Trying to decide...
 

Hey ya'll.

While I work at a vet clinic we are all big on spaying and neutering our pets. (of course) When I adopted Rocky back in November he wasn't neutered. (still isn't) He's a perfect little dogger with no aggression and he doesn't mark his territory around the home. * I have another dog, Dexter, in which he was neutered not long after I got him.* (for he had some aggression issues, but it's typical for a chi to be like that to a point.) All the same what do you guys think? I'm, of course, not going to breed him or anything like that. So, should I go ahead and get it done, or just not worry about it. :animal-pa

I wish I had the magic answer. Have you actually done some up-to-date research on the subject of pros and cons of neutering? The only reason I ask is because I ran across a paper a vet wrote that discussed the pros and cons. I wish I had saved the article now, because I'm not certain it was of any merit now or not. I have always been pro neuter and spay and I'm still not convinced I'm wrong. Some do say there is an increased risk of prostate enlargement and cancer in old age. Those are good enough reasons. I would suggest doing some research. There is plenty available on the net.

I haven't neutered Beemer yet because there's still a possibility I might show him. Sadie is spayed. My vet told me that it isn't a health issue to neuter young like it is with spaying, but more a behavior thing. The health problems with an intact male are later. I do know that if we decide for sure not to show him I will have him neutered, but it doesn't have to be decided immediately.

I have always been pro spay/neuter because of my background working in shelters, rescues, and vet hospitals. I was a vet tech for many years, with my last job being a surgical tech at an emergency and referral hospital. After working there I feel like going up to every owner of an unaltered dog and handing them a pamphlet of what can happen to their dog because they are intact. I've seen so many pets suffer from diseases, infections, conditions, problems, etc... that could have been prevented if their owners just got them fixed at the appropriate age.

How old is he? It's really a personal decision. My mom has a intact maltipoo. He has no aggression and he doesn't mark. I still think he should be fixed because it's easier now than later down the road to avoid the risk of testicular cancer. I just think there are a lot of pro's to a dog being neutered. Beat of luck in your decision.

I say go ahead with the neuter, he may be great now with no humping or marking but if he catches the scent of a female in heat all that could change. And males will stop at nothing to get to a female which puts them at risk of getting attacked by another male, getting hit by a car, or stolen by devious people.

I still havnt had Poppy spayed yet (shes 7 months old) and Im not sure if I will.
I WANT to as I have no intention on breeding her, but im terrified of putting her through it incase I loose her. :(
I have heard about a laser spay though which sounds like a better option to the traditional spay... I will be taking her to the vet once she turns 8 months to check her teeth anyway so I am going to mention this to my vet.

we got our late Bichon from me childhood fixed as it was part of the adopting contact since we rescued him. & it didnt change him at all, but i dont know why you would if he does nothing wrong.

Laser or scalpel wouldn't make much of a difference as compared to the health of the dog and the skill of the vet. There is always a risk when using anesthesia (with all living things). The only thing you can do is ensure you've taken all the right steps before surgery to ensure the animal is in the best of health and that you've found a competent vet. However, even the best vet, with the best technicians, and the best equipment and medical supplies can lose a patient under anesthesia to no fault of their own.

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Marking, aggression, chasing females are just behaviors that can occur with intact males. There are things that can happen to an intact dog that just wouldn't happen to an altered dog. these things can be behavioral and/or medical, and these things can cause more problems.

My whole thing is... I don't really see a reason not to neuter/spay.

It does depends on the situation. If the dog is simply a household pet I see no reason for it not to be fixed. If it is a working dog or a show prospect then obviously I don't have a problem with them not being fixed. I just personally think the risks to neutering are extremely minimal. You're slightly increasing the chances of a disease that's extremely rare to begin with. It's like saying that if you eat XYZ food, you increase the chances of your finger randomly falling off by .0005%. Well, your chances of your finger falling off are extremely unlikely to begin with so increasing your risk means nothing.

I don't agree with super early spay/neuter. I think you should wait until the dog fully matures and their growth plates close, etc. And I do think, in general, there's more health benefits for a girl dog to be spayed than there is for a boy dog to be neutered. However, I will never own an unaltered male unless medical reasons came up.

The fact is there is very, very little additional health risks to neutering a dog. It's the same as the very, very little health risk you get from not neutering a dog. The risk is minimal either way. The benefits of neutering being the prevention of unwanted animals is gigantic though.

We have such a pet overpopulation problem in the US. And all it takes for that ONE accident to happen and now suddenly, you've added 3-10 more puppies to this world.

That is thought-provoking! I neutered Ben this year. Candy was spayed when she was young and I am waiting on Annie -- she is still too small. I think if you are not going to breed,they should be neutered or spayed. Just prevents the puppy question altogether and can prevent or reduce the chance of many other problems. It is a personal decision and as long pet owners are being responsible, I think the choice should be up to them.

Thank you, all. I agree with what everyone said. Like I said prior I do work at a vet clinic and it is a big thing that you should get done. Which he prolly does need to be fixed. Someone asked "how old he is" he's two years old. I'm not sure of his birth date *sadly* I'm still trying to decide, but I most likely will get him fixed soonish. He's going to the clinic saturday *my only day off much, much easier to take him out there so he doesn't have to sit in a cage all day :(* So, I might ask and see what my boss thinks. Thank you all, again. Rocky and I appreciate it! :animal-pa