Neuter or Not that is the question????
 

Help, I am in need of some quick advice! I have Tanner scheduled with Banfield Vets to be neutered on June 5th, he will be six months then and weighs approx. 7lbs., My husband and I are still debating getting the procedure done, not so much that we want to stud him out but because of all the horror stories regarding Toy Breeds and anthesetic sometimes don't mix to well! What do you all think?
Tanners Mom (Dee):animal-pa

I had Lex done in January and he did very well. He was back to running and jumping the next day. If you don't plan on using him to stud then I say go for it. The sooner the better so you can curb any bad behaviour.

neuter its better for him now
neutering is a quick easy thing he'll be fine and alot more healthy

Neutering is better to get done before he starts bad habits like marking and stuff like that. At 7lbs, he should be okay :) My maltese weighed 2.9lbs when she was spayed, and she was just fine afterwards.

I had my boy neutered at 6 months and about 5 lbs. He did great, was up and running the next day, stitches healed very fast. He never started lifting his leg - I'm very happy about it as he goes on pea pad and outdoors, but happens to hump from time to time - I guess to show dominance (to his big toys)

I take Memphis on Monday, June 4th. I'm nervous as can be and the poor little guy doesn't even have a clue!!
Good luck with Tanner!!:animal-pa

I just had Slade neutered last tuesday. He was 4 mnths and 4 lbs. I wanted it done ASAP to avoid the marking and other less than desireable behavior.

He did just fine and bounced back quickly.

Memphis will be six months June 3rd and he weights 2.3 lbs ( Just weighted him today at Petsmart, and he weighted 2.5 his last vet visit) do you think that maybe we should push his visit back???

Also does weight matter for the surgery, I don't THINK it does, but after reading a few of the post, I started wondering?:questione

Thank you to all you Experts......
 

I appreciate all the response, has helped ease my fears ALOT (I also have a 4.5 lb male Pom who is not neutered and he is bad, very bad boy re:marking. is in Washington State w/my son) Anyway I will get Tanner in. Poor thing:rolleyes:

He's on the larger side, so you have a little less worrying to do there, but I know its still scary. Just make sure your vet uses anesthesia in the form of gas, either isoflourin or sevoflourine is safe our little ones.

I think neutering is better, and he's a good weight so he'll do fine. My vet wanted to wait a little longer with Jake since he's so small, but now that he's at 4 lbs., we're going ahead with it.

I still don't know whether I want to neuter my baby. I know of all of the positives of neutering, but can someone fill me in on all the negatives of not neutering? Please, I need a little push to get him neutered - I wanted to get a girl in a year and breed, but don't have the resources or time to do it properly at the moment.

Neutering helps with marking and aggression issues. Also helps ward off certain cancers and other serious illnesses, particularly for those males who will never be bred.

Memphis just got neutered on Monday and he is doing great!!! He slept the first night home and was ready to play ruff the next morning.:)
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I debating this for a long time with Mojo. I even cancelled several appts...My DH didn't want Mojo to go thru that, but we finally had it done. T
he vet said that a lot of dogs that are NOT neutered can develop problems...like cancer, and other horrible things. And if the dog is humping and getting, er, what is the word, "hung"...then it is definitely time to get it done! We didn't want to chance that and we went ahead and had it done.

Mojo has never had any behaviour or aggression problems, so I can't tell you if that helped or not. (I do know w/ one lab, it mellowed him out a lot).

The procedure didn't take long (the vet offered me to be in the room to watch - I have a very WONDERFUL vet), but I didn't. I got to pick up Mojo not long after the surgery (again, the vet knows me well) and he did fine. He was grogey (sp) from the meds and he also had his teeth cleaned, etc.

He was fine the next day. We had it done the week of Thanksgiving (last year) and he was acting as if nothing had happend the very next day.

We did buy a little baby onesie (cut a hole for tail) so he wouldn't bother with the area...he never did.

I think that we has Yorkie parents tend to worry too much...well, I know I do and I am also very anal about anything regarding Mojo - I am sooo picky and protective of this little guy!!! And most of the time, all that worry is for nothing!

Here is the thread that I posted back when Mojo was neutered...I am sure it is pretty comical, but it might help ease your nerves.....

