spay/neuter

utnairbutnairb
edited December 2008 in Shiba Inu (柴犬)
Hello all shiba owners,

I was wondering how old was your shiba when you had them spayed/neutered? I've been calling local animal hospitals to find out more information. So far, I've been hearing anywhere between 2 and 6 months. I am a tad bit concerned that Nobu is not fully developed to have the procedure done. Then again, I would like to have him neutered as soon as possible to stem any unwanted behavior (humping). I witnessed it last night and it was not pretty (somewhat funny, yet disturbing). Has your shiba exhibited the unwanted behavior after the procedure was done? Thanks in advanced from a concerned owner.
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Comments

  • tsukitsunetsukitsune
    edited December 2008
    humping isn't a sexual behavior for a dog, so it happens during play a lot in my dogs still, the females do it, the males do it... its a natural way for them to communicate. (eta: all of our dogs are altered [spay/neutered])

    we speuter our dogs at 6 months (or whenever after that age they come to us). i've never had any issues with development or behavior having the procedure done at 6 months.
  • xremiixremii
    edited November -1
    I spayed Pong at 6 months and she's fine. She actually began humping after that.. haha. I remember the look on her face when I brought her home.

    :death stare:

    'I can't sit on my butt -.-'
  • MommyofNikoMommyofNiko
    edited November -1
    Niko has always been a humper (she believes that she has to prove she is dominant).
    Niko was spayed at 6 months, I would not go any earlier.
  • ILuvMy2ShibasILuvMy2Shibas
    edited November -1
    My Niko was neutered when i got him, and after this weekend(he was one of 4 shiba inus at the house) he all of a sudden is humping things to show he is dominate.


    My vet has recomended 6 months for Guinness
  • sunyatasunyata
    edited November -1
    Bella was spayed around 6 months. Nola was spayed a few days before she turned six months.

    But trust me, it does not stop the humping. Bella actually did not start to hump until after she was spayed. It is pretty funny to watch (especially since she does it when she gets excited). Nola, thankfully, has not yet displayed that behaviour.
  • NekopanNekopan
    edited November -1
    6 months is the traditional age for spay/neuter, but research now is showing that there may be more benefits to doing it earlier. Younger dogs show a faster recovery time. Ask your vet what s/he is more comfortable with doing.

    Here's an article about early age spay/neuter. http://www.chai-online.org/en/companion/overpopulation_sn_early.htm
  • megan1983megan1983
    edited November -1
    Dante was just neuetered about a week ago at the age of 5 and a half months. He had the laser procedure done and it was much easier on him that I thought it would be. He was playing the night he came home. The stitches are starting to disolve now. I have not noticed any humping since, but he really wasnt one to do it much before...I'm sure that will all change since every day is different :)
  • tobyshibatobyshiba
    edited November -1
    I got Toby neutered at 4 months old, it was highly recommended to me, so we gave it a shot. Toby recovered super quickly, and hasn't had any issues so far. He does hump things, though. Its more of a dominance thing than a sexual thing.

    Actually, Toby was sniffing some Westie at the dog park the other day, and the owner said in the rudest tone 'Well, its a good thing my Westie is Spayed!' ... the nerve. >>;
  • miketmiket
    edited November -1
    The only issue I've heard with neutering too young is that testosterone not only aids in physical development, but also mental. Taking it away too young can stunt their emotional maturing process. But, there are a tonne of arguments/research/etc. for both sides (younger and older) so what ever you decide, just do some reading, talk to your vet and make sure you're both comfortable.

    If it helps, Remy was just neutered a month ago (he was 11 months). He isn't a humper, he doesn't mark really all that much (and not at all in the house) and he's not dominant, though he is definately NOT a wanna be leader kinda guy....definately more of a 'happy in the middle of the pack with the odd F-U' kinda guy....lol
  • CrimsonO2CrimsonO2
    edited November -1
    Here's the rub and weird thing about Southern California. All dogs older than 4 months and UTD with shots *should* be licensed. There's a $30 difference between an altered and intact dog. However, my vet won't spay/neuter unless the dog is 6 months or older. Go figure huh...

