To Castrate or Not???
 

http://www.showdogsupersite.com/kenl...ionindogs.html


I was just wondering what your thoughts are on this. Diesel will be going on 3 soon and is not fixed! To be honest I don't think I ever will get him fixed. I thought this was intresting coming from a Vet who work at a Canine Fertility Clinic. It really makes me stop and think.

Oh I understand. I was just wondering what others thought about this Vet saying that it should not be done except for certain conditions.

Diesel makes EVERYTHING under the sun OUTSIDE. He has NEVER marked our house the first time. I do know that it isn't always like that for others. My grandmother has a male who isn't fixed and he doesn't hesitate to mark when given the chance. I have been VERY fortunate with Diesel. He was easy to housebreak, never marks the house, doesn't run even when the chance is there. He is a VERY VERY well behaved Yorkie. I couldn't have done any better.

My pets will aways be spayed and neutered. It's the responsible thing to do and the best thing health-wise for them

Interesting. Growing up we had dogs mostly shelties and then my first Yorkie none of them were neutered. I guess my parents didn't think it was a necessary expense. The shelties never marked my Yorkie marked all over the house. Also maybe 40 or so years ago it wasn't done as much. One thing in that article he mentioned that you should never neuter/spay at a young age as they will grow taller? Is this true, it seems people are spaying/neutering around 6 months. I wait until they are almost a year just because I usually can't bring myself to make the appointment.

I thought it was hogwash. The number one cause of death for male dogs is injures due to car accidents. I have read the breeder's forum where members describe the anxiety of the males when they smell a bitch in heat. Of course they are thinner; they don't eat, during this time. In any profession, you will find people who speak for or against a widely accepted belief. The vast majority of vets believe castration is the responsible thing to do. I would rather Joey behave more like a 2-8 year old boy than a 16 year old boy. I'm glad you don't have any problem with your dog running away, and I hope this continues for you, but so many of us live in busy traffic areas, and don't want to take a chance.

spaying/neutering does not relate to size
 

My Cricket was very tiny as a pup and I was hoping she would get close to 5 pounds, so I had her spayed at 4 months. She was abotu 2.75 pounds at that time. She tolerated it very well, healed quickly and was her bouncy little self the next day.
She did not grow taller or bigger from being spayed though. She is nearly 4 pounds at adulthood. It did not change her size or her personality at all!
I do rescue and think every dog should be spayed or neutered, JMHO...

:animal-pa

i believe that a simple surgery at a young age can prevent an expensive, messy, and painful surgery later. I see lots of males come in for surgery because they have perineal hernias. These hernias cause some serious pooping problems. Plus since there is a hole in that area, its hard to explain, but it creates pockets that poop gets stuck in. Before surgery we have to clean these pockets out and its not pretty. After surgery the dog will still have pooping problems for a while and their bum will hurt and get irritated not just from the surgery but from the bad poops. PLUS the dog needs to be castrated as well. This does NOT only happen in "old" dogs. I've seen them as young as 5 in small breed dogs.

this article is full of it, if you ask me.

I would never not spay or neuter my pets. I am not interested in breeding, and therefore, do not want my little guy interested in breeding. At least I know that he is "safe" at the park, and no trollop can come to my house and say my dog got their dog preggers.:D

very interesting because like you I have not had Wicket neutered. he was a year old in Feb.
my reason is fear, I lost my first yorkie while he was going under, he was 6yrs old and weigh 15lbs.
Wicket is only 4lbs 2oz my Vet will not consider neutering Wicket until he reaches 5lbs, my vet also says that it's not necessary to neutered males, most people do because of the marking and male habits. Wicket has never marked or had bad habits, also my vet has raise yorkies for 15 years.
I think you should do what feels right for you, listen to that little voice we all have inside us, I have found it's more right then wrong.

My little voice would say save money don't do it, I'm glad my bigger voice researched it better.


I did find it interesting that the vet quoted in the article was a "breeder vet" and the link came from "The Show Dog Super Site - The Best of Breed of Online Show Dog Magazines", the fertility clinic that you are referring to does this sort of thing
· Diagnosis and Treatment of sterility in stud dogs ( retrograde ejaculation, aspermia)
· The complete range of reproductive medicine and consultation.
· Infertility work-ups for the Dog and Bitch.
· Breeding timing utilizing endoscopic examination as well as hormone assay and exfoliative cytology.
· Artificial insemination and assisted natural breeding.
· Endoscope guided trans-cervical insemination, eliminating the anaesthesia risk of surgical implants.
· Diagnostic ultrasound utilized in pregnancy diagnosis, prostate evaluation and general imaging.
· Fresh-extended (chilled) semen preparation - CLONE Process.
· Semen freezing - CLONE Process.
· On site Semen Bank
· Ovary freezing and banking.

http://www.showdogsupersite.com/kenlclub/aac/index.html

I didn't read the article but I do think there is another side to the "have your pets spayed or neutered" campaign. First, just because someone doesn't do it doesn't mean they aren't responsible. What if they don't believe in it? What if they feel that there are more health benefits if they don't neuter? Because that can be debated. If you are willing to keep your dog from breeding if they aren't spayed/neutered, then it is your business if you don't want to do the surgery. If you allow your dog to have pups and they end up in the shelter, it then becomes my business because some shelters receive tax money and the public is expected to "rehome" these animals.

Second, it is debatable whether or not neutering a male is the healthiest choice. Yes, things can go wrong if you don't but things can go wrong if you do. Females are a bit easier of a decision because the health benefits seem to clearly outweigh the risks, but in larger breed males especially, it would be a hard decision for me.

Yes, there are always "mistakes" or "accidents" where a dog gets out and gets to a female but if you have an unneutered male, I don't think it is a good idea to leave it out unattended at all. It is a big responsibility to own an unaltered animal. There are HONEST accidents but if the pups from the honest accidents were the only ones that ended up in shelters, it would be a more manageable number.

My honest opinion is that anyone that does not spay/neuter their pet is irresponsible. Too many "accidents" happen...I see it here all the time. Most people are just not responsible enough to own an intact animal and never have an "accident" arise. I truly believe it is healthier for an animal to be spayed/neutered as well. Unless a dog is a wonderful example of the breed and healthy, it should not be intact.

I don't think it really matters if the dogs a perfect example of the breed or not, if you dont intend breeding then neuter, i remember reading a while back a post ( i think it was my fair lacy) when she said something about, imagine having to live with uncontrollable urges to find a female and mate but not being allowed or able to do the one thing your instincts are crying out for you to do, making a male dog live like that when they dont need to is cruel imo :)

That's fine. We all have opinions.:)
I guess that makes me irresponsible then, because Ellie wasn't spayed til she was 6 and if I got a male tomorrow I don't know if I would neuter or not.

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