Breed affects this. We have large dogs (Irish Wolfhound and Great Dane) and it’s recommended not to neuter until the bone plates have fused — about 23 months. So I waited and did it pretty much as soon as possible. Smaller dogs can supposedly be done sooner.
Vets will neuter cats at six weeks which seems incredibly young, but “it’s fine”.
As far as I can tell there isn’t much actual science on this.
In my experience the best effect is on male cats — they become very sweet and friendly.
I have a 115 pound mixed breed dog that is unneutered. When it became clear he was going to be big it was recommended we hold off on neutering to improve his chances of having healthy joints later in life.
He has an excellent disposition and has never displayed aggression to people or other pet, so we decided neutering wasn’t going to be needed and our vet supported that decision. An added benefit for larger dogs is they tend to regulate their body weight better when unneutered. Again, good for long term join health.
I have noticed that other dogs are aggressive towards him. I have wondered if this has to do with him being unneutered and his size. He has been attacked quite a few times by other dogs. He tends turn his back and not fight back initially and then, if the attack continues, turns to face and give a low growl and warning snap. That usually ends it and the other dog calms down and acts friendly.
I find often the owners of the attacking dog fall into one of two categories and neutering usually doesn’t have much to do with it.
1. The owner is afraid. They are afraid to lose control of their dog. They have no confidence that they can control the dog and panic when the dog misbehaves.
2. The owner yells at and then hits their dog after the dog attacks my dog.
Some dogs are going to be naturally more aggressive, but, like people, environment and proper socializing when young tends to have an outweighted effect on how aggressive or not a dog is.
Vets will neuter cats at six weeks which seems incredibly young, but “it’s fine”.
As far as I can tell there isn’t much actual science on this.
In my experience the best effect is on male cats — they become very sweet and friendly.