What's the best age to neuter my male Golden puppy if I might breed?

First of all, Oliver is absolutely adorable! I generally recommend neutering dogs around 5 to 6 months of age before negative hormone-fueled behaviors have a chance to develop. However, there is a lot of controversy even amongst veterinarians as to the best age to neuter dogs. Good, controlled studies are lacking as to the risks/benefits of neutering younger versus at full maturity. I hope this helps and that you enjoy your new furry addition!

This is an awesome question! Personally I recommend not neutering Gus until he is at least a year old. This allows him to grow and mature, and some vets will recommend waiting until he is two years old. There will be no health risks associated with waiting until he is two to neuter him. The only concern is that he gets free and mates with a female in heat. If you can keep him away from all intact females, it's fine to wait until he is a year old. Now there isn't a concern if you want to neuter him now, but I personally recommend waiting until a year of age. I hope this helps!

Henry is still too young to mate. It’s recommended to wait until a male is at least 2 years years old to breed. Also, if there is a problem with pet over population, it is not recommended to add to the problem by breeding dogs who are not purebred and registered. If there are not enough homes for dogs, then adding more dogs is not the solution. Males will be fine not breeding ever. It will not affect their health but it is recommended to neuter dogs. Neutering dogs has many health benefits and decreases behavioral problems such as aggression and dominance issues. Henry is old enough to be neutered. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Great question! There are pros and cons to neutering at different ages, so ultimately it comes down to your personal preference. The biggest advantage of neutering around six months or so, is that this will normally prevent the development of problematic "boy behaviors" such as urine marking, wanting to mount other dogs, not getting along with other intact males, and wanting to roam constantly in search of female dogs. There is some evidence that early neutering (before the dog is finished growing) can increase the risk of certain orthopedic issues like hip dysplasia or cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures later in life, especially in large-breed or very athletic dogs. So, this is something to take into account as well. Personally, I have always neutered my male dogs at around 10-12 months of age, when they're still fairly young but finished growing for the most part. Most of my clients choose to neuter around 6 months of age to avoid the behavior issues mentioned above. But ultimately, the choice is up to you :)

In large breed dogs (i..e Golden Retriever, Labs, Rottweilers, etc) the newer recommendations is to wait until the pet is 2-3 years of age before neutering to decrease the chances of inadvertently causing bone cancer. So I would recommend waiting a bit longer.

Neutering is safe and is very highly recommended. Simba likely is cryptorchid, which means one testicle is retained in the body and hasn't descended. Leaving it leads to a higher incidence of cancer and testicular torsion later in later. You can wait until he is a year old to neuter him.

There are some studies that recently may have found a correlation between earlier neutering and an increased risk for joint issues. This is pretty new evidence and at this point I think it's not really clear what the risks and benefits are. I typically recommend waiting until a male dog has reached his adult size, usually around 1 year, to neuter BUT in situations where the dog is showing undesirable behaviors potentially related to sex hormones I strongly recommend neutering earlier. If you were planning on having him neutered by 8 months I doubt 1.5 months of growth would make much of a difference for his bones and joints, so I would considering scheduling the neuter now. You could always talk to your veterinarian about pros and cons as well.