should he be neutered now?

    • Gold Top Dog

    should he be neutered now?

    The past week or two Shane has started doing this thing where he's all about Miya.  He starts licking her neck and ears, sniffing her around her neck and ears and just wanting to be by her all the time.  Usually they'll play around fighting, but they never would cuddle or anything like this. 
    And he's not fixed (she is)...could this have something to do with it?  There was some idiot who brought their female to the dog park last week while she was in heat (he didn't play with her or anything, they were on opposite sides of the fence). 
    I'm just not sure if it's a problem with him not being neutered or if he just loves her.  We've only had her about 2 1/2 months, so maybe he's just starting to warm up to her and let her be the dominate one in the family?  I'm just not sure if it's something I have to worry about.

    And we were planning on breeding him by the end of the year (the people we got him from want the puppies, and they'd keep one of them for us for when we get a house), but I'm seriously considering getting him neutered instead, or maybe right after.  What do you think?  Oh, and he's almost a year and a half old, and 9.5 lbs if that makes any difference in anything.
    Thanks.
    • Gold Top Dog
    What is the purpose of breeding him?  Is he titled?  Has he been tested?  Is he an outstanding individual of the breed?  Many things should be considered before thinking of studding him once or more then once.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Has he been tested for what?
    And what do you mean is he an outstanding individual of the breed? 
    • Gold Top Dog
    ShaneandMiya, it's a hard concept to understand when you first hear about heath screaning and proving you dog to be worthy to breed but it is a big factor in wearther or not to breed a dog.  Health testing involve taking him to a vet to get get him tested for Hip Displaysia and other dissorders that you do not want to pass on that are common in the breed.  Get his tested for STD and the such so you don't harm any other dog while breeding.  Then you want to make shure you don't wan to pass on behavoral issues so you need to prove that your dog can live up to it's standards so you know your producing a higher quility dog each time you breed.
     
    Being a small dog you need to know a little about welping wich in small dogs is very important.  Choosing a mate is important, you don't want to breed a large stud to a small bitch.
     
    My dog has sever HD because someone simply breed their dog without any health screening and now I've paid a large amount to correct a mistake from a breeder who was not responsable.  HD is the largest birth defect in dogs so at the very lest do health testing for that, it just involves simple x-ray to make shure his hips are built correctly.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Ok well thanks for all that info, but i'm not the one who will be breeding him, the people we got him from want to use him and will be taking care of everything, and they already have a bitch picked out, yadayadayada.
    Anyways, what about the quesiton that I asked about? 
    • Gold Top Dog
    Breeding should only be for dogs with great conformations, outstanding disposions, etc to better the breed.  There are too many BYB and dogs that have health problems because they do not test the dogs before breeding and then there is inbreeding and just plain breeding for the wrong reasons.  I say nueter him, that may fix your problem.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I know some breeder will only sell you a dog if you sign a contract that they may use him as a stud.  It's actuly quite common that breeders do this.  There are also thoes who have a contract signed that you must nuter the dog.  I'm not shure what agreement you made with your breeder but looks like with this case it may just be best to do what the breeder is asking for.  If your dog is not the stud then they will just find a differnt stud for their bitch that they have in mind.

    I think mostly just ask about what type of health screeing they do.  You do not want your dog to get an STD from whatever dog they have so at the very least ask if they test for something like that.  I've never breed a dog myself so hopefuly some breeders will come alonge to help you more than I can but just ask as many questions you think are important.
     
    IMO I say if you didn't sign a contract and he is only pet quality then nuter him.  Pet quality dogs are still wonderful pets but should never be breed, to much risk of passing on bad trates that we don't need to see in the dog world.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Ok, forget that I said we were going to breed him...that has nothing to do with what I want to know.
     
    The way he's acting with miya, does it seem to be because he's not neutered, or is it just behavioral/being sweet?
    • Gold Top Dog
    How old is Mia?  IF she is around 6 mo. then it could be possable she is going into heat herself and you need to keep the two seperated.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Miya is almost 6 months, but she's already spayed so that's not it.
    • Gold Top Dog
    What's the purpose of keeping Shane intact?  Unneutered dogs tend to mark and can be more agressive and proctective then those not.  The healthiest thing would be to get him fixed.  His affection towards her could turn to agression being unneutered.
    • Gold Top Dog
    he's not at all aggressive, he's the sweetest dog, and we haven't had any problems with him marking his territory, it just takes a little bit more time to take him out because he has to pee on every tree, but it's not an issue.
     
    we were going to wait a while to get him neutered so we can get some other bills paid off first, although if it was the type of thing that he HAD to get done RIGHT NOW, of course we'd pay for that first.  it just hasn't been a priority with us because we don't let him around females in heat, so he's not going to knock up another dog or anything, and he hasn't shown any aggression or anything like that.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Well, I've decided I'm going to call around this week and see how much it will cost to get him fixed, and get it done soon. 
    • Bronze
    what are the benefits of a neutered dog 
    • Gold Top Dog
    One big benefit is that your dog is less likely to take off to woo a lovely female in heat that he smells a mile away (and subsiquently get lost, hit by a car or snatched for dog fighting bait).  I'm assuming that he is a chi.  The reason you should not breed him if he and the breeder's female is not an excellent example of the breed (reinforced by conformation points and titles, etc.) is that the puppies will inherit the less than than good traits from the parents.  When breeds become popular (like the Chi right now),everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon and breed even the really poor chis. That is how you end up with tons of  mean pits, german shepherds with degenerative hip displasia, aussies with eye problems, piddling and nipping cockers, nasty nervous min. poodles - you get the picture.  These dogs glut the market and ruin the breed. 

    In other words, neuter your dog unless he has an amazing pedigree that is proven.  Also, since the female is coming from his breeder, is she related?  Does his breeder know what the hell she's doing?....and yes, your dog could get a sexually transmitted disease from the bitch across town if he gets loose ([linkBrucellosis[/link]>http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geuoBhOhlFmy8Br3FXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE3Mmk2OGVqBGNvbG8DZQRsA1dTMQRwb3MDMQRzZWMDc3IEdnRpZANZUzExMl85Nw--/SIG=12gon5m1o/EXP=1159367649/**http%3a//www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/brucellosis_g.htm]Brucellosis[/link] -look it up.  It can be fatal).

    As long as he isn't humping your female, his behavior is probably just social interaction.  As long is it doesn't turn violent, I would let them interact.