imported post
I agree with you about the Spay/neuter thing, Both of my current German Shepherds are altered, the only reason is becuase they are both "Rescue Dogs" Each one of them has been surrendered to rescue agencies "TWICE" we are theit 3rd and permanent home. The rescue orgs alter them.
The pooch in my avatar was that "Once in a lifetime dog" he passed in March of 2009 due to old age, & bad hips, he was also dealing with slightdeafness, and some vision loss later in life.
We waited until he was 7-8 years old before neutering him when we found the bad hips, we decided to not further that trait.
He was on a free-feeding plan, and we could not get him to gain weight, he was too thin for his size. After his snip-job, he packed on the pounds real fast and he required measured feedings to keep optimal weight.
Neutering a young dog prevents them from maturing mentally in many cases, they retain their puppy attitude and never really gain intelligence IMO
Free-Feeding, Some breeds are great with it, others are not!
The sporting breeds usually cannot handle a free-feeding schedule, or if you have more than one dog, since they tend to compete for many things, and one of them is food.