Hi all, we are getting our 8 month old lab neutered on Thursday. He will be staying overnight at the vet. Couple questions that I had:

What should we expect behaviour wise when we get him back?
Should we be prepared for any abnormalities?
We have noticed in the last day that he is trying to hump his bed. Will this continue? And if it does should we discourage it? He doesn't hump other dogs when we are at the park.

Don't expect to see big changes right away. His body will cease producing hormones, but the existing ones will take time to break down. Even then, it will be a matter of degree. Things like humping his bed should slowly go away instead of getting worse. At 8 months, it will be more of a matter of problem behaviors never developing rather than disappearing. He should be more manageable and less likely to challenge you for leadership. He should be happier to stay around. No crazy urges to roam when some female a mile up wind comes in season.

He will also be less likely to develop cancer as he ages.

Hope his digestion has straightened out.

Thanks labman... funny you should ask about his digestion... he has been OK for the last day or so... last night he had a major case of diahria... and then in the middle of the night he threw up again... is there anything else we should try? Back on the humping thing, should we discourage it? Or let him be.

Hi,
There is also a chance with many different dog breeds, muts, etc, that they can become overweight, more so than one that hasn't been neutered. Just be sure to watch his weight, and what he eats. Best of luck.

thanks labman......funny you should ask about his digestion....he has been ok for the last day or so....last night he had a major case of diahria....and then in the middle of the night he threw up again.....is there anything else we should try? back on the humping thing, should we discourage it? or let him be.

This ongoing digestive problem could be serious. Even if the bull stick didn't cause it, young Labs find plenty of other things to harm themselves. Definitely let the vet know about it before operating on him.

Yes many spay/neutered dogs end up over weight and suffer more physical problems before an unfortunately earlier death. So do many intact dogs. Spay/neutering is often done as the dog nears its adult size. At that time its body needs less nourishment and you need to cut back in what your are feeding it. I frequently see this in the dogs I raise for the dog guide school. They are not altered until they start formal training. I hasve to cut back to maintain the ideal body condition. An altered dog may need less food than an intact one because it uses up less nervous energy in frustrated reproductive urges.

Spay/neutering doesn't cause overweight. Over feeding produces fat dogs. Here is a great illustrated guide to maintaining ideal body condition of any dog.

September 07, link to chart replaced with LongLiveYourDog.com - Life Span Study - Rate Your Dog (http://www.longliveyourdog.com/twoplus/RateYourDog.aspx)

I forget the humping issue, and I can't seem to get the edit feature to work.

The humping thing is no big deal, but most people do try to discourage it. I wouldn't go to great lengths, a simple ''Ut, ut, ut!'' in a quiet, but firm voice when you catch him should do. As I said in my first post to this thread, it should lessen later on after neutering him.

Hi,
A Vet will be one of the first to tell you to watch your dogs weight after being neutered and/or spayed. They can gain weight.
If you will do a search on any search engine about weight gain after neutering, just about evey site given does not agree. It is not a "myth".

Yeah, the vets in most case likely do tell people to watch the dog's weight. Likely most of them are already too fat, and will get even fatter if the owner continues to feed an overly rich puppy chow for another year. Again, spay/neutering does not make dogs get fat. Over feeding makes dogs get fat.

Hi, Again,
My original answer said, "there is also a chance" that a neutered dog can become overweight.

http://www.petplace.com/article.aspx?id=3511

http://www.petplace.com/article.aspx?id=3376 , under heading "Spaying may cause weight gain".

http://www.newleash.org/spay.asp; some dogs' appetites do increase; so the owners should watch their diets.

http://www.usaweekend.com/04_issues/040321/040321eatsmart.html; spayed and castrated dogs tend to gain more weight than non-neutered dogs.

The above links and comments are only a very, very few of those offered on the web. Vets also will tell you to watch for a weight gain. Reasons are varying, and doesn't happen with all dogs. But, "chance" is still there. The owner must watch for weight gain; controlling their diet.