Help settle a point of disagreemnt for me...

With regard to our new male dog (who in case you haven't read his thread is a 2 year old Japanese Mastiff x Bulldog).

I believe he should be neutered. I've always kept dogs that were spayed or neutered and feel it makes for a better pet. Also I think this dog will be an even more balanced, attentive home protection animal if he is not stressed by the drive to breed.

My husband on the other hand, while agreeing somewhat with me, is concerned it will make this male dog lazy and less alert. Mike is also concerned with how hard this might be on a fully mature male dog. I'm not sure on this point since all my previous dogs were fixed as puppies.

So what's your opinion. I have a call into the vet clinic to book his neutering and would like to put my husband's worries to rest about this procedure. I'm especially interested in those of you that do own some of the stronger natured, protective breeds. Did you get your male dogs altered? If so did you see any major change in how they help you care for your home's security?

I prefer to not neuter or spay adult dogs due the the face of metabolism slows down and they gain weight faster. If younger they begin to cope with the situation and you have a better chance to still train them as a watch dog and control their food intake.

I had a 95lbs pitt/rott mix who was 6 years old neutered. He escaped the yard and knocked up next doors female lab. So i had to cut his man hood. Well in a short year he went right up to 120lbs.


I say its all in the owners preference just like micro-chipping.

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Originally Posted by flameethrower

I prefer to not neuter or spay adult dogs due the the face of metabolism slows down and they gain weight faster. If younger they begin to cope with the situation and you have a better chance to still train them as a watch dog and control their food intake.

I had a 95lbs pitt/rott mix who was 6 years old neutered. He escaped the yard and knocked up next doors female lab. So i had to cut his man hood. Well in a short year he went right up to 120lbs.


I say its all in the owners preference just like micro-chipping.

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I was going to make a point that was just proven here.. The fact that male dogs tend to get into testosterone mode during breeding season and want to escape to breed.. This leaves not only the pet owner to deal with a lost dog, but the potential to be hit by a car, stolen, etc..... It's really just not worth it IMO........

If weight gain becomes a problem, portion the food and watch their weight... That's part of life, it's not a huge deal.

Not to mention the extremely high risk of mammary cancers the occurs in female dogs, and prostate issues that males can have when they are not spayed/neutered...

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

With regard to our new male dog (who in case you haven't read his thread is a 2 year old Japanese Mastiff x Bulldog).

I believe he should be neutered. I've always kept dogs that were spayed or neutered and feel it makes for a better pet. Also I think this dog will be an even more balanced, attentive home protection animal if he is not stressed by the drive to breed.

My husband on the other hand, while agreeing somewhat with me, is concerned it will make this male dog lazy and less alert. Mike is also concerned with how hard this might be on a fully mature male dog. I'm not sure on this point since all my previous dogs were fixed as puppies.

So what's your opinion. I have a call into the vet clinic to book his neutering and would like to put my husband's worries to rest about this procedure. I'm especially interested in those of you that do own some of the stronger natured, protective breeds. Did you get your male dogs altered? If so did you see any major change in how they help you care for your home's security?

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I'm not claiming to be an expert by any means, this is just what I have noted in my experience. I have been in the field as a vet tech for 5+ years and I work at 2 completely different clinics (day practice and emergency) and see dogs all day in and out.

Let me start by saying that an un-neutered male dog is the biggest pain in the clinic because they find the need to mark EVERYTHING!! Not every single one, but 9/10 seems about right. 2 years old is not old by any means, and yes, the surgery can take a bigger tole on an older dog, but that is not the case here... Now is a perfect time to get the job done.

No, it is not going to make your dog less alert and lazy, that comes with age, not whether he has "his manhood" or not..........

There's my 2 cents...;)

Jo - if Mike is concerned with a neutered male's activity level, he need only come and meet the males at Canine Assistants (all neutered, except those in our breeding program). Nothing lazy about them, in fact, many are very high energy.

I am all about spay and neutering dogs. I've never had a dog be lazy or fat because he had a little snip snip, and it also ensures the dog won't be looking to breed and potentially create more little doggies that end up in shelters. This is owners experience with several german shepards, a schnauzer, standard poodle and other male dogs I've been well aquainted with thru friends, etc.

I'd say neuter him.

I do prefer intact males - Ronin was intact for the first 4.5 years of his life. However, if you aren't going to breed him, IMO he's had enough time to mature.

Yes, their metabolism does slow down. That doesn't mean they get fat, it just means they don't need as much food. ;)

Ronin was a heavily muscled, intense, protective intact male. Now, after being neutered for nearly 2 years, he's still a heavily muscled, very intense, extremely protective dog... just with more focus!

