New Mommy w/ Neutering Questions

[leeeza702]

Hi Everyone!

My name is Liza, and I am a new mommy to my handsome boy Manny =] I have never owned a dog before, so I have a few questions that I hope can be answered by the lovely community here.

1. When is a good time to get him neutered?
- He was born on December 18, 2010.
- He currently weighs 2.3 lbs.

2. Will getting my boy neutered make him act differently afterwards?
- He is very playful and my boyfriend and I just love him the way he is.. we don't want him to change.

3. Will there be a significant amount of weight gain after having the surgery?
- My boyfriend read this somewhere, and he's scared that our baby will become obese after LOL.

[Mom to Hot Rod]

Hi and welcome to YT.

Hot Rod was the first dog of my very own and I was a nervous wreck as well. He was neutered at 6 1/2 months. I have read on here that, that is about when they could start marking. It is usually a good idea to have any remaining baby teeth taken out at the same time as neuter/spay procedures so they don't have to go under a second time.

Hot Rod's personality did not change nor did he gain a bunch of weight. I think he was just under 4 lbs when he was neutered.

Good luck!

[DvlshAngel985]

I second Bo's advice with a small tweak to it. I am also a first time dog owner. Kaji was already a year old when he came home. He was fully developed physically and personality wise. He did not change one bit after the surgery. He is still my cuddly love bug who has spazzy playful moments. If I ever get a second pup, I will wait to have him neutered until his growth plates closed and he has had a chance to lose all those baby teeth in their own. You can ask your vet if your baby's growth plates have closed.

Oh, and you must MUST look into the Kiss E soft collar. It is so much nicer than those plastic cones, and they're handy to have. I unfortunately bought mine after the fact. I've used it to keep Kaji from licking cuts.

[MikaTallulah]

Mine have new gained weight after being altered. You don't want a little man marking your house. I get mine altered after they loss their baby teeth and adault teeth come in. That why if baby teeth are retained your baby only has to be sedated once.