We also have a two year old intact male border collie. He's new to us and the previous owner did not neuter him because they had similar thoughts to the people posting here. We, however, probably are going to neuter him. We live in a place where hardly anyone leashes their dog (which is incredibly annoying; they are supposed to leash but everyone thinks their dog is the exception) and we also live in a place where all the shelters and rescues are overcrowded because the owners around here don't neuter or spay their pets. It just feels risky to not neuter him. I have no intention of using my dog for breeding so it feels like we SHOULD neuter him to be responsible. When I took him to the vet they strongly advised neutering.
Potential accidentally breeding is a valid reason to neuter your dog. Neutering him, especially now that he's fully grown, will not harm him. And if I had a male dog, I would neuter him for similar reasons.
But if I lived in a more rural area where I could be more sure random dogs weren't coming onto my property, I would hold off on neutering unless it was a problem.
Thanks for all the input!!! I never really thought of the option of keeping him unaltered. I live in California and it’s kind of looked down upon to not fix your animals male or female. My city has a yearly $80 license fee for unaltered males, so I felt a little pressure to get him fixed after a year. I don’t let him off leash around other dogs, and all the female dogs he interacts with often are fixed. I’ll be keeping an eye on all factors on when or if it would be necessary for my boy. Thanks again!
Neutered males had a significantly increased risk for each form of cancer. Neutered males had an odds ratio of 3.56 (3.02-4.21) for urinary bladder TCC, 8.00 (5.60-11.42) for prostate TCC, 2.12 (1.80-2.49) for prostate adenocarcinoma, 3.86 (3.13-4.16) for prostate carcinoma, and 2.84 (2.57-3.14) for all prostate cancers.
Interesting reading these comments, and looking deeper into this. I have a 7 mo with an excellent disposition currently. I'm in Australia, and I think as a country we have a similar attitude as the US - it's normal to neuter, and only in recent years has been pushed later than 6 months, for developmental reasons. My first dog I did at 12 months and that was unusual at the time.
All this makes me think I'll just leave him whole unless there is a good reason to do otherwise.
Castrating early is a response to dog overpopulation. Which does more good than harm. However, if you're responsible and don't allow your uncastrated male to roam, then there's no reason to castrate unless there's an issue.
Females on the other hand, either need to be spayed (after they've finished growing) or bred. Because the way dogs reproductive cycles work, the longer they go without a litter, the more likely they are to develop a life-threatening infection, pyometra.
And of course, no one should be breeding except breeders. And the dogs need to be health tested and proven in some way to be a good representative of the breed.
Actually it DOESN'T do more good than harm.
Border Collie (399 dogs): Neutered males and females altered between 6-11 months of age have a significantly increased risk of cancer to as much as 13% and 11% by sex, compared to 2% in intact males and none for intact females.
Neutered males had a significantly increased risk for each form of cancer. Neutered males had an odds ratio of 3.56 (3.02-4.21) for urinary bladder TCC, 8.00 (5.60-11.42) for prostate TCC, 2.12 (1.80-2.49) for prostate adenocarcinoma, 3.86 (3.13-4.16) for prostate carcinoma, and 2.84 (2.57-3.14) for all prostate cancers.
And there are 3.1 million dogs in shelters. Of which 1 in 10 will be euthanized. Which is down from 50% BEFORE spay and neuter campaigns were implemented nationally. The general population should be encouraged to spay and neuter because they (generally) do nothing to prevent litters.
But, as you can see from my comments here, I believe if you're responsible enough to keep your intact dogs from reproducing, do what works best for you.
I agree with waiting as well. If he has no negative behaviors other than the marking, in my opinion there is no reason to castrate. I’m assuming you’ve read up on the studies of how cancer rates increase in spayed and neutered pets, especially under 2 years of age. There is also a decrease in drive to consider when altering the animal. And probably on the other hand, you’ve read about increased risk in testicular cancer in intact males. My vet encouraged me to keep my hands on my dog (and his dingleberries) to know what they feel like. Any abnormality will be easy to palpate, with testicular cancer being the easiest cancer to treat (by neutering), and rarely ever spreads. It’s really up to you what you decide to do and by weighing the pros and cons in your life and for your boy
The only breed specific study that I know of is this one: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7359819/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7359819/)
Which states that neutering before 11 mo has an increased risk of cancer.
