Neutering Your Frenchie - What Age is Best?
drpatty December 8th, 2007
Neutering Your Frenchie - What Age is Best?
Hello I have a question for the Frenchie veterinarian. Is it true that
we should wait until our dog is a year old to get him neutered?
Our breeder said we should get him neutered at 6 months old, but I read
that if we do he won’t get very big. We asked the breeder if this is
true and she said that neutering him early can prevent some training
issues. We don’t want to ruin our dog but we don’t want him to be
under sized either.
We called our vet but the receptionist said it’s just up to us.
What do you suggest?
Dr. Patty Writes:
Welcome to my world. It’s true their heads and shoulders tend to be wider if you wait longer to neuter (after a year or two)–but it doesn’t always make a very big difference. As to overall size, it matters not much at all.
In any case, a smaller Frenchie generally has fewer orthopedic issues to manage as they get older. Weight gain (pudginess) can be an issue as the loss of testosterone means a slower metabolism, but that’s no reason not to neuter as long as you feed appropriately.
If there’s any inkling that your Frenchie has a bit of a Napoleon complex (dominance, aggression, etc.) I would not hesitate to neuter at six months on the dot.
