There is a lot of information to consider with Spaying and Neutering your dog. There is no “right” answer on what to do. You mainly need to consider the pros and cons as well as your set up to decide what is best for your situation. The typical recommendation in the LGD community is to spay or neuter your dog between 18 months and 2 years old. While this is “ideal” it may not be a good decision based on your individual farm’s needs.

Waiting to spay or neuter is good because it allows the dog to have their hormones as their body grows. For giant breeds such as LGDs this can be especially important because their large stature puts them at a higher risk for joint issues. Having their hormones while they develop can also be beneficial as they go throw a few “fear periods” and having their hormones intact boosts their confidence. This allows them to be less likely to have issues with anxiety and to be a more confident dog overall. Those are traits important to a working LGD.

However there are some instances when spaying or neutering your dog earlier is also a good and important decision to make. If your dog is constantly escaping and roaming, although your fencing and containment is a top priority, fixing your dog is also important because it will help stop any escaping caused by hormones and wanting to mate (males can smell a female in heat from very far away) and it will also help prevent unwanted pregnancy caused to dogs that aren’t yours or an unwanted pregnancy caused by your roaming female. If you have 2 dogs of opposite sex, fixing one of them is the optimal decision. They will stop at nothing to get to each other while the female is in heat. This means you must lock her up somewhere extremely secure while also preparing for the possibility of property damage caused by the male (or both dogs) as they attempt to get to each other. The first heat can also be a bit unpredictable as to when it starts so you may not catch the signs of it before they breed. If you have dogs of both sexes it is best to fix at least one of them around 6 months old to avoid early and unwanted pregnancy.

Another thing to keep in mind is that fixing a dog is not a magic fix to behavior issues. If your dog has behavior issues caused by anxiety/fear it is actually likely the behavior will become worse after being fixed. Aggression and resource guarding are two big behavior problems that become worse after being fixed most of the time. You need to get any anxiety and behavior management in check before neutering or spaying your dog. One study showed that fixing a dog between 7-12 months old tends to increase aggression so it is best to fix before or after adolescence. Fixing a dog does help with marking (urine) most of the time and can help with roaming and humping if they are based in reproductive motives. However if a dog roams because it is bored, chasing a predator, or your fencing is weak don’t expect them to stop wandering once fixed. Also most humping is actually caused by stress or over-excitement so fixing a dog won’t necessarily help with that either.

Alternatives

Also realize there is another option out there that are alternatives to the traditional spay and neuter. Vasectomies and Ovary Sparing Spays keep hormones intact while still sterilizing the dog. https://petsinstitches.com/alternative-sterilization/?fbclid=IwAR18FXBgL9rPUUMNEMW1KLgeZoWj4G3MJEFzWXBThnLQHVrd8R8fqDLKtQE

Here is a list of vets performing the procedures: https://www.parsemus.org/veterinarian-list/

Info on ovary sparing spays: https://www.parsemus.org/projects/ovary-sparing-spay/

Info on vasectomies: https://www.parsemus.org/projects/hormone-sparing-male-sterilization/

Studies, Data, and More Information

Being intact linked to a longer lifespan:

-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2805875/?fbclid=IwAR1F4ngTEJhtLLh8XaucFCw-M7irs9iy5pR1nf5gZsDHbBIMkiVOeDHIYp4

-http://www.gpmcf.org/respectovaries.html?fbclid=IwAR1wyEsbhB_7rTfGBlVSVwNznsmgH4xKKPBqCzfZ3NruFfp3oy1iv08gU6o

-https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0061082#close

Early Spay and Neuter Considerations: http://www.caninesports.com/uploads/1/5/3/1/15319800/spay_neuter_considerations_2013.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0HgZiUeozDtsLeMbij-bwHLXGH5UsJJp-zipDtcWoGGfdRcnLzmgvz29U

Neutering and Behavior: https://www.apbc.org.uk/pet-owner-article/neutering-male-dogs-the-behavioural-effects-of-castration/

https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/behavior/does-spaying-or-neutering-change-dog-behavior/?utm_content=buffer3b509&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Spay and Neuter Behavior Data: http://www.naiaonline.org/uploads/WhitePapers/SNBehaviorFarhoodyZink.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2oPvVVWacF3xBo--O3FyZlIRfS39qU7um6Sdc2b74tlaxr2z_2CUXF_EM

Joint Disorders and Cancers in Golden Retrievers: Hip Displaysia, Cranial Cruciate Ligament Tear, and Lymphosarcoma were all significantly more prevelant in dogs fixed early while Hemangiosarcoma and Mast Cell Tumor were about the same between fixed and intact.

-https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0055937

-https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/golden-retriever-study-suggests-neutering-affects-dog-health

Joint Disorders, Cancers, and Urinary Incontinence in German Shperds:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/vms3.34?fbclid=IwAR3AEsjwL3uVjKmv7nteR1DT1jBdgoD7arBmAZFaArKRFgusEvX1bqIIq1Q

Studies on whether spaying before the age of 2.5 years reduces the risk of mammary cancer have been mixed in results however there does seem to be some evidence pointing towards that conclusion. This discusses each of the studies, their results, and potential bias: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1748-5827.2011.01220.x?fbclid=IwAR0s4DlkhxF89MlJM4jk-avMFuXj65aYd217CqSpalwztenSd58rsJsxPd4&

Risks and Benefits of Spay and Neuter: http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0lkciWmCB2ZNNmNbmgSPYqvsOOoW9EdYAuLreccwa8SjhvZc8b_H8VlHY

Aggression:

-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5834763/?fbclid=IwAR2WU6Wx_EtVoddTlaEC0O9JsqgN8p3VUIwJrIsTSvxwqz8EADtsJmA1KJs

-https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2018.00018/full?fbclid=IwAR1ZbUpGCXzfeX0yWDLQcuHsoT61gf2ZMwZD4bRLlhFHhsnIxTId3YcPYtI

Possible Complications of Young Pregnancy in Dogs:

https://dogcare.dailypuppy.com/pregnant-puppy-complications-4793.html

Being a responsible breeder, if a dog is pregnant you MUST be prepared for that, fixing a dog is a good alternative to avoiding everything necessary to breed dogs:

-https://www.akc.org/breeder-programs/breeder-education/akcs-guide-responsible-dog-breeding/

-https://www.vin.com/apputil/content/defaultadv1.aspx?id=3854215&pid=11196&