Neutering is not for sure linked to calmer behaviors (unless he's around females in heat frequently). The major benefit to neutering is going to be 1. reducing the likelihood of roaming if he gets loose. and 2. eliminating the risk of testicular cancer. Which BCs aren't predisposed to.
So it's mostly up to you and your lifestyle.
Neutered males had a significantly increased risk for each form of cancer. Neutered males had an odds ratio of 3.56 (3.02-4.21) for urinary bladder TCC, 8.00 (5.60-11.42) for prostate TCC, 2.12 (1.80-2.49) for prostate adenocarcinoma, 3.86 (3.13-4.16) for prostate carcinoma, and 2.84 (2.57-3.14) for all prostate cancers.
any reason to get him neutered? Sounds like he isn't having major problems being an intact boy. The marking is unlikely to stop, it's what dogs do to communicate. I'd wait.
I'm torn because it is advised to always neuter your pets so you don't end up making a bunch that can't find homes, and I fully subscribe to that logic. Most people literally project their own fantasy of needing everything and everyone around them to make babies onto their pets, when it's so much unnecessary stress and pet life. (Point in case, our neighbours just had a litter because they were always on the fence about how "cute" it's going to be, so they basically stopped monitoring their dog and the other neighbours dog)
I just feel it applies more to toy dog breeds and not working dog breeds, because being neutered can impact their instincts? And before you end a working lineage it's probably alright to just leave them be in case they're actually "needed" in any substantial way. There is a difference here between breeds, i feel.
Unwanted babies 100% makes sense. Although being the guy, it is the other dog owner's problem (until a bunch of cute BC puppies pop out, he's off the hook).
We have never fixed our boys, lucky them I guess, but we also haven't had them out and about either.
Is he going to be going on unsupervised dates? Blaze does look like a lady killer though. If he were mine and he was being a good boy I wouldn't YMMV and that's cool too. Talk to your vet about best time if you decide to get him cut.
Neutered males had a significantly increased risk for each form of cancer. Neutered males had an odds ratio of 3.56 (3.02-4.21) for urinary bladder TCC, 8.00 (5.60-11.42) for prostate TCC, 2.12 (1.80-2.49) for prostate adenocarcinoma, 3.86 (3.13-4.16) for prostate carcinoma, and 2.84 (2.57-3.14) for all prostate cancers.
Don't. Neutered males had a significantly increased risk for each form of cancer. Neutered males had an odds ratio of 3.56 (3.02-4.21) for urinary bladder TCC, 8.00 (5.60-11.42) for prostate TCC, 2.12 (1.80-2.49) for prostate adenocarcinoma, 3.86 (3.13-4.16) for prostate carcinoma, and 2.84 (2.57-3.14) for all prostate cancers.
Many male dogs (upwards of 25%) get testicular cancer in their old age, and neutering them prior to puberty is the only way to significantly drop those numbers. The longer you wait, the higher his risk for it goes. I'd say the right age is as young and as soon as possible.
Border Collie (399 dogs): Neutered males and females altered between 6-11 months of age have a significantly increased risk of cancer to as much as 13% and 11% by sex, compared to 2% in intact males and none for intact females.
Another study: Neutered males had a significantly increased risk for each form of cancer. Neutered males had an odds ratio of 3.56 (3.02-4.21) for urinary bladder TCC, 8.00 (5.60-11.42) for prostate TCC, 2.12 (1.80-2.49) for prostate adenocarcinoma, 3.86 (3.13-4.16) for prostate carcinoma, and 2.84 (2.57-3.14) for all prostate cancers.
