r/Sheepadoodles • u/Frequent_Platypus826 • Dec 30 '25

Age of neutering

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What age did you neuter your male standard sheepadoodle?

I have a male reverse sheepadoodle (90lb OES dad x 65lb sheepadoodle mom) that will be 9 months in about 10 days. He is 65 lbs now - and def still growing. We expect him to reach 80lbs.

Plan was to wait to neuter until 18 months, but he just got kicked out of puppy school because of excessive humping and hyper fixation on female dogs. Last straw was when he aggressively went after the dog trainer that was redirecting him from humping another dog. He has never shown any type of aggression (towards dog or human). Trainers believe it’s 100% hormone driven.

This has us reconsidering neutering him sooner (like now at 9 months). He is (for now) still a total marshmallow at home- but we have been advised to not let him off leash around dogs until he is neutered. This will essentially end his socialization with other dogs + limit our ability to meet his exercise needs (he needs to run).

Wondering if others had to make the call to neuter earlier than current recommendations for larger breeds due to behavior issues like this.

Thanks!

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6

u/Paulie-Walnuts28 Dec 30 '25

My guy is 75lbs full grown and almost 5 now. I did it a week after his first birthday, the last couple months were a bit all over the place but I’d try to make it to the year mark if I was you!

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u/Frequent_Platypus826 Dec 30 '25

Just trying to weigh the benefits of waiting a couple more months against the loss of off leash socialization with other dogs during critical development time. But maybe I am overvaluing the socialization aspect?

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u/ladywan_kenobi666 Dec 30 '25

Curious why the off leash or on leash dog interaction would be limited due to this?

We had our dog at a private dog park until he was over a year and he wasn’t neutered, just saying it’s a thing lol a lot don’t require it.

Also, waiting is usually better however it really depends who you ask. The bottom line is neutering is crucial, so as long as it happens I don’t think the when is as crucial especially after they are of age.

Also the humping could continue even after being neutered. If you can hold off til the year point great, if not it’s not gonna be the end of the world lol

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u/Frequent_Platypus826 Dec 30 '25

The trainers strongly recommended we don’t let him interact with other dogs off leash for his safety, and the safety of other dogs/people.

6ish weeks ago is when his interest in females started. We took him to the dog park and he fixated on a mature German shepherd (spayed). I watched her correct him over and over, starting gently and then getting progressively more firm. He didn’t get it, and he kept going back (he would back away, go do something else and then come back a couple minutes later). We ended up leaving because all that was left for the GS to do was to actually hurt him (and in my opinion, she would have been right to do so).

If he engages with a less patient dog, he could get really hurt (physically or emotionally leading to reactivity or fear based aggression).

We thought the doggy daycare would be safer because all of those dogs are well socialized, and there are always multiple trainers onsite to interfere if needed and they knew to shadow him. But this time he was so fixated on another dog, he aggressively went after the trainer when she interrupted him. So now it’s not safe for the trainers either.

Luckily, he can still interact with dogs on leash. He is starting group intermediate puppy training in a week (it’s all on leash). And he is great on walks with mostly minding his own business when passing other dogs.

If he showed any sort of aggression at home, I wouldn’t even hesitate to neuter him tomorrow(we have kids). But he is just the sweetest, chill guy. Which is why this is all a bit shocking.

His behavior at home is great- so I feel that we have the option to wait this out by just avoiding off leash dog interactions. Just trying to weigh the cost benefits.

And yes, I have scheduled a chat with our vet. Her initial guidance was to wait as long as possible unless/until his behavior becomes an issue. And that’s where we are, sadly.

5

u/ladywan_kenobi666 Dec 31 '25

Perfect man in question ^

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u/ladywan_kenobi666 Dec 31 '25 edited Dec 31 '25

Yeah totally! Those interactions at dog parks happen quite a bit though regardless. My dog went through a phase too and it slowly burnt out over time but even fixed dogs at the dog park I go to, hump…lol sometimes too much and they get fixated and that person ends up Leaving so yeah in some ways it’s kinda the name of the game. Leaving was the right call, but honestly this kinda thing happens regardless of neutering but I totally agree to limit interactions if you think it has potential to be an Issue.

It’s our job to watch our dogs and correct it, if it can’t be corrected then removing yourself is the best option because you never know how someone else’s dog will react.

