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Originally Posted by melmorr  Do not do it too early or too late. I had my intact male for 10 years and on the advice of my vet had him fixed, only to get a phone call telling me he died from the surgery. If you are going to do this do it at a young age but not too young. This is a surgery that is done every day of the week but it is still surgery and don't think that you are not risking the life of you dog just so you will not have to be on top of them and keep them safe when they are in heat. Some times the Vet is just trying to get into you pocket!$$$. I do not fix my females until the third heat and I will never do a male after 4 years. I learned my lesson the hard way and believe me it is still hard to this day! |
I am interested in why the vet recommended neutering a 10 year old male. Were there prostate problems evident on examination.... some other condition?
This can be a very interesting discussion amongst we dog owners. End of life decisions don't just start with age related problems. I think the discussion can be enriched through breed specific knowledge. Keeping current on recent research et al.
It is a topic that has been on my mind for some time. I am a large dog breeder and the average life expectancy for my breed is approx. 10 yrs, or if you'd like a range 8-12 years.
I just had this discussion of neutering my male last month, he was approx. 7.5 yrs old. I asked the vet why? Well he said maybe testicular cancer, or prostate cancer. I said both are relatively easily caught early. I asked did you know the average life expectancy is 8-12yrs for this breed? He said no I did not. My boy also has another complicating factor as he has lived with DLSS since he was 3yrs old. The surgery is very expensive for this, and as his condition was mild then, no surgery was advised at that time, but now it has progressed somewhat with arthritic changes into his L/S area. What we did decide to do, was do dental cleaning, at which time he had a full prostate examination while under sedation, and some other minor things done - like removal of sebaceous cysts which on examination were sebaceous cysts. His prostate is very slightly enlarged at this point in time nothing to worry about at all.
There are quality of life issues to consider. We as pet owners know our dogs the best. For Magic he lives to work, to play, to be active. The crate rest which was more than eight weeks when he was initially diagnosed with DLSS was very very hard on him. As well as the muscular atrophy was debilitating to him. And that is a very real issue with a heavy large breed. This means the owner might have to assist the dog from lifting up from a prone position, helping the dog with urination and defecation, tasks that require no little bit of strength with a dog of 120 lbs or so.
We as the human partners, and guardians of our dogs, can only do the best we can do, by making fully informed decisions for our pets. We are the ones responsible, to weigh all of the facts, and those ineffable things beyond the facts, that only we can measure and decide upon.