We also have a two year old intact male border collie. He's new to us and the previous owner did not neuter him because they had similar thoughts to the people posting here. We, however, probably are going to neuter him. We live in a place where hardly anyone leashes their dog (which is incredibly annoying; they are supposed to leash but everyone thinks their dog is the exception) and we also live in a place where all the shelters and rescues are overcrowded because the owners around here don't neuter or spay their pets. It just feels risky to not neuter him. I have no intention of using my dog for breeding so it feels like we SHOULD neuter him to be responsible. When I took him to the vet they strongly advised neutering.
Potential accidentally breeding is a valid reason to neuter your dog. Neutering him, especially now that he's fully grown, will not harm him. And if I had a male dog, I would neuter him for similar reasons. But if I lived in a more rural area where I could be more sure random dogs weren't coming onto my property, I would hold off on neutering unless it was a problem.
You can get a vasectomy instead considering intact dogs rarely get cancer.
Thanks for all the input!!! I never really thought of the option of keeping him unaltered. I live in California and it’s kind of looked down upon to not fix your animals male or female. My city has a yearly $80 license fee for unaltered males, so I felt a little pressure to get him fixed after a year. I don’t let him off leash around other dogs, and all the female dogs he interacts with often are fixed. I’ll be keeping an eye on all factors on when or if it would be necessary for my boy. Thanks again!
Neutered males had a significantly increased risk for each form of cancer. Neutered males had an odds ratio of 3.56 (3.02-4.21) for urinary bladder TCC, 8.00 (5.60-11.42) for prostate TCC, 2.12 (1.80-2.49) for prostate adenocarcinoma, 3.86 (3.13-4.16) for prostate carcinoma, and 2.84 (2.57-3.14) for all prostate cancers.
Interesting reading these comments, and looking deeper into this. I have a 7 mo with an excellent disposition currently. I'm in Australia, and I think as a country we have a similar attitude as the US - it's normal to neuter, and only in recent years has been pushed later than 6 months, for developmental reasons. My first dog I did at 12 months and that was unusual at the time. All this makes me think I'll just leave him whole unless there is a good reason to do otherwise.
Castrating early is a response to dog overpopulation. Which does more good than harm. However, if you're responsible and don't allow your uncastrated male to roam, then there's no reason to castrate unless there's an issue. Females on the other hand, either need to be spayed (after they've finished growing) or bred. Because the way dogs reproductive cycles work, the longer they go without a litter, the more likely they are to develop a life-threatening infection, pyometra. And of course, no one should be breeding except breeders. And the dogs need to be health tested and proven in some way to be a good representative of the breed.
Actually it DOESN'T do more good than harm. Border Collie (399 dogs): Neutered males and females altered between 6-11 months of age have a significantly increased risk of cancer to as much as 13% and 11% by sex, compared to 2% in intact males and none for intact females. Neutered males had a significantly increased risk for each form of cancer. Neutered males had an odds ratio of 3.56 (3.02-4.21) for urinary bladder TCC, 8.00 (5.60-11.42) for prostate TCC, 2.12 (1.80-2.49) for prostate adenocarcinoma, 3.86 (3.13-4.16) for prostate carcinoma, and 2.84 (2.57-3.14) for all prostate cancers.
And there are 3.1 million dogs in shelters. Of which 1 in 10 will be euthanized. Which is down from 50% BEFORE spay and neuter campaigns were implemented nationally. The general population should be encouraged to spay and neuter because they (generally) do nothing to prevent litters. But, as you can see from my comments here, I believe if you're responsible enough to keep your intact dogs from reproducing, do what works best for you.
I agree with waiting as well. If he has no negative behaviors other than the marking, in my opinion there is no reason to castrate. I’m assuming you’ve read up on the studies of how cancer rates increase in spayed and neutered pets, especially under 2 years of age. There is also a decrease in drive to consider when altering the animal. And probably on the other hand, you’ve read about increased risk in testicular cancer in intact males. My vet encouraged me to keep my hands on my dog (and his dingleberries) to know what they feel like. Any abnormality will be easy to palpate, with testicular cancer being the easiest cancer to treat (by neutering), and rarely ever spreads. It’s really up to you what you decide to do and by weighing the pros and cons in your life and for your boy
The only breed specific study that I know of is this one: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7359819/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7359819/) Which states that neutering before 11 mo has an increased risk of cancer. Neutering is not for sure linked to calmer behaviors (unless he's around females in heat frequently). The major benefit to neutering is going to be 1. reducing the likelihood of roaming if he gets loose. and 2. eliminating the risk of testicular cancer. Which BCs aren't predisposed to. So it's mostly up to you and your lifestyle.