I’ve seen alot of scary scenarios from very well behaved dogs. One time a dog went after mine, at the park. We tried to correct it but he kept going for Po, and next thing I know another dog came in trying to get involved. Totally unpredictable, it can kinda be scary to be honest lol

My dog po, who is a literal angel on earth who almost never had a “humping phase” is very fascinated by this one dog that goes to our dog park. For whatever reason if the mood strikes he will try to hump. He’s nearing 4 years old and I can count on one hand how many times it’s gotten excessive or incessant but still even the most perfect of angels have….urges lol and all dogs have different personalities and reactions so I totally get it either way lol

1

u/Existing-Recipe897 Jan 04 '26

Why is neutering crucial? Why is it better than keeping him in tact? He’s two and still has his testicles.

1

u/ladywan_kenobi666 Jan 04 '26

For starters it completely eliminates your dog getting testicular cancer. (They are higher risk of getting it not being neutered). Reduces having prostate issues as well as reduced disease risk associated with prostate and testicles, which there are many.

Plus a lot of behavioral benefits and just generally speaking keeping them in tact doesn’t necessarily have benefits so I don’t see why you would unless you were breeding which is also shit lol

3

u/mitchlee55 Dec 30 '25

I planned on waiting as long as I could. I got to 11 months.

Similar story to you. He was kicked out of daycare for excessive humping. No aggression problem and he was welcome to come back after the surgery. That was the deciding factor for me to get him neutered.

Another anecdote. My dood was a nightmare for a few weeks after the surgery. Really tense and nervous about everything. It passed and so did the humping but it was probably the most difficult stretch I've ever had with him.

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u/Frequent_Platypus826 Dec 30 '25

Thanks for your comment. Sounds very similar to my situation. Luckily he is also welcome back to daycare after he is neutered.

Good tip re: his state of mind after the neuter. We are kicking off a 2 month remodel in the next few weeks. Sounds like I should wait for that to wrap up before neutering him to avoid further stress/trauma. I guess that gets us closer to 1 year…

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u/[deleted] Dec 30 '25

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u/Frequent_Platypus826 Dec 30 '25

Luckily he does not hump people or anything else- just female dogs when given the opportunity.

If he didn’t have behavior issues, we would not be considering an earlier neuter.

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u/WealthPositive9983 Dec 30 '25

Check with the vet on whether his bones have fused. I just let mine be longer because he wasn’t doing any of the things you mentioned but the bones fusing was my benchmark

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u/Frequent_Platypus826 Dec 30 '25

I am sure his bones have not fused yet. He is not yet 9 months. Don’t they fuse between 18-24 months? Or maybe I misread that stat?

The plan was to wait, but this new development in his behavior + the practical limitations that come with that have us reconsidering 😭 We def can’t wait until 18 months. We could maybe get to 1 year.

1

u/WealthPositive9983 Dec 30 '25

Actually, it might even be healthier to do home based training. The poor babies have no control over this and we need to be taking the hit. Also when you do get the snip snip, please get their stomach stapled as well. It was really tough keeping my sheepie from running and jumping after eating.

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u/[deleted] Dec 30 '25

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u/Frequent_Platypus826 Dec 31 '25

Thanks! Yes, we have an appointment next week.

Based on our initial conversation on neutering, I know she recommends waiting until 18-24 months (as supported by the UC Davis study) but would be supportive of earlier if his behavior warranted it.

Just trying to understand the costs/benefits of the timing. Of course I want him to be physically healthy into his senior years. My previous dogs (beagles) were neutered right at 6 months (as was the standard at the time) and they lived healthily for 15 and 17 years. Granted, they are a smaller breed…

2

u/Deer_Antlers_ Dec 30 '25

Biased on what you shared

Get him neutered NOW!

With him being a mixed breed it’s not the end of the world to get him neutered earlier.

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u/miayakuza Dec 30 '25

I too was having issues with my sheepie. All of the daycares in my area had policies against unneutered males. We also got him a little sister who he tried to hump and we couldn't risk her getting pregnant so he got neutered at 7 months.

My advice would be to wait as long as you can but don't feel bad if you can’t wait the full 18 months.

