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

msvette2u said:


> Neutering _will _stop him from running off "in search of a female", if your neighbor has one that's in heat.
> If he just likes to roam (and it's unrelated to mating) then it might not stop that.


I guess Jocko and Bandit failed to get the memo. Jocko is 11 years old and been neutered since he was 2. Bandit is about 8 and been neutered since he was under a year old. BOTH of them have a natural sex drive and will seek out females to mate. They have to be supervised just like an intact male because they have gotten out before in search of some ladies! Not to mention keeping them in a household WITH females. Actually, just last Christmas they were gangbanging Coco under the table with family sitting around. :blush: Bandit was tied to her and Jocko was trying to get in on it too. :crazy: I'm not convinced that neutering is the "cure all" that people make it out to be.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Mine still have "sex drive" but at the very least, if yours escape to "do the deed", they aren't contributing to pet overpopulation as they are fixed. 

Remember that there's pluses and negatives to every single thing you do. Neutering prior to 2yrs. isn't going to wreck this dog and if the OP is on board with it (sounded like they were), there's no reason to have pressure from this board make the decision.


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## jetscarbie (Feb 29, 2008)

My oldest male was neutered. My female (before she was spayed) went into heat and my neutered male still tried to mate with her. Actually it caused some penis issues when his lipstick wouldn't go back in and it swelled up (caused by hair wrapping around the lipstick and basically becoming a noose when it tries to go back in). He had to have surgery to get it back in.

Please, please keep the hair trimed down around your male's lipstick....neutered or not.


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

msvette2u said:


> Mine still have "sex drive" but at the very least, if yours escape to "do the deed", they aren't contributing to pet overpopulation as they are fixed.
> 
> Remember that there's pluses and negatives to every single thing you do. Neutering prior to 2yrs. isn't going to wreck this dog and if the OP is on board with it (sounded like they were), there's no reason to have pressure from this board make the decision.


Yes, but you said they WOULDN'T run off to do the deed. Which both of these dogs WILL do given the chance. My point was that lacking the ability to reproduce is the ONLY thing that neutering will always and forever stop. You can't get them snipped and expect anything else to change about the dog.

I don't think there is any pressure, just pointing out that neutering wont fix his problems since that seemed to be the main focus, there was nothing in the original post about "my dog might make babies so I'm going to neuter him now". It was simply "I don't like looking at the dogs penis, will neutering stop it from poking out?". TBH, and this is no offense to the OP, the way it came off in the post there was no real concern for the DOGS health. Just the OP being grossed out by something that is natural on a male dog.

Neither choice is one sided, both keeping them intact for whatever length of time or neutering at whatever point in life, comes with pros and cons. It's up to the person owning the dog to choose. I don't see why there is anything wrong with informing people of possible risk of spaying/neutering but people can throw out risk of keeping them intact all day long. Do you not stop to think "omg I'm putting my dog under risky anesthesia, ripping out something it was naturally born with that isn't causing him any problems and then sewing his body back up"? I mean people act like the process is the vet taking a magical wand and swooshing it over the dog and it's automatically unable to have babies and every behavioral problem the dog ever had will automatically be solved. I know the risk of anesthesia and things are pretty low these days but there is a still a risk. Not to mention removing chances of SOME cancers but increasing others, early S&N can cause certain bone growth issues in some dogs, it increases the risk of incontinence, increases the risk of thyroid problems, ect.

I have nothing against people who spay and neuter, I DO think it's a good thing for a good majority of the pet owners out there because of the pet over population problem. But for someone who CAN be responsible, it shouldn't be a blind decision. If you can't prevent your pets from bringing more animals into this world, then ignore everything studies say and just go fix your pets. RIGHT NOW!!! I don't care if they're 6 months or 5 years, go get them spayed and neutered. But if you can be sure your pets wont be bringing more babies into the world, consider each side of it. Doesn't mean never neuter no matter how responsible you are, just be educated about it.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

> I don't see why there is anything wrong with informing people of possible risk


Neither do I but nobody does that here  Everyone's all "wait until 2" and that's it.
There's no "pro and con" discussion, not really.

Read back through the thread. People join and are mandated to wait even if they don't want to, ridiculed (maybe a strong word but still) if they don't like to look at "boy parts" flying all over the place, and basically no other side of the "argument" is given.

For instance - females spayed prior to 1st heat will not (almost guaranteed) develop breast cancer. Some studies suggest you may have slightly increased bone cancer later, but it's either cancer of the breast, or bone. Pick your poison. 
There's good arguments for neutering young as much as there are to waiting, as well.


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

I will agree with you on this post not being the most helpful but there are post out there that explain more about the pros and cons of keeping them intact longer. I love those! I guess more as a general statement to the typical argument.

