A little dog advice please...
 

I have a yellow lab that's about a year and a half old. He hunts, good with kids, little hyper....Can't decide if I want to have him snipped or not...What are your thoughts guys?

Plan on breeding him? Registered? Anything spectacular about the dog? In most cases snipping may not be a bad idea but if there's something you want to pass on with a pleaseable female to your liking in ability then go ahead. I will say though that now that I know more about labs that I would suggest in most cases not to breed. Just my opinion though!

Snip

If you are considering it then you probably should.

Snip em

Most of the dogs I see that get snipped get fat and lazy. He is still a puppy too. I would never snip a hunting dog.

Only if they get no excersise and over eat.
One of my training partners dogs are both fixed, ask Shawn if they are fat and lazy. Way cheaper and easier to buy a quality puppy that breed a meat dog just to continue a "Common" pedigree.

The two females we had fixed couldn't keep the weight off no matter what. I am sure there are exceptions, but the majority I have seen fixed the owners were not happy they did it. IMO, I wouldn't do anything to kill drive of a hunting dog. This dog is still a pup too. my .02

let him keep his manhood !!! just work him everyday and burn that energy off....

I clipped my weim and he didn't change at all. Except for the fact that he didn't try to escape any more.

Doesn't change the temperament. The ONLY thing that makes a dog fat is too much food. Yes neutering, or spaying a dog, can slow the metabolism, but then you must cut back on food. Its as simple as that. It does not change the dog.

He hunts, bot not a whole hell of a lot. He's a little hyper. I wouldn't mind if he lost a little hunting drive, i have a collar for that :) He is very good at escaping Top Dawg. That's one of the reasons I'm leaning towards it.

If he is escaping to go out dating, then neutering him will fix that. If hes escaping just to be out of his area, neutering will do nothing for that.

It's hard to say why he is getting out, whether he is looking for something to poke or just the smells in the area. But curiosity is going to kill the dog. He's been hit once and has crossed gulf highway once. My best friends wife works at Lake Area Animal and she seems to think it will help with that.

I guess I'm lying about the my dogs then. Their temperament changed for sure as well as their metabolism and several others I know.

In this situation with a male escaping you would probably be better off snipping.

I think it changes EVERY dog differently. There's no telling what will happen lol He may turn into WonderDog.

Everytime I let my lab out he runs off. He just wonders around all the neighbor's yards and comes back when he gets hungry. Will snipping him help that?

Snipping may help, but a few "come to Jesus" meetings will help that too.

I dont think your lying. THere are many things to consider, and you are right about the metabolism.
I think people describe temperament in different ways. A dog with high drive will not be less driven simply by neutering. Some of the best dogs I have ever worked with have been neutered.

Worked like a charm on me;)
I would much rather hunt,fish, and train dogs than chase cat now.:smokin: