Neutering at an old age

Question
We have a male dog who will be 8 years old in April and has not been neutered. We've recently started considering neutering him but are concerned for many different reasons because of his age. Of course the pros are the health benefits our vet has told us about but we are very concerned that his wonderful disposition will change or that he will never trust us again. Can you shed any light or do you know anyone with experience on this subject?

Answer
Hi Theresa,  No his disposition will not change, and nor does it change the trust they have in you.  What it does do is save him from testicular cancer which is very painful and most suredly a death sentence for a dog.  Testicular cancer is common in unneutered dogs and neutering has also proven to extend their lives up to 5 years.  Prostrate cancer and problems are very common also in unneutered dogs.  From a personal stand point, I have always neutered my stud dogs when they reached 7 and I retired them from breeding.  They all lived up to 14-15 years.  These were GSDs, but I know for a fact male intact GSDs tend to only make it to about 12 tops.  And it never changed their disposition, in fact the ones that were protection trained never lost their skill in the training.  Hope this helps,

Dawn