We have a two year yellow lab we neutered when he was just shy of a year. He was starting to show some behaviors we weren't willing to be tolerant of when females in heat were around. We haven't seen any diminishment of drive for hunting or energy. But every dog would be different. I don't think there is a problem with waiting to see how the dog turns out. I think getting the dog in lot's of birds and the use of positive training has worked well for our situation. Good luck.