Undecided on should I neuter my pup??

[JCarlson2004]

Originally Posted by yorkieluvr2

I totally agree..just b/c we choose to not neuter/spay does not make us irresponsible pet owners! I thought I was being responsible when I took my chi/terrier mix puppy to be spayed at 5 mos. She was the perfect picture of health and weighed close to 10 lbs but I lost her to anesthesia! Man alive did I ever feel bad! I am very reluctant to have Teddy neutered and most likely I won't!

I'm so sorry to hear you lost your little girl.

[yorkieluvr2]

Originally Posted by yorkieluvr2
I totally agree..just b/c we choose to not neuter/spay does not make us irresponsible pet owners! I thought I was being responsible when I took my chi/terrier mix puppy to be spayed at 5 mos. She was the perfect picture of health and weighed close to 10 lbs but I lost her to anesthesia! Man alive did I ever feel bad! I am very reluctant to have Teddy neutered and most likely I won't!

Yeah, I know where you all are coming from with the spay/neuter thing but it is very hard to deal with the loss of a sweet loving furbaby and then to know that it could have been prevented if I just hadn't taken her to be spayed that day I was the one that insisted she be spayed...she belonged to my son and he was afraid but I told him everything would be fine...well, I sure felt terrible when I got the call she died as soon as they gave her anesthesia before they could even operate. It wasn't the vet's fault either...he is one of the best ones around...preferred by most people! I have relived that day every day since and so has my son. So I just can't tell people yeah, go ahead and spay or neuter...everything will be fine and to tell someone they are irresponsible pet owners if they don't...well I am not judge or jury but if I were I would convict myself of murder for that is how bad I have felt. I do however, try to be a responsible pet owner by protecting my baby and others..he doesn't get out of the house or anywhere in the house without supervision...and is never outside without being on a leash which is more than I can say for most pets in my neighborhood. Some seem to think once they are fixed they can run free outdoors..I call that irresponsible! If the time comes that I do have uncontrollable problems then I will consider neutering...but not unless it is absolutely necessary.

[blondflava]

Originally Posted by yorkieluvr2

Yeah, I know where you all are coming from with the spay/neuter thing but it is very hard to deal with the loss of a sweet loving furbaby and then to know that it could have been prevented if I just hadn't taken her to be spayed that day I was the one that insisted she be spayed...she belonged to my son and he was afraid but I told him everything would be fine...well, I sure felt terrible when I got the call she died as soon as they gave her anesthesia before they could even operate. It wasn't the vet's fault either...he is one of the best ones around...preferred by most people! I have relived that day every day since and so has my son. So I just can't tell people yeah, go ahead and spay or neuter...everything will be fine and to tell someone they are irresponsible pet owners if they don't...well I am not judge or jury but if I were I would convict myself of murder for that is how bad I have felt. I do however, try to be a responsible pet owner by protecting my baby and others..he doesn't get out of the house or anywhere in the house without supervision...and is never outside without being on a leash which is more than I can say for most pets in my neighborhood. Some seem to think once they are fixed they can run free outdoors..I call that irresponsible! If the time comes that I do have uncontrollable problems then I will consider neutering...but not unless it is absolutely necessary.

I think it's wrong to put the whole blame to spay... Your baby was probably allergic to the aneasthesia, and if she hadn't been spayed that could happen later, while she was having her teeth cleaned or anything else done that required putting under. I'm very sorry for your loss

[remy]

Originally Posted by SnowWa

Everyone believes what they want to believe.

I believe that responsible pet owners spay and neuter their pets.

The one thing that should be corrected though is that "Spayed females and/or neutered males do not gain weight because these procedures were performed."

Article after article by vet after vet on the Internet - along with what my vets has always told me - states that spaying does not cause a female dog to become overweight. It really is the way we care for our pet after they have been spayed - weight gain is caused by a lack of exercise and an inappropriate diet as they get older.

I have had several female dogs that were spayed. And - before long as they got older, they did want to put on some weight - but I changed their diet (they were no longer growing and weren't as active) - and I got them out and made sure they did some running and playing. These two things kept their weight down.

I had one female that was overweight (not a lot) for a while - and a new puppy that she ran and played with took pounds off of her fast........ goes to show what only exercise can do.

It is an old wives' tale that spayed females get fat.