If a dog is "ruined" by neutering at a mature age, it's my personal opinion that *that* particular dog is lacking in the temperament department. Ronin didn't need "little swimmers courage" - he's a true Doberman, balls or not. ;)

(side note - Ronin didn't roam, he didn't inappropriately mark, etc. He was a very good intact male. Neutering him was the icing on the cake. :) )

Neuter him. He doesn't need his testicles to protect the house. If you don't overfeed him, he won't get fat. He should be more focused on protection and the family without his testes telling him about all the female dogs around the area.
Plus you won't have to worry about testicular cancer which can pop up in intact males.

I also agree with neutering him. Granted Thor isn't a "bully breed", he's a chihuahua, we didn't have him neutered till he was a year old, we were slow about it-that's the only reason. It's been almost a year since he was fixed and we haven't noticed any change in his activity and he's lost 1/2 a pound :confused: He weighs 5 pounds now. Also no change in his guarding abilities, in fact he has more guts now!!!

Just portion the food and exercise him. We have a female doberman who isn't spayed, but only because I want to show her in AKC and they can't be spayed. I can't imagine her changing her attitude just because of a spay. It's all instincts, she's knows what to do. I think it will be the same with your male.

My parents have a great dane and a wire hair fox terrier, both males, both neutered. The dane is very protective of the house still-he was a rescue at 5 years old. They also free feed and only the fox terrier is slightly overweight, but he's 11 years old so you have to give it to him. This is the only time he's ever been overweight.

I have a friend who just had her Pit Neutered. I believe he is 3 or 4 yrs old, could be older. He really didn't change at all. He is still just as alert as ever. Also, she has his daughter, and now there is no chance of him getting her pregnant.

I don't know of the health issues with the older males, but he didn't have any problems. I do think he has had a bit of a weight gain, but not too much. He acutally just busted one of their widows trying to reach a cat on their porch. Ha.

Part of the reason they did that was to calm him down. It didn't work.

Thank you all so much for your replies (keep them coming please). I've had little to no experience with intact male dogs or getting a dog of 2 years old fixed so I wanted some real life advice from our site's membership.

Mike and I are still working through this decision and your responses are really appreciated. :)

My last two dogs I've had were rescues and were nuetered as all rescues here are.

My dog Harry (Pit mix) is almost 9 now, is fit, trim, alert and obidient like a soldier. Dogs that eat too much and dont get excersize, like people, gain weight, nuetered or not.

If you are not breeding I would say snip him.

I would also ask dog trainers(vets may be partial) what they see in behavioral differences and their opinion. They should have a wide variety of experiences and preference.

Thanks Raul. I'm not really concerned about weight gain too much since Marrok tends to run to the thin side and according to his owner's always has been a bit of a picky eater. I don't think his pictures show it but hands on he feels a bit thin so a bit of weight gain wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for this big guy.

I've also joined a breed specific forum so I can get the impressions from Mastiff breeders and owners as to the effects of neutering on a male of his age and whether there are any specific health risks with the meds used during this sort of surgery.

GET HIM NEUTERED!!! It is the responsible thing to do, it is better for the dogs health and it will make him less likely to want to roam looking for neighborhood females that may not be spayed. Plus look at any local animal shelter and see all the sad little faces that dont have a place to call home, please dont take the chance of adding to that problem, it is not going to change anything about your dog, if he gains weight then you just have to portion his feedings and exercise him enough to keep that under control, just like people do!!

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

With regard to our new male dog (who in case you haven't read his thread is a 2 year old Japanese Mastiff x Bulldog).

I believe he should be neutered. I've always kept dogs that were spayed or neutered and feel it makes for a better pet. Also I think this dog will be an even more balanced, attentive home protection animal if he is not stressed by the drive to breed.

My husband on the other hand, while agreeing somewhat with me, is concerned it will make this male dog lazy and less alert. Mike is also concerned with how hard this might be on a fully mature male dog. I'm not sure on this point since all my previous dogs were fixed as puppies.

So what's your opinion. I have a call into the vet clinic to book his neutering and would like to put my husband's worries to rest about this procedure. I'm especially interested in those of you that do own some of the stronger natured, protective breeds. Did you get your male dogs altered? If so did you see any major change in how they help you care for your home's security?

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We have an un-neutered 3 year old adult husky.. a rescue (not from a shelter, just from a rotten home)... My fiance never got him neutered and he got him before we moved in 2gether...

