doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com New pup decision...

Just got a new addition to the family, a male yellow lab pup. He will be my hunting buddy, as well as an indoors companion to my family. My wife would like to have him neutered, which I am not opposed to for pets. But I have heard this may not be best for a hunting dog. Will this have any affect on his hunting desire? I don't plan on breeding him, so have others out there gone this route? Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences.

IMHO neutering won't affect his hunting, but you may have to monitor his food so that he doesn't get fat, which will affect his hunting

Many advocate neutering at a young age. My experience has been that as a young male dog develops, they get more confident, aggressive (not in a mean way),secure etc. if left intact. I have found this is especially so if the pup is a bit on the shy or insecure side. Once they reach about 2 years old they seem to have reached their emotional maturity as far as confidence and such is concerned. It is my experience that later neutering lets them develop their personalities more naturally including their drive and ambition. Again, that may be a controversial position.
Congratulations on the new pup.
Jake

3 things I find with neutered dogs. Lack of stamina, they never fully develop good muscle tone and usually a lifetime squater(pee like a bitch).

I have had a GWP for 2 years. He was never fixed, solid hunter no bad habits, he is not a leg hound Vets sure do push the neutering process though

I see no reason to neuter a dog unless you have a particular problem with him demanding such action. My males (2 GSP's) are not a problem at all and neither are my cousins intact English Springers. My males are gentle, relaxed non aggressive, perfect pets and good hunting dogs. I don't want to be neutered and would not do it to the dogs. There are some who believe neutering cuts down the chances of certain cancers others belive that is not true.

Jeff G.

A female in the house that is not speyed is a pain. I had my GWP speyed and she could still run like the wind and hunt in front of a jeep as well as any. I now have a Draathar that I am going to spey at six months. Both of these were pretty aggresive dogs in thier own way especially the Draathar.

I have seen Brittanies get pretty fat when speyed.

KMcmichael,

Would you expand on your comment on the "aggressive" nature of your Drathaar. And am I correct the the distinction between the GWP and Drathaar is in the registry alone? I have an interest in these breeds and thus my questions. I am interested in wire haired pointing Griffons as well. THANK-YOU, Kurt

We have had 2 GWP's, the first one, Bismarck was a fun loving, playful, gentle guy. He ran under a stock trailer and we lost him at just over a year old. The 2nd one, Brigadier, from the git go, was a moody vicious dog. He bit whenever he decided to, the vet refused to board him. After he badly bit a contractor here at the ranch,I put him down at 15 months. Who knows why the difference. We went back to Brittanies.

My GWP was just very hyper even for a bird dog, but I must say that she would retrieve and point without any training although she died at two before she fully developed.

The Draathar, we got at 8 weeks of age and she would growl and bite but only my wife and I. She no longer bites but still pretends to by putting her mouth on your hand.

I think that they have developed a little differently due to the registry and the requirements for it. You may email if you want more details.