Hello

I have a 4 month old male staff. bull terrior. I have been told by some that desexing him may mean that he wont grow to his full potential in terms of stature, width, muscle growth etc. As he is tall for his breed and his father is quite tall, I am concerned that this may be the case. I am all for the desexing of animals but i am chasing some more info on this topic. Does the lack of testosterone affect these aspects of growth?

Hope you can help.

Brady

Hi, Brady,
My own thouhts on castrating male dogs is that it seems to have little effect of growth and conformation if it is done at 12 months old or more.
Castrated males do tend to run to fat, so extra care not to overfeed in later life is essential.
Not all veterinarians will agree with me - some think that early castration at 4 to 6 months is OK.
Walter