German Shepherd Neutering

Question
QUESTION: My sister and I both have a 6 month old male german shepherd pup from the same litter. We both also have a neutered female dog in the house and she also has an 8wk old puppy. We spend alot of time together as a family and the two male german shepherds are getting really violent with fighting. We know this is territorial and the fact that our females are in heat recently doesnt help. My question is about neutering. People keep telling us different things. Our vet said we needed to wait until at least 8 months if not longer, otherwise they wont have their distinct features such as a large head and big chest. We also have been told that it didnt matter and we need to get them fixed now. I've also found that we should get them fixed before puperty, which would be around the 6 months they are at. We are at a lost on when to do it. Please help and give me any advice you have. Thanks.

ANSWER: This question is not as clear cut as I used to think it was.  The conventional wisdom is 6 months.  I have recently read some stuff supporting your vet.  I see 2 choices.  

1 Go to your vet and tell him that with the females in heat, things are unmanageable, and you want them done now just like most of them are at 6 months.

2 Live through the next 2 weeks or so, and then have them done at 8 months like your vet wants.  Do not underestimate the efforts the males and females will make to get together.  I see some wild stories from people whose female was accidentally bred.  

I hope you get the females done too once they are finished.  

Better leadership on your part will help too.  The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts.  Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog.  Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones.  You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/  For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm

Another Point I differ from the conventional wisdom, an early switch to adult chow.  Doing so at 4 months slows growth allowing joints to develop under less stress.

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QUESTION: Our female dogs are both neutered already but they still have their smell occasionally. We aren't having any behavioral problems besides the two male non-neutered brothers attacking each other. They are trained well and know who is the pack leader. They just have a problem with each other and our families spend alot of time together. It's just a constant battle so we were considering getting them neutered sooner than later but if its going to stunt their growth we dont want to. They are beautiful dogs with excellent blood lines. We want the big heads and big chests. Our main concern is the stunted growth. Do you know anything on that aspect of it?

Answer
There are many aspects of dog care where it is difficult to find objective, factual information.  I try to limit my answers to what I do have solid information on.  Much of what I know about dogs, I have learned through my volunteer work with a dog guide school.  With the thousands of dogs they have worked with over the years, they have much more information to base their practices on.  The early switch to adult chow is based on breeding 300-400 dogs a year and X-Raying every one of them after a year.  When they say it reduces the problems of hip dysphasia and other joint problems, I believe it does.  Unfortunately I have learned little from them about when to neuter.  In order to have all the dogs available to select as breeding stock, they don't spay/neuter them until after they are evaluated at over a year old.  So I must look elsewhere for info on the results of neutering at 6 months.

The lack of factual information does not stop many people from being very vocal about their strong opinions.  Like everybody that really knows and loves dogs, I am very concerned about accidental breeding.  The sooner a dog is spay/neutered, the less chance of any accidental breeding and the more likely it is that it will be done.  It also nips many behavior problems in the bud.  So with good reasons for doing it at 6 months or earlier, I can see some might ignore the very concerns you have, in order to reduce the chances of accidental breeding and behavior problems.

I have also raised a couple of dogs for another program that does spay neuter their dogs at 6 months.  I wish I had a chance to ask them about this issue.  

You might talk to the vet about medication to calm things down so he doesn't have any torn ears to repair while waiting.  I would also ask about the odor.  It is not normal for spayed females to have any in heat like odor.  Here again, I do have the working dog guides that were spayed after a year old.  Non of them ever have an odor problem.    It could be some sort of an infection.  You may want to have him examine her the next time one is having the odor.