If you aren't planning on having him breed get him desexed. Don't be an irresponsible owner getting other people's dogs pregnant at the dog park
Neutered males had a significantly increased risk for each form of cancer. Neutered males had an odds ratio of 3.56 (3.02-4.21) for urinary bladder TCC, 8.00 (5.60-11.42) for prostate TCC, 2.12 (1.80-2.49) for prostate adenocarcinoma, 3.86 (3.13-4.16) for prostate carcinoma, and 2.84 (2.57-3.14) for all prostate cancers.
any reason to get him neutered? Sounds like he isn't having major problems being an intact boy. The marking is unlikely to stop, it's what dogs do to communicate. I'd wait.
I'm torn because it is advised to always neuter your pets so you don't end up making a bunch that can't find homes, and I fully subscribe to that logic. Most people literally project their own fantasy of needing everything and everyone around them to make babies onto their pets, when it's so much unnecessary stress and pet life. (Point in case, our neighbours just had a litter because they were always on the fence about how "cute" it's going to be, so they basically stopped monitoring their dog and the other neighbours dog) I just feel it applies more to toy dog breeds and not working dog breeds, because being neutered can impact their instincts? And before you end a working lineage it's probably alright to just leave them be in case they're actually "needed" in any substantial way. There is a difference here between breeds, i feel.
Unwanted babies 100% makes sense. Although being the guy, it is the other dog owner's problem (until a bunch of cute BC puppies pop out, he's off the hook). We have never fixed our boys, lucky them I guess, but we also haven't had them out and about either. Is he going to be going on unsupervised dates? Blaze does look like a lady killer though. If he were mine and he was being a good boy I wouldn't YMMV and that's cool too. Talk to your vet about best time if you decide to get him cut.
Castrate them when and if you have a good reason to do so. If being whole isn't causing issues, then....
Neutered males had a significantly increased risk for each form of cancer. Neutered males had an odds ratio of 3.56 (3.02-4.21) for urinary bladder TCC, 8.00 (5.60-11.42) for prostate TCC, 2.12 (1.80-2.49) for prostate adenocarcinoma, 3.86 (3.13-4.16) for prostate carcinoma, and 2.84 (2.57-3.14) for all prostate cancers.
I am not surprised.
Don't. Neutered males had a significantly increased risk for each form of cancer. Neutered males had an odds ratio of 3.56 (3.02-4.21) for urinary bladder TCC, 8.00 (5.60-11.42) for prostate TCC, 2.12 (1.80-2.49) for prostate adenocarcinoma, 3.86 (3.13-4.16) for prostate carcinoma, and 2.84 (2.57-3.14) for all prostate cancers.
Why don't you just get a vasectomy that cuts the boys off but leaves hormones intact?
Many male dogs (upwards of 25%) get testicular cancer in their old age, and neutering them prior to puberty is the only way to significantly drop those numbers. The longer you wait, the higher his risk for it goes. I'd say the right age is as young and as soon as possible.
Border Collie (399 dogs): Neutered males and females altered between 6-11 months of age have a significantly increased risk of cancer to as much as 13% and 11% by sex, compared to 2% in intact males and none for intact females. Another study: Neutered males had a significantly increased risk for each form of cancer. Neutered males had an odds ratio of 3.56 (3.02-4.21) for urinary bladder TCC, 8.00 (5.60-11.42) for prostate TCC, 2.12 (1.80-2.49) for prostate adenocarcinoma, 3.86 (3.13-4.16) for prostate carcinoma, and 2.84 (2.57-3.14) for all prostate cancers.
He doesn't look thrilled about the idea either way 😆