    Jesse
  • ShikokuSpiritShikokuSpirit
    edited November -1
    Really 4 months? I remember it being by 8 months of age. I guess it depends what Animal Control Service is covering your area -shrugs-.
  • okironokiron
    edited November -1
    Just looked it up, 4 months for OC county as well.
  • ShikokuSpiritShikokuSpirit
    edited November -1
    Oh, I guess they changed it then -goes to check-.
  • okironokiron
    edited November -1
    And I just realized I'm an idiot. OC county? LMAO I like repeating myself.
  • CrimsonO2CrimsonO2
    edited November -1
    Allow myself to introduce...myself... :)

    Jesse
  • lindsaytlindsayt
    edited November -1
    In Washington: $60 for unaltered license (I just paid for Ike's tags), and a juvenile license is good for 6 months. After that, you are required to license your dogs with proof of spay/neuter, although unless Animal Control finds you or your pets are turned in, it's really on the honor system for people to license their pets. Proof of rabies vax or waiver isn't even required to license either, you would think they would want that as well.
    Anyways, as far as mental development goes and hormones, I think by 6 months, the benefits of spaying outweigh the impact hormones play on canine brain development for most females (at 6 months, their brains have developed quite a bit already). There really is no evidence that allowing a bitch to have 1 season before spaying will mature her mentally in any great way (people swear up and down for both sides however.) The mental maturation people notice is simply from the dog getting older, spayed or unspayed. For male dogs, they can develop more "doggy" behaviors as they mature and the longer they get to practice them, the harder it is to correct. The earlier the better for neutering, 6 months is fine.
    2 months seems really early, shelters and AC over this way are spay/neutering as long as the animal is over 4 lbs and/or 8 weeks.
  • KFontaine04KFontaine04
    edited November -1
    My vet wont do it until 6 months of age for both males and females.
  • KenshiKenshi
    edited November -1
    Do male neutered dogs have the same kind of weight issues that male neutered cats do? I have noticed that most neutered toms I've met have been of the Sumo Cat body type. In fact I don't think I have ever met a svelte neutered tom. I've figured this has something to do with the balance of hormones influencing the amount of lean muscle that a growing cat puts on, as well as possibly appetite.
  • tsukitsunetsukitsune
    edited November -1
    Hanzo is 7 years old and neutered and is quite thin, Kitsune is 2 years old and neutered since 6months old and he's at a very healthy weight/height.
    Since shibas (and other nihon ken i assume) are active breeds, as long as you keep with their activities and appropriate food intake, they should keep their figure.
  • dlrobertsdlroberts
    edited November -1
    I believe its the case that both dogs and bitches tend to have a decrease in nutritional requirements 2-3 months after a speuter. In any case, it all comes down to matching the caloric intake to the particular dog's needs and activity level. Neutering may be a factor, but it is only one of many that you need to balance when determining what and how much to feed your dog.
  • lindsaytlindsayt
    edited November -1
    From what I see I would say the fat post-neuter cat theory is definately true. Inactive dogs just get fatter as they get older and without their testosterone to help them build up their muscle mass, it just tends to turn into pudge. It probably helps to have an active dog or busy working breed.
  • tobyshibatobyshiba
    edited November -1
    I know that neutered cats all get the kinda 'pouch' looking belly, but my tabby cat will be 2 years old this december, and he is no where near fat.
  • kwyldkwyld
    edited December 2008
    The only reason your dog would get fat is from overfeeding and not enough exercise, or if it developed a hypothyroid problem. I had a male cat that was neutered, a rescue, and he came to me literally at 25 to 30 pounds. Hugest cat I've ever seen outside of the Gunniess Book of World Records. I dropped that cat's weight by having him on a restricted calorie diet with scheduled feedings. By restricting the amount he ate, and not letting him gorge and free feed, he looked normal after a few years. I don't think there is any correlation with neutering a dog or cat and the animal ending up being overweight or obese because of it. Just adjust your pup's food intake and check his body condition score often to make sure he stays fit.

