.......if anyone's interested!
We went to the vets tonight for boosters (the dog got them obviously!).
Asked about the snip and our (lovely) vet said fine if there was a good enough reason.
Had a good chat and decided it's probably the right thing to do, for various reasons.
If we are dog training one day and he has the op the next, should he be ok to go back to the next session after having the op.
I know every dog is different. Vet thought he should be ok as she'd been to the same classes and there's no agility, just basic training (walk heel, sit/stay etc)

Asked about the 8/10 weeks vacs and was initially told no, it's 8/12 weeks.
When gently pushed, it appears they can do an earlier vac, just nobody has ever asked for it.
Quite happy to arrange it though.
One thing they did say was that even after the 10 week (second) vac, there was an 'incubation' period
of 14 days, when really they still shouldn't mix with other dogs. She was reading this from a 'drugs manual', I think.
So does it seem that we're any better off?
Has anyone had to do this?
Thanks for all the replies and help.
Best wishes,
Sally

If you are having him castrated to stop him having offspring then please consider vasectomy. And please do not castrate until your boy is fully mature. Jackie H

Thanks Jackie.
Our boy is just over 2 years old.
The vacs are for another pup, in case I confused anyone!.
Sally.
Just a thought...... why do vets never mention a vasectomy?

With regard to the vaccine at 8/10 weeks, Ali.C recently had this for her boxer pup and was only advised to keep her in for a week afterwards, by a vet who regularly uses this regime. My vet has agreed to get this in for my pup soon. He didn't mention anything to the contrary when I was saying about getting her out at 11 weeks, but he may not have read the whole section on that particular vacc.Even if you are advised 14 days they're still able to get out and about on the lead a week earlier, and at this age every day counts.
LynnT

Sally I have know idea, if the need is to stop breeding I can see no reason why vets seem to want to remove part of the dogs hormonal system when all that is needed is to stop his sperm reaching the outside world. If the dogs needs all his hormones to live a health life with a good coat why remove two of his hormone producing glands just to stop reproduction. If it is to stop aggression and a course of injection have proved that this will help, then OK castrate, if it is just a high sex drive then usualy the years will calm this and castration does not all ways help. You will hear it said that it will avoid prostrate cancer, well that may be so but prostrate cancer is very rare in the dog, bone cancer is not, are we going to remove dogs legs to avoid posible trouble in future years? Jackie H