My vet recommended to neuter our English setter at 5-6 months of age if we wanted just a good family dog that will be used to hunt recreationly and that won't be lifting his leg on everything and trying to hump things. So we scheduled to have him fixed this morning at 5 months of age. I decided to cancel the appointment this morning after doing a bit more research. I found a clinical study that AKC references that says that medium to large breed dogs (44 lbs) have a higher risk of joint issues if neutered prior to a year old.

What ages have you guys had experience neutering dogs at and did it seem to make any difference at different ages? I ok now a lot of hardcore hunter will.say to just leave them intact but we are not hardcore upland hunters. This dogs primary roll is a family dog first and then hunting a month or two out of the year.

Update: I've decided not to get him neutered until atleast 2-3 years of age and then it would only be if there some behavioral issues at that point which i highly doubt thete will he any. He's a good boy.