About spaying & neutering (rant warning!)

[Finsky]

Ok...so you are all warned..I need to get some hot air out before I self combust, but please do join my self-conversation. I promise not to burn you with my steaming.

So...it all started over a year ago and I was sort of expecting it...but when I took my older one for her second lot of jabs (12 weeks old), nurse said..."have thought about having her done yet? We can do her from the age of 6 months." And just other day something similar was mentioned about my younger one...
...yeah...that how I felt about it, but I did hold my tongue and gave polite smile and said 'it is bit early to think of that...'
It was even mentioned when I said I'd like to my dogs have at least couple of seasons first... "oh you are one of those who think old fashion ways.." !!!
And now every vet visit, what ever the reason all we hear is hints and straight recommendation my girls needing to be spayed. "responsible dog owners should do that to prevent unwanted puppies"
Well helllooooo…..the way I see it, responsible dog owner keeps his bitches safe and away from dogs! After all it is case of 1+1 = puppies.
And I see it that dogs, which ever sex will need their hormones to develop fully and basically it is necessary for their general biology. Just like with us.
I can understand if there is medical need to have them done and I respect other dog owners decisions to make their own mind with their dogs...but I just cannot bare this 'force feeding' for neutering in every occasion.
Particularly when medical research evidence for neutering and spaying clearly demonstrate it is not holy answer for dogs health and they can actually bring on health issues. And yet almost no vet talk about the adverse effects...

So to be clear, I keep my girls intact as long as possible until there is actual reason to have them done. I don't mind the few weeks in the year we are bit limited and I have to be on my toes and make different arrangements to the usual. Nor I want any more puppies into our lives and I am fully prepared to prevent it to ever happening. I shall have to stick to my guns unntil the vets agree that they could do the job by still leaving the ovaries in to produce the necessary hormones. That is what is done with us human 'girls'...they don't do routine clean sweep for the reason!

Pheewwww…..that eased the pressure 'cooker' a little...only a little though!

 

[Mad Murphy]

It sounds as if the Uk are following the US on this where Ive heard early neutering/spaying is common.

My vet in NL wouldnt even consider neutering/spaying a dog under a year unless there was a real medical need and they never mentioned it as a routine thing.

 

[Finsky]

It sounds as if the Uk are following the US on this where Ive heard early neutering/spaying is common.

My vet in NL wouldnt even consider neutering/spaying a dog under a year unless there was a real medical need and they never mentioned it as a routine thing.

I'm glad that there is some sense to these things over there..
I can't remember my vets being this 'eager' before as most of my dogs have been bitches..it is almost like it is this newer generation of vets that are coming out of school with this ideology. I've been going on to same practice for over 20 years and naturally the staff does change. But it is not only my vets....it is also the general public that is been sold this 'chop chop' idea and they are repeating it like some religious mantra....'sigh'.....
Yes, I know I can't win but at least I can rumble a little...

 

[Ari_RR]

Here in US i do believe early neutering is common.
Can't generalize the vets, though... when we asked ours for his opinion with our first puppy, years ago - he told us that long term medical and behavioral benefits are inconclusive, but he will do it if we ask, after 18 months. We ended not neutering at all, and the entire vet practice was very supportive.

Agree that general public seems to favor early neutering.

But also, I think the majority of dogs are rescues (which is probably a good thing), so owners have really no say in whether they are neutered and when..

 

[Josie]

I think it all depends on the type of owner.
If you are responsible when your dog is in season then no issue. Or if you have an intact male who you can control then great but I think there are far too many owners that have no clue about this. It’s actually quite worrying. I often see a young Australian sheep dog in the park who is intact and has no boundaries or care for other dogs which makes me nervous when I sometimes walk a full male who does not get on with other full males (mine kept on lead always) and the owner is never in sight and usually on his phone halfway across the park! I have to leave quickly before anything kicks off.


Maybe this is why vets want them done sooner rather than later?

 

[JudyN]

Most of the intact males I meet are very easygoing, with people and other dogs... I suspect this is why they weren't neutered in the first place - there wasn't a need. Owners of unneutered males can have the problem of other dogs attacking them though - it should be the responsibility of the owner of the other dog to control this, but with the best will in the world, if your dog is generally friendly with 99% of dogs, you can be caught out. I sometimes wish entire males had great big neon-lit flashing testicles you can see from a long way off.

