This is a spin-off of the thread of whether neutering decreases aggression.
Some seem to think it doesn't. I didn't notice any change in Shadow's aggression level from neutering. I did notice that he quit humping. He still likes girls but I haven't seen him try to mount.
I had Shadow neutered at 2.5 years. He was given to us at 1 year 2 months, intact. A friend with a female Lab wanted to have Shadow sire a litter. At the time, I didn't know much and was learning all the time. I wasn't concerned with pure breeding. I was concerned that all the puppies get a good home and I couldn't guarantee that with a litter of mongrels. In breeding terms, Shadow is a mutt, a mix of two purebreeds. A mix of any more than two purebreeds is a mongrel. So a mix of Shadow being Siberian Husky/Lab and a Lab, would be mongrels. Anyway, the more I understood about breeding and the ethics of it and most especially, the cost of birthing a litter and taking care of 4 to 6 new dogs with no more than a 50 percent chance of staying out of the shelter, I decided Shadow shouldn't breed at all. Hunters who wanted a Lab kind of dog might be displeased to find that their dog retrieves and heeds calls like a Siberian. I.E., only when it suits the dog. The litter would be never be show-worthy and couldn't be registered anywhere. And how would we sell the rest of the pups? At the Home Depot parking lot? For how much? People can go to the shelter and get a mixed breed (actually, any breed or size) for $44. That includes legal ownership, shots, and neuter/spay. People that work in shelters can tell you what happens with intact pets that people are supposed to contain.
We can't get people to quit buyng from pet stores, let alone properly manage their pets intact. It was said in the other thread that dogs get behavior problems from being neutered. I haven't seen that in my experience and I was not aware of any clinical study that defines that link. Though we could certainly review such here. Some say that neutering also causes ill health effects.
I'm a bad owner. I can't contain Shadow properly. Because DW and I work outside of the house, Shadow could be outside in the yard from 4 to 8 hours at a stretch and a couple of days if we go out of town. He has never jumped the 4 foot chain link fence. He is deathly afraid of kennels. Seriously, he will release his glands upon you if he thinks you are trying to put him in a kennel. So, he's happier and safer in the back yard. What if he did get out? Or a loose female got in? Well, there won't be any litter from that. Shadow will not sire a litter. He will not suffer from testicular cancer, prostatitis, prostate cancer, or a herniated perineum from enlarged prostate. I had him neutered when he was 2.5 years old. Because the hormone drive to procreate is not as strong, he is less likely to try and get out for the purposes of mating. That doesn't mean he may not try to get out but there is less of a reason in one direction to try and get out.
Fact of the matter is, a lot of people don't use proper training or containment or get harangued because they do contain. Just because not all people neuter or contain responsibly doesn't mean we should abandon neuter/spay as a practice.
I am not judging harshly or badly those here who keep intact pets. Nor am I trying to defend for my own purposes my reasons for neutering. In fact, at the time, DW thought it was a good idea, the vet thought it was a good idea, just about everyone here thought I was just so responsible. Now, I might have caused my dog behavior problems because of the drop in testosterone? I might expose him to other health risks because of neutering? This would be news to me. My vet never said anything like that and most vets and trainers I have read or talked to support neutering. And no, my vet doesn't support neutering to make money. It cost $60 dollars to neuter Shadow and that was just to cover costs. If Shadow had weighed over 60 lbs at the time, it would have skyrocketed to $65. So, I won't buy the notion that the vet supports neutering just to rack up aother vet bill. Nor does he get big kickbacks from selling Purina precription foods. His 10-year-old Dodge truck has a beat-up paint job as the least of its worries.
Testosterone does have an effect. Profound effects in humans, for sure. My friend, Tom, was found to have low levels of testosterone. His doctor put him on the patch a few years. His words, "it was like going through puberty again, but at the age of 45." Just about everything in the environment created a response, if you get my drift.
I had Shadow neutered to prevent unwanted litters because I am not perfect and one cannot always guarantee containment unless the dog is under 24/7 lockdown. What kind of life is that? I also thought it was good, in order to prevent other health issues. I didn't expect it to do much for aggression and I agree that it may not help aggression, at least as a talking point until we can see some peer review studies or literature. And I'm a guy. I'm not fond of the idea of cutting out testicles. Nor do I like surgery. But it's not about my feelings or likes or dislikes. It's about what I see, and other saw, as proper animal husbandry. On a ranch, they cut all the bulls except the breeding bull. You can't contain 2,000 lbs of Black Angus or Romagnolia or Limousin as easily as you might think. And it's easier to cut bulls than to spay cows. It is easier to neuter dogs than it is to spay bitches.
Anyway, I hope this thread allows everyone to express their views, regardless of who finds it agreeable, or not.