And I still feel that not wanting to look at the dogs testicles/penis or not wanting to deal with a heat is a bad reason to spay/neuter your pets. It's rather selfish IMO. Now if you want to keep the dog from any possible chance of reproducing or you feel strongly about the health benefits (and understand the risk that come with spaying/neutering) then go for it! Pick an age, just be educated about it. I don't think 2 years old is the "magical" number for all dogs, or even just large/giant breed dogs either. However, I am on the boat of preferring to keep my dogs intact for at least a couple years. If someone wants to spay/neuter at 6 months old then fine as long as it's an EDUCATED CHOICE. (or of course the cases where they're coming from a shelter/rescue you tend to not have a choice which I admit, is a good thing because they can't tell who will or wont be responsible) I've got Zoey who was kept intact until 10 and then I had Chance who was neutered at 6 months old. I have no doubt in my mind that Chance would have lived a long, happy and healthy life despite being neutered early. Just as Zoey has lived a long, happy and healthy life having been intact for the majority of it. (Her only issue now is a low thyroid which I DO feel has a bit to do with her being spayed since it just so happened to pop up after that but hey, at nearly 14 and being a non-life threatening and easy to treat condition I have NOTHING to complain about!) Eevee I've currently planned to spay around 5ish years old, give or take a year. Hers has a lot to do with her bones though. While not a large breed dog, my vet is on board with me holding off to see if it'll help even out her front legs some. If it does, great! If not, oh well! I'm still going to try though so that I can see if it does or not. Don't want to fix her, it never change and then be stuck wondering "well what if?".

Again, I just think people need to look at both sides. You're right, spaying and neutering at any age isn't the end of the world. But neither is keeping them intact! All depends on what you're comfortable with.

I also feel that vaccines, food, exercise, genetics, ect will play a much bigger overall role in health than if a dog is or isn't spayed/neutered regardless of age.


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

msvette2u said:


> Neither do I but nobody does that here  Everyone's all "wait until 2" and that's it.
> There's no "pro and con" discussion, not really.
> 
> Read back through the thread. People join and are mandated to wait even if they don't want to, ridiculed (maybe a strong word but still) if they don't like to look at "boy parts" flying all over the place, and basically no other side of the "argument" is given.
> ...


While I'd hate to have either happen, I'd pick the one that has the best chance of treatment. Bone cancer, osteosarcoma, is almost always a death sentence, you're lucky if the dog lives six months after it's diagnosed.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

It depends on the situation I am sure, and how early either is caught, but also the owner's finances. 
Either is bad, and if the owner can't afford surgeries, can be a death sentence.
The point was, everything has a risk, and everything, a benefit. You have to take your own personal situation into account when doing the weighing and measuring.


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## VonKromeHaus (Jun 17, 2009)

arycrest said:


> While I'd hate to have either happen, I'd pick the one that has the best chance of treatment. Bone cancer, osteosarcoma, is almost always a death sentence, you're lucky if the dog lives six months after it's diagnosed.


Removing the breasts/mammary glands of a dog is a lot easier than trying to catch Osteosarcoma early enough to have a limb amputated. I lost a dog to Osteosarcoma and I will NEVER EVER do anything that may UP the chances of a dog getting it. It is almost always a death sentence and a horrible one. 



msvette2u said:


> It depends on the situation I am sure, and how early either is caught, but also the owner's finances.
> Either is bad, and if the owner can't afford surgeries, can be a death sentence.
> The point was, everything has a risk, and everything, a benefit. You have to take your own personal situation into account when doing the weighing and measuring.


Either is bad for the dog...but Osteosarcoma is a much worse cancer than mammary/breast cancer. 

I am a firm believer in waiting to speuter a dog. After reading all the research and talking to my vet, I feel it is much more beneficial to wait to speuter than speuter early. 

That said, it is your decision. Do your research, talk to your vet and think it over. Ultimately it is your decision. 

BTW- Neutering my old dog had no affect on his drive to breed or be a roamer. It also had no affect on any behaviors either.


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## dogmama (Nov 17, 2006)

As an aside - you can get Neuticles that are fake fill-ins for testicles for your neutered dog. Doesn't sound like the OP is up for that, though.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

msvette2u said:


> ridiculed ... if they don't like to look at "boy parts" flying all over the place, and basically no other side of the "argument" is given.


Not ridiculing for wanting to neuter. Ridiculing for not wanting to look at boy parts when you own a boy dog. I'm all for the neuter.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Should people be pleased viewing them?? Seems an odd thing to me to think about??
I don't think anyone should be taken to task for that issue, since they didn't purchase the dog to have an extra set of testicles to have flung about in their faces, or most folks didn't, I'm sure!


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Seems an odd thing to think about. I agree with that.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Maybe their dog lays on his back a lot


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Lol. . . . did you really have to say "an extra set of testicles in their face"? 


Now I can't stop laughing. 
:rofl:


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Well, when they get older, pretty unavoidable as they hang low. 

I had not noticed how much a nice fluffy butt covers the whole business back there, and went out to meet this pitbull type mix on Friday who was not neutered and had flea dermatitis all over his back end.  To say that is not an image I would want in front of me while eating my dinner is an understatement! Poor dog. Cannot say that lack of flea dermatitis would make the winking and wobbling much better. 

ETA - wrote and posted this before all that up there :rofl:


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Oh dear. I don't mind the fluffy dogs but yeah the short coated ones - eeeek!
There's a reason all my smooth coat Doxies are altered LOL
When Tristan got fixed (he was paralyzed from the waist back) he had the loose skin/coin purse going on and it was just flopping in the breeze, so awful! I was so glad when it shrunk away...


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## katieliz (Mar 29, 2007)

since it sounds like there's no urgent need, i'd wait awhile. i'm biased tho since i had a dog who sustained an anoxic brain injury from general anesthetic when being neutered. i did neuter the cashman when he was 6 years old, after he developed some prostate issues, but let me tell you i was a nervous wreck and luckily the vet understood and let me stay with him throughout the procedure and after, because i just could not bring myself to drop him off and leave him (yeah, yeah, i kno). about the lipstick issue, nothin you can do bout that except ignore it.

btw, i did not expect the neuter to alter behavior at all, and it didn't.


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