Just curious - how will you keep him from servicing any receptive ladies in the neighborhood?

Over the years I've had many combinations of dogs, but the only ones which have fought were the male-male combo. Neutering sometimes reduces the tension, but not always.

Apart from that issue, neutering and spaying are very important to reduce health issues in dogs. In the early years, and I'm talking back 50 years, there was really no such thing as spaying or neutering and many of our dogs died from cancers related to those organs. We now believe that our dogs must be neutered, and at an early age if possible. It used to be thought that females should be allowed to come into heat at least once before spaying, but that's been disproved.

To answer your question, I believe that the dogs - male and female - should be neutered/spayed for their health. If it modifies aggressive behavior, and there's no guarantee, it's a bonus.

Many dogs do not need the shield on their necks; some seem disinterested in their stitches.

Helene

I'm glad he likes your GS. :)

I'd have him fixed.

If you don't want to lose him when he takes off after a female ready to be bred, or have him fight with other males over her, or be responsible for more puppies that might not get homes, or who will take homes from puppies born to less responsible dog owners' dogs, then have him neutered. It's the ethical thing to do if you care about overpopulation of pets.

We're not in a neighborhood, closest house is a half mile away with a male dog. I don't know if he's neutered or not but he never comes down here.

I do know that he can probably "smell" a female dog in heat from further away, and I don't want him to roam. So far he doesn't leave the acre except he did chase a deer in the field the other day, and came right to me when I whistled to him. I have a loud whistle. lol.

We're seriously thinking about neutering him once the weather cools off in Sept./Oct. I can't bear to see him in stitches in this heat, although we keep a cool spot for him outside and his groin would get dirty. It's the mom in me, what can I say?

But we are leaning towards neutering him. Just haven't really made up our minds a 100% yet.

There are other health benefits of neutering - it avoids the possibility of testicular cancer, and lowers the chances of other cancers.

Some people believe that it is healthier to wait until the dog is older than 6 months to neuter so now seems like a good time. It's a minor surgery for the males - do it now while it's on your mind. Don't wait.

Ditto to what everyone else has said. It's the responsible thing to do overall.

Well, as you've discovered, people often 'dump' their unwanted pets in the country, so you can't ever know when other dogs will show up or how far they will travel. Neutering guarantees that you won't accidentally contribute to the epidemic of unwanted, unadopted pets.

Your new dog is SO LUCKY to have ended up at your place!

This is a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned. Neuter him and you will have a happy dog.

My grandpug was not neutered until he was more than a year old (he's AKC and they were considering studding him). My other granddog was also more than a year old when I had him fixed. Both dogs are lover boys and are submissive/non aggressive, but the pug marks in my house when he comes over. The other dog never does.

I also have 2 neutered male dogs, one early on fixed, the other was older, and neither of them mark, but Max, my lab will mark if the pug does Never at any other time.

The male dogs never fight with one another, but I have seen Max and Zelda tussle on occasion, usually over a food item or a toy, but that is only when they're worked up. Zelda is much more assertive than any of the male dogs and she definitely exerts her alpha status when we have the whole pack together. It's not unusual for me to have 6-8 dogs together!

So what I'm getting at is neutering isn't a guarantee of no territorial marking, nor a means to stop fighting necessarily. A lot delends on the dogs personality, temperament and feeling of security. But you should ALWAYS spay & neuter as it does help with a host of problems.

Also, they're not as likely to do stitches now, usually it's done by laser & they recommend the pet relax for a day or two then they're just fine. No collars or rings needed.

A little over 20 years ago my vet recommended waiting to neuter a large breed dog until they were 12 months old. The theory then was that larger breeds develop at a slower rate and needed the extra time to achieve proper bone mass. We had rottweilers.

About 16 years ago he started recommending neutering all dogs, regardless of gender or breed around 5 months. He said the only reason NOT to neuter is if you are planning on breeding. Otherwise he says to neuter them - even if they are older.

I think you all sold me on neutering. Unfortunately our country vet probably doesn't do lazer, but I'll check.

Boone lays in the damp dirt behind our bushes next to the house, he stays cool to the touch, but his backside does get kind of muddy, that's why I'm afraid to put stitches in right now.

We brush him every day and discovered he has three layers of different kinds of hair! That dog loves to be brushed and petted. When we stand he sits up by our side. Always. Almost as if he's trained, but I think he's just so grateful to have someone to love and feed him.

Thanks for the kind words about him being here. I just lost my 15 year old cat, Raptor, and Boone shows up a month later. We are SO grateful that someone dumped him here! And he loves to kiss us. Perfect!

I can't wait to see if he becomes a "fireside dog" this winter!

See you all tomorrow night! Thanks so much for the good advice!

Neuter--sooner rather than later, and if need be, keep him inside/away from damp dirt patch 'til stitches heal.