    http://www.purina.com/dogs/health/AdultBodyCondChart.pdf (I am in NO WAY promoting Purina but the BCS chart on their website helps, I'm sure you can find other ones out there that have more pics)
  • CaliaCalia
    edited November -1
    Got Tetsu fixed about 2 weeks ago at 3 days short of 6 months, don't like to do it any sooner due to possible health issue related to early fixin'. I think that it may also depend on the dog, if you can't feel both you should wait until you can.

    When I brought Tetsu home, it was torture trying to keep him from playing with Tikaani the first few days out of fear of popping a stitch. Tetsu had gotten more frustrated at the fact that he couldn't bite back, since the cone restricted him.
    Growing up, we've had a couple of cats, all of which my mother had made sure they were fixed. We still have three cats between me and the rest of my family, and none of them through out their lives have gotten fat. Even before the fixing, my sisters male had always had the "belly pouch" and he was pretty heavy at 15-17 lb, but that was more due to the fact that he's a pretty long cat. You can kind of compare him to the size of a medium Shiba Inu.
  • NekopanNekopan
    edited November -1
    Here's another link about early age spay/neuter... this particular link comes from a cat website, but it's easily applicable to dogs. http://www.messybeast.com/earlyneuter2.htm

    The Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association in 1997 studied 775 cats and 1213 dogs. Significant findings comparing neutering surgery on older and younger animals included:

    * decreased surgical time for younger animals
    * increased number of minor complications in older animals
    * infectious diseases were comparable
    * no difference in hypothermia (surgical time shorter for younger patients)
    * after 3 years, there was an increased incidence of urinary problems in animals neutered after 24 weeks of age (note: results on this differ in other studies)

    Information from various early neuter studies concluded:

    * growth is not stunted by early neutering, usually the opposite is true
    * urinary function was not affected; urethral pressure profiles showed no statistical difference; the diameter of the urethra in early vs. traditional sterilisations was the same.
    * secondary sex characteristics were affected (infantile genitalia in males and females), but did not cause health issues.
    * the immune system was not affected
  • CrimsonO2CrimsonO2
    edited December 2008
    I've got two weeks off of work starting on December 19th. Is it wrong of me to try to get Ichi neutered at 19 weeks? I figured that way I can be around all day for his post-op recovery.

    Jesse
  • okironokiron
    edited December 2008
    I don't see why not Jesse, he's still a puppy :P

    ETA: Wait..did you mean 19 weeks not months? In that case I would personally wait a little longer but I understand how scheduling might be hard later on. I had to spay my female cat earlier than I wanted to because of scheduling conflict.
  • CrimsonO2CrimsonO2
    edited November -1
    Yeah, as he plays with his chew toy I just went for a nut-check to see if it'd be possible. Ichi was not amused. :)

    Jesse
  • lindsaytlindsayt
    edited November -1
    I wouldn't expect that you would need to be home for a male neuter post-op for an entire 2 weeks. As a rule they recover way faster than spays as there is no abdominal incision. Occasionally if the nut sack is shaved, the little guys are driven mad by the itching and then give themselves a little hotspot and have to be sedated or wear a cone until the incision heals. The sutures should be buried but that will differ by practice. If your vet thinks 19 weeks is fine, go for it.
  • CrimsonO2CrimsonO2
    edited December 2008
    Well, we have Christmas through New Year's off. So it's not like all 2 weeks are devoted to his post op healing, it was just a good time for me to have him have it done:)

    UPDATE: I just talked to my vet's assistant and we got Ichi a 5-month birthday/Christmas present by attending the Vet's rendition of the Christmas classic, "Nutcracker Suite" on December 22nd.

    Thanks (as always) for all the helpful contributers to the info on this thread!
    Jesse
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