*****They may get fat - but not because they're spayed.

Carol Jean

i personally think you are wrong in saying that only responsible pet owners spay or neuter their pets; you can believe that people should, but not that they arent responsible if they dont. i love my baby more than anything but i have chosen NOT to neuter him because i dont feel it is necessary, why not just let them be who they are? human parents have the choice of having their sons circumcised because its "healthier" but it is a choice as a parent you make for your son. so your son or daughter humps a lot, you would cut off their reproductive organs to prevent it? isnt the human population overcrowding, too? sure they're animals, but they have just the same rights.

people talk about the good, but there are a lot of risks doing it as well. have you heard all the tragic stories of people who did and lost their baby or had horrible complications afterwards? if you are responsible to watch, well train and take good CARE of your pet, maybe all the "unhealthy-ness" of not neutering wouldn't apply.

i just feel insulted you chose to say only responsible pet owners spay/neuter because that's just not true.

if you listen to every vet and doctor there is in the world and only believe what they say, where do you come in as a parent?

and to original post, i think its purely up to you. i wanted to breed my baby boy too, but i heard after they do it once, like humans, they'll keep wanting it more. but i agree with others, to breed, you must know what you're doing to decide that. for me personally, it would be too painful to see my baby go into surgery and during the healing process.

good luck, and you'll make the right choice for your furbaby!

[SnowWa]

Let's not compare neutering and spaying our pets to having our boys circumcised - or thinking about removing part of our children's reproductive systems.

This is not a good analogy --- The reasons we might neuter our male dogs - would not apply to our sons. We're not worried about our sons running around the neighborhood getting little girls pregnant..and the babies ended up in a people pound because there are too many unwanted babies in the world. We aren't worried about them getting loose and roaming or running away and getting lost - or running out in the street and getting hit by a car. We wouldn't neuter our son because we're afraid he might get testicular cancer later in life....or to keep him from marking or humping everything in sight.

I agree with some of the reasons some of you have chosen not to neuter or spay your pets -- but I wouldn't go so far as to compare them to our children. Other than the health risks - I do think that we can usually get away with not neutering and spaying our little dogs because they are house dogs and are more closely monitored 24/7.

But - I still occasionally read posts here about "my dog accidently got pregnant." However, I think most of us can fairly easily keep this from happening if we work at it.

But - again - how do all those unwanted puppies end up in the pound. I think they are probably more often the result of larger dogs that spend more time outdoors - and, don't we know that a lot of these dogs get loose once in a while..... I see dogs running around loose all the time -- but rarely small house dogs.


Carol Jean

[yorkieluvr2]

I think it's wrong to put the whole blame to spay... Your baby was probably allergic to the aneasthesia, and if she hadn't been spayed that could happen later, while she was having her teeth cleaned or anything else done that required putting under. I'm very sorry for your loss

Sorry you got the wrong idea...I didn't mean to put all the blame on spaying ..I realize it is the anesthesia that killed my girl furbaby and I did not mean to imply that spaying was the cause. I just don't think it is fair for people to judge others and say they are irresponsible b/c they don't go along with the majority. No one knows or understands the feelings I have unless they have been there themselves. Just b/c I don't agree with something does not mean I am irresponsible and I believe everyone has the right to make an intelligent and informed decision without being criticized for that decision. I don't tell anyone they should or should not spay/neuter but neither do I encourage a person to go against their own conscience by acting as though there are no risks and telling them that their furbaby will be fine. There is always a risk to surgery even in humans!

[Kodak]

I just posted about this the other day, I am going to go ahead and get it done. Kodak is 2 years old and just started doing everything I heard he would do younger. He's humping his toys now, and his peterpecker comes out so long he can't walk straight. He's also becoming more agressive like the vet and others here have said they would. I'm going to do it.

[doortego]

Oops, make that SnowWa, Sorry

I congratulate you on your decision to have your little boy neutered. I also feel very strongly that almost all of our pets should be spayed or neutered and all of the animal care professionals that I have ever talked to recommend it. My vet particularly quoted the health reason of preventing mammary tumors in females.

All of the rescue centers I know require you to have the pet spayed or neutered or do it themselves before allowing the animal to leave.

I just don't feel that it is in the best interest of that animal or any of the hundreds of puppies that can come from an unneutered pet not to have your pet spayed/neutered. I feel that if you allow your animal to remain intact you are responsible for any future animals that may come from your dogs puppies or the puppies those puppies may have and so on down the line.

Originally Posted by SnowWa

I have very strong feelings about spaying and neutering our pets.

If we are not breeding (and, this should be left to those who have close-to-standard, good representatives of any breed --- and know what they are doing).... we should neuter and spay our pets.

Responsible pet owners neuter and spay their pets.

We don't do this only because there is no good reason for us to put our little female through the ordeal of having puppies - or only because there are tens of thousands of dogs being put to sleep because their aren't homes for them), but also, and perhaps even more so, for our pet's welfare. Neutered and spayed pets live longer, happier, and healthier lives.

I wish you could read some of the tragic stories (that have been posted here) regarding pets that weren't spayed and neutered.

I don't even think this issue is even debatable - pets should be neutered and spayed. There is no "Should I or shouldn't I.........???" If you're a responsible pet owner - you will!


***** Please remember that I said responsible breeding is an exception..... but, this certainly does not apply to most of us.

Carol Jean