Hungarian Vizsla Forums banner

Adult vs Puppy

11K views 31 replies 11 participants last post by  Spy Car 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey All :smile

I am curious what the general consensus is on when your puppy is considered an adult. I have read it's at 12 months, but I've also seen it's not until they're full grown. Which means between 15-18 months?

Any V aficionados have an opinion?

Thanks all!
 
#2 ·
Maybe it's because their growth slows down at that age. I would no longer consider them a puppy at 12 months, but not a full adult either.
Mine have never developed the full width of their chest, until closer to 2-3 years old.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TexasBirdDog
#3 ·
Thanks Texasred, you have all the good answers! I should just message you directly ;-) I read they developed slowly, so then from a diet perspective you should switch them to adult food at 12 months. Got it. Thanks again.
 
#4 ·
Along these same lines, has anyone seen if the chest will continue to fill out if they are neutered at 2 years? I have wondered if that is an age thing or a testosterone thing. I guess it would answer that if a female fills out up until then as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#5 ·
Cash was not neutered until 3 1/2 , and the girls were also spayed later.
I was not considering dogs that had been spayed/neutered before 2.
 
#6 ·
My smooth V was 2 when we neutered him and he was fully grown and deep chested... after he was neutered he filled out, but not in a good way... prior to the clip job, he was fit, lean, muscular... after, he put weight on very easily and became fat looking.. he will be 5 this year.
His best buddy smooth V who is 4 months younger was neutered at a VERY early age... he has very long legs, and very long feet/paws from elbow to pad... he stayed about 15 lbs less the our pup, but now that he is 4 yrs, as beefed up considerably, and that has happened in just the past year to 18 mo.
I would put them at very close to the same size and weight... they are vertually twins

SO It would be my opinion that a male... reaches adulthood in the 2-3 yrs range, and it doesn't matter when they were neutered.

I now have a wirehair... he is huge for his breed and stands about 29" and weights 80 lbs. he was neutered at age 2 ... I adopted him at 2 1/2
he has matured physically in the year I have owned him. by a lot... he is hairier... more muscular, heavier, as far as his chest size from 2-3 yrs
I have not had to adjust his halter which does circle his chest. but it is not loose, and does leave an indentation on his fur when it is on for any length of time, which it did not do when I first got him and he was 75 lbs.
 
#7 ·
Mine's 4.5 and still very much a puppy...emotionally anyways.

They tend to grow at their own rate..physically, too...and it's often uneven. If you're asking about food/kibble, that would depend on his activity level, higher protein=muscle development=adult food.

With regards to neutering...I so wish the general consensus on this would change already...there's increasing data to support leaving them intact, testosterone is involved in much more than fertility. So in addition to bone growth and muscle development..things easily seen...there's the metabolic processes that change fairly significantly, too.
 
#8 ·
So in regards to neutering, it would appear 2 years is the ideal age to have them clipped? Or is it based on the dog's ability to fill out?
 
#11 ·
The main reason there is a big push to spay/neuter at 6 months, is due to overpopulation of unwanted dogs.
They want to do it, before they have a chance to reproduce. Responsible owners need to look at what is best for the dog. I'm not against spay/neuter, but would rather the pup benift from the hormones. Each must make their own decision, based on lifestyle, and the dog.
If I were never going to breed a female, she would probably be spayed by 4 years old. If I had a male that I was not going to breed, and no intact females. He would probably stay intact. If I had intact females, he would be neutered between 2-3 years old. Only because it's a royal pain dealing with the whining, panting, and keeping them separated.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pez999
#14 · (Edited)
Good feedback folks, this is a topic that definitely needs more social awareness. It's only logical that our furry companions will benefit from having their body parts produce all the necessary hormones to help them grow.

Anyone have experience or an opinion on Zeutering? If so, do you know if the testicles still produce testosterone at 50% or is it complete elimination of production altogether? My vet said it's complete elimination of testosterone while another vet told me it's only 50% reduction.
 
#21 ·
The widespread embrace of neutering as a means of birth control has lead to devastating health consequences for dogs.

Those who doubt the negative health effects would be well-advised to read the 3 major veterinary studies on the matter: The Rottweiler study, the Golden Retriever Study, and the Vizsla study. They are quite clear.

At the moment the veterinary community is in turmoil because evidence-based science shows their profession has participated in a practice that is injurious to the health of individual dogs. Every day that neutering persists as the standard option only increases the shame.

As a responsible dog owner, I consider it my duty to train for 100% recall and not to allow my dog(s) to wander. If I could not meet these requirements, then I would find a vet who was trained to perform vasectomies. That sterilization would not change my perception that not being able to control or contain a dog is acceptable or responsible.

A vasectomy is a relatively low risk and preserves beneficial sex-hormone production. In contrast, the embrace of the most radical of all "birth control" options as standard procedure defies reason. We have allowed very misguided groups of radical so-called "animal rights" to set the agenda. This has catastrophic consequences.

At my local dog park, people now compare their dog's orthopedic surgeons like parents once compared orthodontists, due to the CCL tearing epidemic that is one (of many) health consequences that is increased by early neutering.

If some of us seem outraged by the practice, it is with very good reason. The harm is clear from the evidence.

Bill
 
#23 ·
The widespread embrace of neutering as a means of birth control has lead to devastating health consequences for dogs.

Those who doubt the negative health effects would be well-advised to read the 3 major veterinary studies on the matter: The Rottweiler study, the Golden Retriever Study, and the Vizsla study. They are quite clear.

Bill
Hey Bill - I also read the Vizsla study. Definitely something every owner should digest, very compelling information for sure.
 
#27 ·
If you don't have to, don't do it. The negative health consequences far outway the issues of having an intact male. As mentioned above, there have been at least three major research reports released that conclusively give the same answer. Three different reports on three different breeds all with the same summary. That's not an accident or coincidental.

To your question, if you were to do it, I would wait until 2 years after the major growth has completed. If you have to do it earlier, never prior to 18 months as you could have some growth issues as a result.
 
#28 ·
Great points.

To expand on the "growth issues" involved with early neutering, the sex hormones are involved in triggering bone-plate closures.

Without them, bones keep growing, bone ratios become disproportional, and dog's get "leggy."

The same phenomenon happened when there were human eunuchs. Disproportionate (tall) bone growth.

The unbalanced bone growth is widely believed to be responsible for for the dramatic increases in CCL tears in early-neutered dogs as it throws off a natural gait.

In breeds as active as Vizslas undermining the muscular-skeletal balance seems especially risky.

Also breed-specific (beyond the cancers, weight-gain, ligament injuries), are the negative psychological consequences. Vizslas tend to be very sensitive and are often prone to separation anxiety and fear-anxieties. Neutering usually increases those psychological problems.

Bill
 
#29 ·
Once again I have to praise our breeder: it is in our contract not to neuter Bende until he is fully grown and consulting them with vet results even after. Responsible and breeder of merit title well deserved. Having said that, we like science and studied ourselves a lot about possible long term consequences of early altering of dogs, so never even occurred to us that we want to go that path. We may or may not ever breed him, just have him live a full life.
 
#32 ·
Since intact dogs are not "broken" in the first place and it is well-established by medical science that surgical removal of the testicles has serious health consequences, castrated dogs are not "fixed." There could not be a more inapt euphemism for this practice.

This is the most radical approach possible to birth control in dogs. A hormone-sparing vasectomy would ensure a dog can't reproduce without the catastrophic repercussions of "neutering."

Bill
 
#31 ·
It can also be dependant on the breeder you chose. Some breeders now are putting it in the puppy contract.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top