When is the right time to neuter?

We had Boomer neutered at 6 months.  Never heard of being told to wait until they lift their leg.  If that were the case we'd still be waiting as he still crouches and pees and he's now 1 yrs old.  We were told that 6 months is a good age as by that time their testicles have dropped.

Some dogs NEVER lift their legs.  Four of my five male shepherds don't lift.  Your pup is old enough to go ahead and nueter, and I'd suggest that you do before he decides that lifting his leg to MARK is a good idea.

My little Eli is 5 and 1/2 months old and is now hiking his leg and marking his territory.  I caught him yesterday "marking" a spot where my son's female dog had an accident while visiting here.  I don't want him to make a habit of this in the house.  He is mostly housebroken and until this "marking" had not gone in the house for over a month.  His testicles have not dropped and because he is a little dog (5 pounds) the vet wants to give him some time and doesn't want to neuter him until he's 9 - 12 months old.  How do I keep him from "marking" in the house until then?

I have neutered after full development (24 months), after show career ended 6 years,  and around 6 months.  I say do what you and your vet feel comfortable with.  If you plan on performance sports (very competitive) then I would wait until full development has occurred which can be two years on larger breeds.  Otherwise, you can easily do it now.
 
Try a belly band.  Think they may even have them for sale here.

Mrv is right on a show dog but a plain old pup can be done at any age t hat vet is comfortable with.. if the testicles are there they can be removed..I personally don;t think it has anything to do with maturity...it that were the case I could have just  written on the card the the pup was neutered without examining...

Thanks for all the replies. He's had his testicles a while now so I'm going to try and get him in this week if I can.  Will it affect his behaviour at all? My boyf said once his puppy had been done it was like living with a totally different dog, he was really calm and far more docile, if this a myth or quite common?
 
Many thanks
 
Maria

After 14 months, if you must at all, will be the newest recommendation following the recently released studies. Please read the very important link below. I know that this is contrary to what you have been told but you need to understand this very important change in our thinking. (And it is not just important for the athelete.)
 
[linkhttp://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html]http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html[/link]

I am also hesitant to neuter Eli.  But I was wondering if it is absolutely necessary if his testicles don't drop.  He is 5 1/2 months old and they haven't dropped.  He's only 5 pounds and will be a small dog.  He is always on a leash so he will not contribute to the excess population.  Should we have him neutered at 9 - 12 months to prevent cancer (if his testicles don't drop)?

A dog should be neutered before the age of 6 months.  I would have your pup neutered ASAP.

ORIGINAL: chritty

I am also hesitant to neuter Eli.  But I was wondering if it is absolutely necessary if his testicles don't drop.  He is 5 1/2 months old and they haven't dropped.  He's only 5 pounds and will be a small dog.  He is always on a leash so he will not contribute to the excess population.  Should we have him neutered at 9 - 12 months to prevent cancer (if his testicles don't drop)?

 
It is called Cryptorchidism when the testicles do not drop.  Dogs with retained testicles have a very high risk of cancer. 
 
I would have him neutered... the surgery is a little more invasive (as they have to go internally to find the undescended testicle), but it is not a difficult surgery.  I always recommend having a dog neutered before the age of 6 months... so I would do it as soon as you can.

My vet is the one recommending waiting until he is 9 - 12 months old because he said sometimes dogs that are small mature slower and that his testicles still may drop (thus avoiding invasive surgery).

I've always heard that if the testicles haven't dropped by 6 months, they probably never will.  Even the somewhat invasive surgery isn't bad.  If your vet says to wait until he is 9-12 months old, I won't argue.  I am just giving you some information.
 
To make you feel better, my Rylie weighed 2.5lbs at just under 6 months when she was spayed.  She did great []
 
 

If the testicles are not present in the scrotum, then they should definitely be removed as Jessie states. The question is "When?". It is true that retained testicles have a much higher rate of cancer. The vet literature says 4-5 times higher rate. The human literature says 45 times higher rate. BUT, this is not something that occurs early. I personally have never see a testicular tumor before age 8 years. So, doing the surgery after he is full grown should be fine as your vet recommends. And as you stated, his testicles will be much larger then and your vet will be better able to make sure they are not high in the flank before going into his abdomen after them.
 
On the routine age of neutering, I believe that we have been wrong to state that neutering should be done before 6 months...very wrong. More studies will be done in the near future that I'm sure will reverse this incorrect thinking. We should at least wait until the pet is full grown. It would require all of us to study ALL of the functions of testosterone, progesterone, and estrogens to fully understand this but let it suffice to say that these hormones have MANY more purposes than simply making babies.
 
Again, please read this- [linkhttp://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html]http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html[/link] .