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Post by Carlin on Feb 27, 2020 10:13:41 GMT
There is an interesting debate going on now due to the Swedish Kennel Club (SKK) making an open statement to NOT advocate for castration of dogs unless there is a medical reason to castrate.
My Golden was castrated because he has genetic defects we would never want to spread further.
Buddy was castrated because I never intended to breed him and I felt it was cruel to allow him all the biological drive but none of the means to find release and, to be honest, unsound to have a large breed, uncastrated male in a city where he would feel the need to act as a large, male dog. I think he is a healthier and better dog today because of that decision. Granted, I waited until he was about 19/20 months to do the procedure because I wanted him to be more mentally mature, but I still think it was for his best.
Castration of dogs for reasons other than medical necessity was not allowed before 1989 in Sweden, to give a little background. We also do not have a stray dog issue here at all, to give a bit of perspective.
I think this is a topic that people need to talk and think about in how we ethically treat our house pets.
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Post by goodie on Feb 27, 2020 10:49:03 GMT
Axel is our first male and so far he is still intact (15 months). My mate with the Rottix is a great advocate of castration, she thinks that uncastrated males are more aggressive? I have looked into that on the internet and it appears that the opposite is the case. We do not want to breed Axel, so we are not really sure what to do. I guess we will probably have him done in the future, possibly when he has physically and mentally matured. But we are not sure at all. Difficult subject....
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Post by gsdgroupie on Feb 27, 2020 13:46:43 GMT
Well, you've opened up a can of worms here, there will be lots of differing opinions!
I have all my dogs spayed or castrated. There are far too many puppies around without adding to the problem with planned or unplanned litters. That is my opinion, whether right or wrong. I don't know that there is a definite answer actually, a lot of it is personal preference. Rescues usually have to undergo the op as part of the agreement to take them anyway and I think that is a good idea.
We did toy with the idea of leaving Gus entire (only because my OH insisted) but he was being such a nuisance with his constant mounting of everything in sight, especially at daycare, so we had him done. I'm glad we did.
I do think that one of the important things to get right is the age - when is the right time?
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Post by caryll on Feb 27, 2020 15:31:34 GMT
I don't neuter my dogs. The only exception was my first border collie bitch who kept having phantom pregnancies.
That sounds like I'm against neutering but I'm not - I just don't do it myself, I've never seen the need. However, if you're going to neuter, then do so once full maturity (mental & physical) has been reached & that depends on size & breed.
My intact dogs/bitches (apart from the first) have never had any related illness from not being neutered & have never fathered or given birth to unplanned litters!
It's more to do with greed & ignorance, to be honest.
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Post by Carlin on Feb 27, 2020 19:19:21 GMT
I can say that I've never had an unplanned litter as an adult. When I lived at home there were 2 litters of kittens and one of puppies over the years.
Buddy stopped eating when females were in season here. He could lose 4-5kg in a month. We still waited until he was over a year and a half so he was more adult in his brain- same story for my Golden, Sammy.
Having done a bit of work in rescue I tend to be very much for castration because I have seen the other end of the spectrum in large scale. We shall not speak of the bitch who went to bathe in the sea on Corfu because of inflammation of her teets after her pups were killed from her most recent pregnancy. I brought my Sera home from Greece knowing what dogs and cats faced for a life there when the tourists leave. I tried to wait on her but she went into season and never stopped. Sadly, I tried birth control pills which were a death sentence. I am just happy that rapid intervention gave Sera 4 more years.
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Post by caryll on Feb 27, 2020 20:29:40 GMT
I can't stop what happens in other countries, neither can I stop irresponsible people from having 'accidental' matings,other than through advice & information.
I would be totally against the government forcing people to have their pets neutered as a matter of course. Why should the responsible pay for the irresponsible? What about people who wish to enter dog shows? What about the health problems that can & do happen from early neutering?
I do, however, approve of stringent breeding laws, and if 'accidental matings happen then the owners should pay a hefty fine. If it happens a second time then the bitch should be taken away.
