Does neutering your male puppy affect how big in size (muscular and skeletal) that he will get as an adult.?

Question

I'm going to neuter my male puppy, and I'm concerned he'll be fragile and weak. He is of a breed that is known to be strong and muscular and I hope he turns out this way, but I'm afraid the lack of testosterone production will cause him to be smaller than originally intended, does anyone have some insight on this?

I'm being forced to neuter him by the local humane society. He broke his leg a few days ago, and because of the financial hardships I've had in my life the last few months, I did not have the 2500 dollars to cover the surgery. The human society agreed to front some of the cost, one one condition. I was required to consent to a neuter. I did not want to originally neuter him, I don't believe in the practice, but in order for his leg to be fixed, I had to. I'm very distraught about it, and was hoping someone could give me a straight forward, to the point answer.

Answer 1

No it won't.

Answer 2

Yes and no. It will affect his growth but generally not enough to be worth putting off neutering. Most of what determines how large and muscular is genetics, proper nutrition, and proper exercise. Dogs that are neutered early do tend to be more effeminate than dogs neutered later in life. This means they are more likely to be slender and may take longer to put on muscle mass with proper conditioning. However, neutering a puppy will NOT make them fragile or weak! My puppy was neutered at 13 weeks and has grown to be quite large (everyone who meets him tells me "he's a BIG dog!") and while he is skinny and lanky that has more to do with the fact that he's a 1 1/2 year old adolescent GSD than him being neutered.

If your dog's parents were strong and muscular and you are providing your puppy with the proper nutrition and exercise to build up his muscles slowly then he should still grow up to be a strong, muscular dog even if you get him neutered at the generally recommended 6-8 months. Waiting longer will expose him to more testosterone, but along with the growth that comes with testosterone is the potential for aggression and other testosterone-related behavioral problems. While neutering at any age will improve testosterone-related behavioral issues it is easier to prevent them in the first place than to try to correct them once the dog has had several months to practice them. You should talk to your vet about the pros and cons of waiting to neuter vs doing it at the generally recommended age and weigh your options carefully before deciding to wait on the neuter.

Answer 3

I know it will not make a difference, at least with my dogs it didn't. Trust your vet as to when the correct time is.
I have a male Beagle. His parents were the right size, around 14" and 25 lbs. Well, Snoopy is 20" and about 40 lbs, not fat. So if anything it made him big.
I have a female APBT that was neutered before her first heat as suggested by the vet. She is pretty normal, 55 lbs and solid as a rock.

Answer 4

Actually, the most recent research suggests that early neutering does affect the growth of puppies: they tend to be somewhat taller, leggier, and narrower-chested as adults. I believe I read about this on Chris Zink's website (she is a vet who is an authority on conditioning dogs for athletic activities.) It's not necessarily a big health problem, but it does seem to me that it might affect lung capacity. So with my last male dog, I played it safe and waited until he was physically mature (1 1/2 years).

Some people think that neutering male dogs makes them less aggressive, but I've never seen it make a difference in their personalities one way or the other (on the other hand, the male dogs I've owned were sweeties/wimps to start with).

Answer 5

Yes, it will affect both. As a male you need testosterone to fully develop. I have discussed this in length here previously. There was a whole article done on it and post it by someone under one of my questions, look it up if you'd like. Very informative. I do not neuter my males because I have seen the results of the procedure. As long as you are a responsible owner and allow no accidents, there is no reason why you should fix a dog. I am sure that everyone else told you to do it because they are worried about breeding issues. It is your dog and your choice, think about it and decide. Read the article mentioned above first.

Answer 6

neutering a dog might not affect his size, but WILL affect his bone structure and musculature becuase they are influenced by the harmone testesterone just as in humans. small dog breeds can be neutered at about 6 months because most of their growth is complete. giant dog breeds like great danes etc grow upto 18 to 24 months. so the vets recommend to wait longer if its a large or giant breed.

Answer 7

I would personally wait until 6 months for your male; it is safer.

Neutering will affect the growth only if neutering too young. There are actually researchers that found neutering them younger will make the puppy grow larger! I do not recommend neutering him too young though.

Neutering is a must for your dog. It will prevent many cancers and enlarged prostate. It will also prevent:
-Roaming interest
-Aggressive behavior against other male dogs
-Urine marking
-Inappropriate mounting

Answer 8

No it wont affect his size, especially if you feed a quality food with plenty of protien and added calcium. The protien helps with growth, and the calcium helps developing bones. Although, if he is any of the giant breeds,eg great dane, saint bernard, they should not be feed a too high a protien food, they grow quick enough as it is, and the extra protien forces quicker growth, which can damage growing bones and joints, leading to painful problems. Its not really testosterone that determines growth, but genetics and feeding.

Most vets wait until a dog is a certain weight before neutering, not age, a larger dog can be done earlier than a small dog, it can be done as early as 12 weeks if the dog weighs enough.

Answer 9

1

Answer 10

This is why most vets like to wait at least til they are six moths old before they neuter. Its to make sure everything develops properly before you start taking away those hormones. Its unlikly but depending on how early you get it done you take a chance of him not getting quite as large as he would had you waited.

Answer 11

It is true that neutering your dog will result in a slightly smaller dog, but the trade off is worth it. You will get a calmer, less aggressive dog.