I posted about part of this in Sports and Work, but in short Ben's trainer yesterday advised me to look into having Ben trained as a gun dog. She thinks he has the right characteristics for it and I am all for giving Ben a "job". He's also approaching the age at which we could start doing this.
We are also approaching the age at which I can have Ben neutered, but I have heard/seen mention of NOT neutering a male at 6 months because it can affect his muscle mass. If I do wind up doing field trials with him, I want to allow his body to fully mature and him to have all the musculature strength that he can. I have no plans to breed him, so I wouldn't be keeping him intact for that reason, and I KNOW the risks and issues involved with keeping an intact male. I would neuter him as soon as I felt his body has fully matured. At the moment, I am trying to weigh the pros and cons.
So, is it true that neutering him early could affect his muscle mass, and am I right in thinking that would be a disadvantage if I am to train him as a gun dog?
I am very confused about all of this, lol. Keeping an intact dog will mean keeping a large, strong, intelligent boy away from any females in heat. I'd never be able to let him into the yard without total supervision, because I wouldn't want to doubt Ben's ability to jump a 6 foot fence if he wanted to. He's not big enough yet, but he will be. It could potentially mean marking in the house. It means the possibility of fights with other males. Neutering him too early though would possibly mean him not reaching his full potential - something I think is unfair if I choose to have him compete in field trials.
I'd really appreciate it if people who know about this stuff could weigh in. I am in totally uncharted territory for me. Part of what is confusing me is that I believe stongly in spaying/neutering unless there is a good reason not to - I just don't know if this is a good enough reason not to.
Kate