Neutering an older dog?

Please no flames. I know the importance of having the dog fixed. I'm looking for responses from people who have experience with this, or know anything about it.
TIA
Does anyone have experience with having an older male dog neutered?
The dog is 5 years old.
Will it change his personality or attitude?
He is such a great dog. So gentle. And so great with my DD. Great with everyone. He is playful and happy and sweet.
I want him around forever.
I think one of our fears is that his personality will change.
Any advice or experience?
Thanks.

Neutering an older dog?

I do not have an older dog. My guy was done at about 10 months. I trust out vet and this is what he told us. You do NOT want to neuter a dog before he matures. If you cut his balls off before he starts lifiting his leg (sign of maturity) then the dogs can get a bit lethargic and lazy.
Also he said that there can be some personality issues if its done BEFORE he matures.

After we had him done his pain-in-the-ass-ness came down a hair. And thats what he needed. A hair of adjustment. He has always been loving, but that sweetness cranked up a notch, and his masculinity went down just an itty bitty smidge.

It was EXACTLY what we hoped for.

So IMHO, not being a vet, I cant imagine his personality would change that much since he is older and "set" in his ways. I can only see that the machoness might subside a little.

My opinion is ask your vet what they think, and what their suggestiion would be. Is this surgey sfe at 5 years? Will it make any difference at this point? Etc Etc.

Good luck.

Message edited 8/16/2013 10:24:07 AM.

Re: Neutering an older dog?

I've always heard that dogs of a certain age, especially larger breeds, should not be altered. I have two dogs- a male and a female and having them altered made ZERO difference in their personality. They did calm down a little bit as they got older, but I felt it had to do with age and NOT with the fact that they were fixed.

I would check with my vet, but I don't think they'd recommend doing it at this point.

ETA: Out of curiosity, is there a reason you want to fix him now?

Message edited 8/16/2013 1:23:32 PM.

Neutering an older dog?

Thanks for the responses.
I always wanted to get him fixed. He is a boxer. He is full of energy and fun and such a great personality. I have no complaints about him at all. He is true to his breed.
He is wonderful with kids and other dogs.
But, because he is not fixed, other dogs get mad at him. Almost like they are jealous that he has his man bits.
My dog just wants to play.
Getting him fixed will also prevent future health issues. ( as per my vet)
I want to have him for a long time.
We are not breeding him. Or showing him.
Also, because he isn't fixed, he can't play in doggie daycare. And when we need to board him he basically has to stay in his "cell" and I have to pay for several private play times a day. It's not fair to my dog.

Re: Neutering an older dog?

Gotcha! All VERY good reasons to have him fixed. I mean, it'll affect every dog differently, but I don't see it changing his personality. And even if it did change my dogs' energy levels (which I'm not convinced it did), it definitely did not change their personality- and I have a boxer mix. The only difference is she got FAT. We started exercising her more though and she's slimmed down a bit, but she's still much heavier than before she was fixed. If you're vet was urging you to do it, then he must feels it's okay for him. As long as you trust your vet, I'd do it. Good luck!

Neutering an older dog?

My dog Bullet (german shepherd/rottie mix) was 10 years old when we got him fixed. My father refused to have him fixed when we adopted him as a puppy. At 10, he was developing a mass or something (I don't remember exactly what it was) and the vet recommended having the surgery. I was terrified... he was a 75 lb dog and that's pretty darn old for a big dog. He came out of the surgery just fine... was dopey for a few hours, slept a lot, and the next day was back to his normal self! We didn't notice a big personality difference, but he was already slowing down and not his former energetic puppy self. I was shocked and pleased.

We had to have bladder surgery for him at 13 or 14 because he got bladder stones... poor thing was peeing blood and in pain... and he survived that surgery too!! He was a tough pup...

We had to put him down in February... he was just about 16 years old. :(

Good luck! I don't think 5 is that old for it!

Re: Neutering an older dog?

I fixed mine at 3--when fully grown--no personality changes! I was fearful of that too!
Check out adopt a boxer's Facebook page and post this question there---I am sure you will get some advice from the people on that page!

Neutering an older dog?

I fixed my lab at 7 and had no problems. I inherited him from my mom who never got him fixed. As pp said he got heavier but lived till he was
15.