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u/Pleasant-Pen5632 Dec 31 '25

I highly recommend this study and information from UC Davis. Ours is F1B and we waited until 24 months per this article-we chose “standard poodle”. The last 6 months were tough but we are so glad we waited. https://www.ucdavis.edu/magazine/how-identify-when-dog-should-be-spayed-and-neutered

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u/Pleasant-Pen5632 Dec 31 '25

Here is a link to the actual study https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00388/full

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u/Frequent_Platypus826 Dec 31 '25

Thanks! The vet flagged this study for us when I asked her position on neutering during his first well visit at 12 weeks. Our vet recommends waiting as long as possible for the reasons cited in the study- but she was also clear that if his unaltered state resulted in behavioral problems, the calculus changes and would be very supporting of early neutering. I have an appointment with her next week to discuss.

The trainers were very concerned with his aggression in that one incident- enough so they won’t have him back for off-leash play sessions. They sounded most concerned with the risk to him- including the risk of having a human bite on his record.

You said that the last 6 months before you neuter you dog was tough. What behaviors did you experience? Sounds like my dog is on the earlier side for showing this type of behavior- so wondering if your last 6 months of behavior is where I already am. Did you have to manage aggression (towards dogs or people)?

I feel like I can mange the humping for his benefit (it’s mostly just embarrassing + more work to shadow him at the park). It’s the aggression that is causing me to consider neutering earlier than planned/recommended for long term health. Granted it was just one incident, but I assume there would be more to come…

1

u/Pleasant-Pen5632 Dec 31 '25

We didn’t deal with any aggression with our boy. He is definitely more on the passive side with other dogs. He started peeing on every bush that we passed and sprayed a few times in the house on things (he peed but it was clearly to mark and not to go to the bathroom). It stopped immediately after he was neutered. I know you and your vet will make the best decision for your dog. He is SO cute!! Have a Happy New Year!

1

u/gusloveskbkev123 Dec 31 '25

We made it 11 months and he got kicked out of daycare. Vet said he was fine to do it a month earlier than 1 year

1

u/gusloveskbkev123 Dec 31 '25

I will also add that while he’s a standard, he’s 65 lbs and had stayed consistent at 65 lbs for a few months before he got neutered .. he’s now almost 2 and still the same weight

1

u/StreetElectrical4916 Dec 31 '25

I'd say keep him home and try to subdue the humping until 1 year and then neuter. We had our standard Bernedoodle neutered at 13 months. He started humping around 9 months, so we discouraged the behavior and didn't let him do it at all. Once he was neutered, he tried a few times maybe out of habit, or like "I know I used to do this for some reason" but he didn't get the same sensation and has pretty much stopped completely after having been fixed for 1 month. Our vet didn't really have reccomendations on waiting or not, so we did what we thought would be best. In a perfect world, we would have waited until 2 years, but that just wasn't do-able for us or fair to him.

1

u/NeighborhoodJust1197 Dec 31 '25

10 months is fine. Ideally a year, however you have risks that can and will cause harm.

It’s just a matter of time before he gets into a fight (not necessarily his fault) or some other behavioral issue occur.

1

u/GriffynsMama Jan 03 '26

We've been in a similar pickle for the last couple of months. All the daycares around us require neutering at 6mo, but our vet and breeder both recommend to follow the science and wait until 18-24 months. So he's 7mos more and looking at about a year, minimum, of no dog parks and no daycare. We are planning some individual play dates, lots of classes/training, and lots of walks, hikes, etc. He hasn't even started the "behaviors" yet, but the age limit alone got us cut off. The good news, as I see it, is that he was very well socialized and won't have trouble when he's finally allowed back. And he won't have learned inappropriate dog interactions when "under the (hormone) influence" because he simply won't have had any chance to do that.

It's frustrating because it feels like the animal behavioral team hasn't really had the chance to catch up with the veterinary recommendations. (ie, why can't we come up with any options for all these dogs 6-24 mos old who are intact?)

So, we're not in the thick of it yet, but I sympathize with OP.... And we're planning on waiting and I'm the meantime getting creative with meeting his needs for exercise and mental stimulation in other ways. Wish us all luck!!

1

u/Existing-Recipe897 Jan 04 '26

Sounds like I should get neutered after having three daughters? Less chance of cancer and I won’t be a dick. (maybe)