And give him lots of GW hugs and kisses while he's recuperating! :-)

Neuter, please, do it as soon as he's ready. Animals tolerate the procedure best when they're younger. There's no reason to keep him intact. He'll be in a total fog the first day post procedure so you can keep him inside. We kept all our animals inside in a spare room for a week or so after the procedure to avoid having them run around too hard and possibly tear a stitch. Also, some vets are using glue to suture. You don't want that. I've heard of animals licking the glue sutures, maybe they itch or something, and the sutures open before the wound is healed. You don't want that! Good luck, glad you're leaning towards neutering him, it's best for everyone and is the responsible thing to do, considering how many animals are unwanted and homeless.

This will be a good time to make the indoor transition too. I hope he is already on frontline and heartguard.
I'm glad he has a great home!

Don't un-neutered dogs hump everything in sight? My neighbor's dog used to hump the leg of anyone who came to the door. I stopped visiting, constantly shaking that horndog off made me angry. Someone told me once that if a dog is neutered after he learns to hump he may continue to do it so you want to get that surgery done asap before he starts. And don't they also spray if you don't neuter them early enough? I'm not sure on that one. Both of my dogs came to me already neutered and neither humped anything in their lives nor have they sprayed. They were two males but did not fight once. And I got them years apart which was risky, the older one did not like the young one at all but did not attack. He simply ignored the other one because his temperment was an even keel. Neither had behavioral problems which I attribute that to many things, one being that they were neutered.

There's a bumper sticker that I really like, it says:
"Don't Litter, Spay/Neuter Your Critter"

I bet if you speak to your vet and explain the circumstances of this being a stray and you're taking him in, he may keep him longer gratis or at a reduced fee.

I wouldn't want him to get infected either, but really there isn't much stitching that I've seen and I've never had female dogs fixed. If he is laying in a dirt area to stay cool, would it be possible to put something down that he could lie on just till he heals? Or could he take shelter in your barn or garage while he recovers. Have to agree about the heat. At least here in the mid Atlantic it has been gawdawful hot.

Never had a problem with dogs fighting but like some other posters, it isn't unusual to have many dogs visiting at any one time so everyone who gets together knows each other (the dogs lol).

Flying- even female dogs will hump. It's primarily a dominance thing, not always a sexual thing. Max tries to hump Aurora on occasion, but mainly when they're playing and they're really worked up.

My grandpug and my grandchihuahua try to hump one another all the time. Usually on the head. We had a rabbit that always tried to hump our cat even after the rabbit was neutered.

As to spraying (marking, cats spray) it's also territorial and will occur with or without neutering. Even females will do it. Outside my dogs will go mark over a spot one after another. Even on walks, if they have no more pee left, they'll lift their leg and go thru the motions.

Neuter him as soon as possible.

Bumble, since we fell in love with him on Day Two after he showed up, we took him to the vet and he got his shots, Frontline, blood test for heart worms, then was allowed on the Heartworm meds, which also covers any other kind of worms.

When I got home tonight I could barely walk from taking care of two kiddies in diapers, lol. My dh and Boone were sitting on the porch waiting for me and when I got out of the car I over-emphasized that I could hardly walk. Boone saw me and cowered. My heart broke because I knew right then and there someone had abused him. We suspected it anyway, but I knew then.

I gave him a big ole hug and he kissed me right back. Yeah, I love doggie kisses on the mouth, what can I say? :)

Also impressive is I went to see DH's new compost bin he bought, Boone of course walked with us to the back part of the acre. Boone walked side by side with DH. When DH stopped, Boone would stop and stand right next to him and wouldn't budge until DH moved.

DH told me Boone did this all day today while he was working outside in the yard.

Makes me wonder, was he trained (a year old) or was it abuse and his excellent behavior is due to the love he has for us and vice versa?

Someone got rid of a great dog.

Cats and dogs have been neutered/spayed for way longer than 50 years. I have never had a pet that wasn't. It is possible that many people didn't have it done, but that wasn't true where I grew up. Unless the dogs were going to be bred, they were fixed.

From one the (few!?) Guys here....

PLEASE Neuter him ASAP!
Many great reasons above...all true.
For his overall health and sanity too!
I wouldn't consider NOT doing it....

Faron

Oak, Boone sounds a lot like my Max. He was a rescue dog and the organization I got him from didn't know much about him. He was in pretty poor shape when he came to me, his ears were infected and his nails were waaay too long. He was very timid and did submissive peeing when approached.

I loved him the second I saw him and knew he was going to be my boy. He acted exactly like Boone does...stuck to my side every where I went. I wondered if he'd been trained, but given his timidness, I think it was more that he'd been abused.

He used to be terrified of men in baseball caps, would only respond to women, but now he's been socialized so well, he loves everyone. He is still hesitant when he meets new men, but he warms up quickly. One day he was cowering and nearly peeing when he saw DH's belt hanging on the back of a chair. We determined he must have been beaten by a man who wore a baseball cap and hit him with a belt. He still cringes when he sees belts or halters. Not a leash tho, which is odd.

Max is a giant loverboy now, he thinks he's my lap dog and he's fiercely loyal to me. I suspect Boone will be the same way. I think that even when they have a rough start, they know when they're loved. We once fostered, then ended up owning a Rotty like that...she was so feared by her former owners, but it turned out she was a lamb, just needed some positive attention and kisses.