Then call me irresponsible!:rolleyes: I have 2 male dogs in my house so I don't think either one of them will get pregnant. I live in the country and the closest dog is a MALE Golden Ret. We all have our own opinions and it doesn't mean that one is always right! I made the choice not to have Diesel fixed and I am just fine with that. So, if that makes me irresponsible then so be it.:)

Same here for me.

I have and always will spay and neuter my pets since I have not intention to breed or show. It is a choice that I have made for them. Everyone is different. For me, I feel it is my responsibility to do so.

This link provides some good information on neutering. http://www.peteducation.com/article....&articleid=911

My advice is to take your time, do your research make the decision that is best for you. I had my Max neutered on Jan 22nd @ 16 mos and would give anything if I could have it reversed. He was a humper (lol) but never sprayed in the house, well behaved, etc. The vet talked me into it for his future health, etc. Max was very active and we walked 3x a day, the "long" walk sometimes 1-3 miles. His appetite was great - he didn't eat a lot but ate regularly and drank a lot of water. I live in a very hilly neighborhood. Max would run up and down hills with reckless abandon and then want to go again, jump up and down from the sofa, run through the house - just a little five alarm fire!

When he was neutered he weighed 4 pounds 13 ounces. He gained over a pound and is taller, pants on walks he used to run on and can barely get on the sofa. I had to carry him back from one of his fav walks last week and cried all the way home. His appetite has become a nightmare for me and he's just not the same bouncy little guy he was before. He did stop humping. If I had it to do over, I would not have the surgery or I would have done a LOT more research and taken more time to think about it.

Maybe that makes me irresponsible (even though there have been no accidents - not saying it couldn't happen though) but he seemed healthier before. Vets need to mention both sides of the equation which mine did not. She made it seem like I did not care about his health if I did not have him fixed and the brunt of the spay/neuter crisis would be my fault. She now says there is just more of him to love and I should be glad he has calmed down. Get out of here....I don't care how much he weighs, I just want him to be able to run and play like he used too. He still gets around and has a lot of fun but he is not the same boy.

I apologize for the length of this and that it might make some people mad. This is just my experience and not in any way meant as a suggestion not to neuter.

[QUOTE=Nancy1999;1886287]My little voice would say save money don't do it, I'm glad my bigger voice researched it better.

Money is not the question with me, I did my research had the best vet, all blood work done, heart monitor, right meds, and still my yorkie died on the table,

so call me irresponsible that I have not had Wicket neutered, sure it's a one in a thousand chance that something can happen, but it happen to me and I am not willing to risk it again.

What she meant was, unless the dog is a perfect example of the breed (AKA -- you're going to breed him), you should neuter.

perfect example right here in this forum....someone is worried their dog is pregnant. Said they were very diligent to keep them apart but is now worried something happened. I see this way too much... most people can't handle having an intact pet

I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to sound flippant. If something like that happened to me, I would probably feel the same way. I had several dogs get hit by cars when I was growing up, and when I found out this could have probably been prevented had they been neutered, I became a big fan of neutering. Also pregnancy can be a real risk for a female dog. Anyway, I'm really sorry this happened to you.

Wow
 

With all the pros and cons as to weither or not to have dogs neutered , I am really happy that my baby was done with the previous owner.. Cooper is 17 months old, VERY active with no health issues as of yet. But I certainly would have been worried about having him done.. :confused:

Here are a few reasons NOT to neuter:
-if done before one year of age, significantly increases the risk of osteosarcome (bone cancer); this is a common cancer in medium/large and larger breeds with poor prognosis
-increases the risk of cardiac hemangiosarcoma by a factor of 1.6
-triples the risk of hypothyroidism
-increases the risk of progressive geriatric cognitive impairment
-triples the risk of obesity, a common health problem in dogs with many associated health problems
-quadruples the small risk (<0.6%) of prostate cancer
-doubles the small risk (<1%) of urinary tract cancers
-increases the risk of orthopedic disorders
-increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccinations
http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongT...uterInDogs.pdf

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

I'm not sure 100% of this is true but the second site seems to support it.
The osteosarcoma part seems to be confirmed and hemangiosarcoma.
Please do what you think is best (and study, because the procedure may need to be done later in life anyway) and don't be pressured into anything.
This is for neutering, not spaying.

I know just where you are coming from , Ichabob. I just lost my first Yorkie , Gordon at 5 months during his surgery. He is the reason I found this site.
My husband purchased Parker for me , two days later and he is now 5 months old. I am not saying I won't have it done, but not right now.
My vet understands how I feel and he knows, I just need a little more time and I will have it done.

I am so sorry for your lost, this is something you don't get over easily, unless you been through it it's hard for people to understand the fear that over come you just thinking about it.

Wicket is a 1yr old and 4lbs, I am just not mentally ready to go through this again right now.

If I ever get a male puppy, he will be neutered as soon as I bring him home..between 12 and 16 weeks...no later than 16 weeks for sure. I don't mind waiting a little longer for a spay but not a neuter. I want to stop problematic behavior before it begins. I'm personally not worried about the supposed negatives..I really don't believe there are any negatives to neutering.

i'm with you. as soon as those things drop and he's a good size, he's getting them chopped off.

I don't agree with the list of reason NOT to neuter that Ellie May cited off another website. The reason it appears that more neutered males have these issues is because more pets are neutered then left intact so the percentages are going to be off base. Say i did a survey off all the male dogs that come into my hospital and i screen then for some of the issues listed. I do this over a course of a year. I'm definitely going to get a higher percentage of neutered males then intact males because most pet owners have their animals spayed/neutered. so that's not saying that intact males also don't have these problems, its just that there is less of them so of course the percentage is going to be less.

i did not read the sites listed to see if they took a large quantity of equal numbers of intact and neutered males