We just got Dodge snipped today, and he is almost 16 months old. The reason we waited was because we were told that the first 12 months were very important to the growth stage of a Dane. We have never wanted to breed him and have always had the intention of fixing him. We have NEVER let him around unaltered females, just in case! We were going to wait till he was 2 years old, but his "strange" dog aggression has started to get hard to handle, and I would rather have him socially acceptable and easier to handle than worry about if he is going to reach his "maxium" growth potential. To be honest, that was one of our concerns at first. We have seen it go both ways in our friends dogs, early spay/neuter resulting in adult dogs that have oddly shaped bodies (the twinkie syndrome), and dogs that grow to the standard height/size/shape of their breeds. It is ultimatly the decision of the owner, but I agree with what was said earlier, if you are not going to breed, neuter....and just be a responsible owner till you do.