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sho...=Mojo+neutered

and this is one of the reasons we got that "push" to get it done...even thought it ended up being "nothing", it could have been (eek)
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sho...=Mojo+neutered

I haven't Decided yet either...
 

It seems most of you are highly in favor of neutering. But what about letting my puppy breed once or twice? Will the desire to mark never go away even if we do get him neutered later? If you have let your puppy breed, please get back to me on how He acted afterwards, as I am trying to weigh out for myself what would be best for my little boy and I.

Diezel got neutered yesterday. Today you would think he didn't had surgery at all. It you no dont intend on breeding i would go ahead and neuter him:)
For more info on spay and neuter
http://www.1-800-save-a-pet.com/publ...ter/index.html
Good luck with your decision

We All Have Opinions........
 

It's best to become educated yourself and make your choices based off of research and what your own opinions are.

Please take a second to read this and know that I'm not against spay/neuter...just "when". And sometimes that means that it may be harder on you because you'll have to learn how to correct some behaviors that you may/may not encounter- (pet ownership)

http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html

http://www.mmilani.com/commentary-200509.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/en...&dopt=Abstract

I found this passage on the first site of particular interest:
A retrospective study of cardiac tumors in dogs showed that there was a 5 times greater risk of hemangiosarcoma, one of the three most common cancers in dogs, in spayed bitches than intact bitches and a 2.4 times greater risk of hemangiosarcoma in neutered dogs as compared to intact males.

This is what my first Yorkie died from at 11.5 years -- and he was not neutered.
We had Ozzie neutered a year ago -- at age 8 -- because the vet thought a loss of hormones might naturally repair a minor hernia. It didn't.

What I didn't see in much of these commentaries is anything about having an older dog neutered. Their stats usually talk about animals 1 year or younger.

Your guy will be fine. My girl was about 4 lbs when she had the procedure along with about 4 baby teeth pulled. These little guys recooperate so fast!

Nichole-
The reason there isn't much info. out there regarding older dogs and spay/neuter is because you then have age as a factor for developing these conditions.
The studies have been geared towards younger dogs which is when spay/neuter is pushed.

Boy, this topic always has so many opinions....I think that whatever you and your vet feels is right for you and your dog is the what you should do. If you are undecided about breeding, then give it some time to think about the pros and cons of that first. If you are worried about an older dog, talk to your vet and then get a second opinion......it is better to hear what several have to say.

AND one of the most important things I learned about all the little trials we have been through with Mojo.....don't always believe everything you read online. In fact, the other day on some news program, they said that you can't go by everything you read online (no matter if it is healthy related and from a site that you would think would know)...it is something like 86% (I believe) of what you read online is false or not entirely complete and accurate!

We do all have our own opinions and that is what makes this world a wonderful place to live......but you just go by what you think and feel and what you and your vet (or numerous other vets you may talk with) feel is appropriate for you.

Too true-
 

Jenn, those %ages you posted hold true from what you hear/read from another citizen too. ;) (since they're the ones submitting the news and articles you're reading/hearing!)

Good post.

Yeah, it's a scary thing. And I'm not taking the online stats to heart. I just found them interesting.

Besides, the stats show that my first Yorkie should have had better odds of NOT getting hemangiosarcoma because he was intact. But that's what killed him. Already poking holes in teh numbers ...:)

Seriously, I do think it's better to neuter than not if you don't plan to breed. We currently have a cat that is right at the 1-year-old mark as best we can guess anyway. He will be taking a trip to the vet later this month.

I had problems with Buttercup marking at other people's houses (he doens't mark at home) before he was neutered and I finally had the courage to do it. He doesn't mark any more and is much more lovable than he was before neutering. Also, I think Banfield overcharges on the neutering. I called and check on the price and it was 300.00 plus anesthetic. That is outrageous! Of course, it might be different in your area.

I had Conner neutered at 6 months. He was 5 pounds. He went in in the morning, and they told me I would be able to pick him up at 6 pm. I called at 3 p.m. to find out how he was doing, and they told me I could pick him up - that he came through great!! I brought him home and he wanted to eat. They told me to wait for a couple of hours before I feed him. He played and you would never know he had surgery that day. He did have his surgery on a Thursday and I took Friday off, plus had the weekend. I guess I was a little over-protective!!