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Post by gtrmacs on Feb 27, 2020 22:40:02 GMT
Over the years, I've had boys neutered and not - not had a problem either way.
Since mine are all rescues, it's normally a requirement of adoption - or they're already done. If they leave it up to me, I'll comply but leave it 'til the dog is mature. I don't buy the 'what they've never had they don't miss' argument for early spay, ymmv.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2020 23:10:31 GMT
If considering castration of a dog or the spaying of a bitch, it is better to allow them to reach maturity and they need their hormones to complete that.
Personally, I would prefer a dog to reach the age of 3-4 yrs and a bitch 2-3 yrs of age.
If one feels that they need to neuter, then there are options that leave the testes and ovaries intact such as a canine vasectomy for dogs and an ovarian sparing spay (OSS) for bitches.
There is also the laparoscopic spay which is less invasive than the traditional spay but again, wait until maturity.
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Post by Carlin on Feb 28, 2020 4:54:05 GMT
Buddy suffered when females were in season. He wouldn't eat and lost 3-4 kg each time. I waited as long as I think I needed to wait for his development. He behaves like an adult shepherd male when in a group (for good and bad) and that maturity came years after he was castrated.
People have asked me if I regret castrating Buddy since he is such a good dog and could produce good puppies but I say no. I think he is a very special dog and there are no garantees in breeding. I was not required to castrate Buddy as it was a personal rescue and not through an organisation when I took him on. I think it has kept him at his mellow state in the majority of situations.
My friend's white shepherd developed an inflamation of the uterus at age 12. When they brought her in for that it was discovered she actually had mammary cancer which had gone undetected so that it had spread to her lungs. If she had been castrated then this may not have happened to her but it is too late to know now. Puffin crossed the rainbow bridge that day.
It is not a yes or no question, I suppose, rather knowing your dog. I think Buddy has become a better dog because I chose to castrate him when I did. My golden became a much mellower individual after his castration. He was a proper arse at times before that. Now he is Buddha and so calm that Buddy protects him when they are together. I've never been prouder than when a husky male (not castrated) attacked Samson unprovoked and Buddy charged across a dog park to tackle and pin the attacker and protect Sammy. This husky had been dominated by Buddy from the first time they met despite Buddy being castrated. Buddy is the only male dog he actually can be trusted to get on with. Had Buddy not been castrated then I think it may have been a different situation for all.
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Post by johnstop on Feb 28, 2020 10:03:36 GMT
Our girls were all spayed being rescue Dogs but the boys were all in tact. Never had a problem with the Boys and would never Castrate them unless it was for health reasons.
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Post by gsdgroupie on Feb 28, 2020 12:51:58 GMT
There is also the laparoscopic spay which is less invasive than the traditional spay but again, wait until maturity. Lucy had this keyhole surgery spay - excellent, no great wound down the tummy, good news all round. 
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2020 13:09:53 GMT
There is also the laparoscopic spay which is less invasive than the traditional spay but again, wait until maturity. Lucy had this keyhole surgery spay - excellent, no great wound down the tummy, good news all round. Yes, I've heard good things about the laparoscopic spay. Recovery time is much faster. |
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Post by Carlin on Feb 28, 2020 13:22:09 GMT
There is also the laparoscopic spay which is less invasive than the traditional spay but again, wait until maturity. Lucy had this keyhole surgery spay - excellent, no great wound down the tummy, good news all round. Sadly, I do not know of any vet here that does that for dogs yet. I know of a clinic that specializes in cats that does it. You would think more clinics would invest in that kind of procedure.
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Post by gsdgroupie on Feb 28, 2020 21:29:14 GMT
Lucy was lucky because our local animal rescue uses a very large (not to mention expensive) vets. They happened to be having a training day covering the new spaying procedure and she was already booked in so that was that! She had her op about four years ago but it still doesn't seem to be a common procedure. I wonder why?
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