Should I neuter my 4 year old husky?

    • Puppy

    Should I neuter my 4 year old husky?

    From what I heard, neutered dogs are more healthy growing old, is this so?
    • Moderators
    • Gold Top Dog

    Depends on who you read or listen to.  Lots of variables, lots of opinions.  Breed, timing, social factors all enter in. My ESS is now  almost a year, and I may wait another year until I decide.  Europeans seem to have a lot fewer problems, and they don't lean to spay neuter as much as Americans.  Rescues all want spay and neuter, because they tend to live with the problems created by irresponsible  owners.  The health claims should be read carefully.  Some of the claims of decreasing health risks by 50% are based on a health problem with a very low rate to begin with.  If you do a google search, you will find experts reporting every way possible, and some claiming different results from the same data.    

    I want the dog to finish growing before I would mess up the body with invasive surgery, unless you are looking at some genetic problems or are unable to keep a female in heat under control.

    • Puppy

    Yes Neuter - It is best for the animal. It might cost you more in the long run as there is are breeds of dogs that when are not neutered, get to where they cannot poop. Cannot think of the name right now, but my Sheepdog got it. It was very costly to fix after the fact. Neutering is much easier... There is no reason to keep a dog intact if he isn't papered and not been used for breeding. There are a lot of Husky's in the pound - I know as I have one that was slated for death row...

    • Gold Top Dog

    We recently adopted a 6 year old Elk hound from a reputable breeder in the area. This breeder has been showing and breeding elk hounds since the 70s ,  has health problems and is getting out of dogs.  We toyed with the idea of leaving her intact and doing conformation with her in UKC just to have fun.  I do obedience and agility with my other dogs, now.  I'm thinking otherwise, though, because her behavior toward my spayed pointer is testy.  My pointer is the dog that my other dogs defer to.  My pointer usually invites a new dog to play after she has made it clear that the newbie needs to show respect.  She did this to the elk hound and the elk hound challenged her status, standing over her with teeth bared and growling.   My pointer is a non-aggressive assertive leader.  The Elk hound also seems to be flirting with my male neutered border collie mix.  He is leery at best and defensively hangs with my pointer . I also have a spayed English Setter who manages to stear clear of the drama.  I just have to make sure that everyone in the crew understands that I am the giver of everything good and will not tolerate bad behavior.  

    I worry, though, that when she goes into heat, she is going to be a handful with the other dogs and someone is libel to get hurt, so I'm pretty sure we will be going under the knife this coming month.  Oh, well. Maybe we can trial in Rally.