I am getting him neutered ASAP.. Solely for his will to roam (i replace fence boards weekly).. not to mention he humps my other male dogs... marks EVERYTHING....
He also is the biggest wimp on the planet.. so losing his *ahems* isn't going to make him any weaker.




Also I have a neutered 6 year old rottie/american bulldog mix who has PLENTY of energy (loves loves loves fetch). And would protect me & my home to the death. He was neutered as an adult about 2 years ago (at the rescue I got him from)

I have a boxer rescue who was neutered as a puppy, more energy than a ball of cotton candy... and lets me know if ANYone comes near the house let alone actually comes up to a door.

hope that helps :D

Jo here are some good replies from some awesome american bulldog lovers and breeders. I'm kinda going though the same thing.... but my vet is hounding me to get him fixed at 5-6 months old. IMHO I don't think it's good till the dog is at least a year old and fully mature. I'm personally waiting till Bosco is 18 months old before even thinking of doing so. But yes getting him fixed should not change him to much, only will keep him from wanting to run around looking to love on some lady dogs.

http://www.realjdjboard.com/showthread.php?t=1623

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Originally Posted by Jamie-n-Heith

GET HIM NEUTERED!!! It is the responsible thing to do, it is better for the dogs health and it will make him less likely to want to roam looking for neighborhood females that may not be spayed. Plus look at any local animal shelter and see all the sad little faces that dont have a place to call home, please dont take the chance of adding to that problem, it is not going to change anything about your dog, if he gains weight then you just have to portion his feedings and exercise him enough to keep that under control, just like people do!!

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There is no issue of Marrok roaming. He's never tied outside unattended and never off leash outside of our home so that's not a problem. I'm still in favor of neutering him though but wanted to be clear that this dog is under control at all times so unlikely to be able to get to a create unwanted pupies.

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Originally Posted by OFRD_GRL

We have an un-neutered 3 year old adult husky.. a rescue (not from a shelter, just from a rotten home)... My fiance never got him neutered and he got him before we moved in 2gether...

I am getting him neutered ASAP.. Solely for his will to roam (i replace fence boards weekly).. not to mention he humps my other male dogs... marks EVERYTHING....
He also is the biggest wimp on the planet.. so losing his *ahems* isn't going to make him any weaker.




Also I have a neutered 6 year old rottie/american bulldog mix who has PLENTY of energy (loves loves loves fetch). And would protect me & my home to the death. He was neutered as an adult about 2 years ago (at the rescue I got him from)

I have a boxer rescue who was neutered as a puppy, more energy than a ball of cotton candy... and lets me know if ANYone comes near the house let alone actually comes up to a door.

hope that helps :D

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I does help a lot. I am really happy to hear experiences from you with these sorts of protective breeds and hear that the surgery will not dimish Marrok's natural need to watch over us and our home. :) I think this will really help my husband and I become more comfortable with the decision we are contemplating.

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Originally Posted by lillyorchid

Jo here are some good replies from some awesome american bulldog lovers and breeders. I'm kinda going though the same thing.... but my vet is hounding me to get him fixed at 5-6 months old. IMHO I don't think it's good till the dog is at least a year old and fully mature. I'm personally waiting till Bosco is 18 months old before even thinking of doing so. But yes getting him fixed should not change him to much, only will keep him from wanting to run around looking to love on some lady dogs.

http://www.realjdjboard.com/showthread.php?t=1623

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I'm going to safe this link and have a good read over it later. Thanks so much for providing it.

Marrok is 2 so is probably reaching his full potential as far as size and bone growth. Tosa's are big but certainly not the giant size of an English Mastiff so I think he's likely done growing. I have read that allowing them to reach maturity prior to fixing them allows for proper bone density and muscle mass to support that heavier build.

Thanks again to all of you! What a great forum this is. The focus may be on reptiles but I love how much group life experience we have to share with each other.

Oh btw I was just doing some googling today and found a link about Canine Good Citizenship certification. There's an Ohio Mastiff Club and one of their members is an accredited examiner. I think this would be a wonderful experience for Marrok and Mike. :)

My old Eskie was neutered at the age of 2+ (rescue dog. Don't know exact age, and the surgery was part of the contract), and he stayed just as fat as he was when we got him. As soon as I switched him to lean food & started exercising, he was leaner and trimmer than pre-neutering. He also didn't lose an ounce of his protective abilities.

Similar story with our Chi. He growls just as hard at strangers as he did before.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

I does help a lot. I am really happy to hear experiences from you with these sorts of protective breeds and hear that the surgery will not dimish Marrok's natural need to watch over us and our home. :) I think this will really help my husband and I become more comfortable with the decision we are contemplating.

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Good I am glad :-)

And trust me... you will NOT miss him marking your fence/house perimiter/etc mutliple times daily LOL I promise!

My friend has two mastiffs, both neutered early(6 months?) and both grew to full potential and are huge with great bone strength and all healthy. All my yorkie dogs were neutered/spayed in adulthood, and none changed behaviors afterwards, and none of them are fat. Just needed to add, because earlier I wasn't paying enough attention.

I have a doberman who was nuetered as a puppy but is the best watch dog you could ask for. I live in a medicore area of town but dont ever worry about anyone coming in my house. Not only does he bark but he attacks when someone tries to come in with out me opening the door.

NEUTER YOUR DOG.

People will spout off about the metabolism slowing, the weight gain, the 'lazyness'...but a dog's metabolism slows down when it reaches adulthood. Thus, you are supposed to reduce their food intake accordingly in order to keep your dog on a *healthy weight*...many people free feed their dog, or continue to feed them the same amount they were devouring as growing puppies, hence the weight gain! Weight gain is most often at the hands of the owner, NOT the sterilization procedure.

A few reasons why you SHOULD neuter:

CANCER. Thats a big one. Particularly in rare, pure-bred dogs--they are more prone to it, their gene pool is shallower. Now yours is cross bred, but the bully breeds are ones in which cancer can be found most regularly. It will be healthier for your dog.

Also, it will make your dog more accepting of others entering your home 'pack'...and likewise make your other dogs more accepting of it. You're right about the breeding part, your dog will be more biddable, more trainable, when its not focusing on the :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: in heat down the road.

You need not worry about the protective drive being diminished...if the dog was bred for protection you can rest assured he will prolly be doing what he was bred for...if dogs only worked because they weren't fixed, we'd be swimming in puppies. This also prevents any accidental litters, your dog will be less likely to roam, and run away.

Jo, there are alot of great points here on why you should neuter. Unless you plan on breeding him and he is of outstanding stock, I BEG of you to PLEASE neuter him. Non neutered males have a much higher risk of being aggressive, of having housebreaking issues, they will mark INSIDE. You may say that he won't get out but TRUST ME, if there is a female in heat nearby, he will try his best!
I have two very large dogs, 90 lbs and 120 lbs. Both are wonderful dogs and great watchdogs. No one in their right mind would come in my home without being asked in. Having them fixed did not change their instincts or personality one bit. Would having a vasectomy or having your tubes tied change who you are?

As for his age, he is not too old. While there is pediatric spay/neuter, alot of thought is to still let the animal reach almost full grown/full grown, especially when it comes to large breed dogs.

Oh and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE have him fixed :P

Sarah, I never even thought about the cancer aspect especially as it relates to rare breed dogs like Tosa's. Granted he is cross bred but still I never thought of the concern about a relatively shallow gene pool. I've done quite a bit of research into this breed over the past couple of days and was amazed at what happened to this breed in Japan during the WWII years.

You've all certainly given me and Mike lots to think about. I just happened to meet one of our neighbours and funny how things work out, her oldest daughter is a vet tech here in Toledo. I have her daughter's name and the clinic name. Her daughter keeps pitbulls and the neighbour did mention they are fixed and are very effective watchdogs.

Just to let everyone know, Marrok's got an appointment with our vet clinic to be neutered on the 23rd. Thank you everyone for your posts that helped settle our minds on this issue.

That's awesome Jo :)

You will not notice a difference other than his appetite may pick up. Intact males are generally leaner because of the added stress of being intact. It burns calories being so intent on looking for females, even if he looks like he's not.

I also have never noticed a difference in dogs neutered at 5-6 months and dogs neutered later in life. They all grow to their full potential as their genetics allow. I have seen that dogs neutered later in life keep alot of their bad habits, such as marking in the house. It usually subsides though as the hormones get out of their system.

His personality won't be any different and he will be as much of a protector as his DNA tells him to be. People think neutered dogs are lazy because they allow them to be lazy. Give them a job and they show you!

Thanks Becky. :)

Marrok doesn't mark in the house. He's had a couple of accidents (feces) but that was more my fault then his. I'm used to Bella making her need to go out very clear. She'll whine and then toss her head towards the door - her message is very clear. Marrok just heads over to a door and waits silently. Poor thing got caught short a couple of times until I've figured out if he suddenly disappears I need to go check both doors of the house.

He could use a bit of weight actually Becky. I don't think the pictures I posted show it but he is a bit on the thin side. His previous owners told us he's always been a picky eater and then being intact probably does burn up a lot of his intake. I don't want him to chub out but a few more pounds would not hurt the big guy.