 

[Kara 1]

I have known many older bitches come into rescue near to death with pyometra because they havent been neutered ...some male dogs can suffer with testicular cancer as they get older ...
All of my dogs and bitches are neutered after a year old ...
Alot of rescues have to spay / neuter early to avoid people breeding from them .....
I think its personal preference wether or not to neuter at all...
And i have never felt better since having my ovaries removed due to cancer ...it saved my life

 

[JoanneF]

I've only had boys, but I'd also be nervous of pyometra if I ever had a girl.

 

[Finsky]

Most of the intact males I meet are very easygoing, with people and other dogs... I suspect this is why they weren't neutered in the first place - there wasn't a need. ... I sometimes wish entire males had great big neon-lit flashing testicles you can see from a long way off.

As it happens, our next door neighbour has unneutered terrier dog and my girl when she had her first heat did anything and everything possible to get his attention. But that little male is seriously confused little thing....he would not react nor did show any interest for mine luring behaviour. (we have a garden wall with teeny gaps for girly stalking). According to my neighbour, her dog is more interesting humping her cats than to understand what female dogs are for!!!???

 

[excuseme]

We have never neutered any of our dogs just because it is the thing to do. I believe in responsible ownership, this includes not allowing our dogs to roam. In 53 years since owning my first dog at the age of 17, I have never spayed for convenience and we have never had any of our dogs suffer from pyometra, neither have we had any unwanted litters!

 

[Caro Perry]

Harri is still intact and will be for the foreseeable future. I'm not finding any reason to neuter him although we will never breed from him. He's far too naughty off lead to run free except in carefully controlled situations. Rabbits. squirrels and deer are totally irresistible and as for wild boar.....!

As I see it I'm trading the risk of one set of potential disease implications against another set. Neither one really outweighs the other.

My vet has never even mentioned neutering to me!

 

[Lennor Magill]

Ok...so you are all warned..I need to get some hot air out before I self combust, but please do join my self-conversation. I promise not to burn you with my steaming.

So...it all started over a year ago and I was sort of expecting it...but when I took my older one for her second lot of jabs (12 weeks old), nurse said..."have thought about having her done yet? We can do her from the age of 6 months." And just other day something similar was mentioned about my younger one...
...yeah...that how I felt about it, but I did hold my tongue and gave polite smile and said 'it is bit early to think of that...'
It was even mentioned when I said I'd like to my dogs have at least couple of seasons first... "oh you are one of those who think old fashion ways.." !!!
And now every vet visit, what ever the reason all we hear is hints and straight recommendation my girls needing to be spayed. "responsible dog owners should do that to prevent unwanted puppies"
Well helllooooo…..the way I see it, responsible dog owner keeps his bitches safe and away from dogs! After all it is case of 1+1 = puppies.
And I see it that dogs, which ever sex will need their hormones to develop fully and basically it is necessary for their general biology. Just like with us.
I can understand if there is medical need to have them done and I respect other dog owners decisions to make their own mind with their dogs...but I just cannot bare this 'force feeding' for neutering in every occasion.
Particularly when medical research evidence for neutering and spaying clearly demonstrate it is not holy answer for dogs health and they can actually bring on health issues. And yet almost no vet talk about the adverse effects...

So to be clear, I keep my girls intact as long as possible until there is actual reason to have them done. I don't mind the few weeks in the year we are bit limited and I have to be on my toes and make different arrangements to the usual. Nor I want any more puppies into our lives and I am fully prepared to prevent it to ever happening. I shall have to stick to my guns unntil the vets agree that they could do the job by still leaving the ovaries in to produce the necessary hormones. That is what is done with us human 'girls'...they don't do routine clean sweep for the reason!

Pheewwww…..that eased the pressure 'cooker' a little...only a little though!

My two lads will be 4 years in July and are unnetured. I plan to keep them so. After all we don't castrate young boys. I had to leave one vet practise because i refused to have them done and was fed up of being told that they knew what was best for my dogs.
If i could find a vet that would do a vasectomy i would have them done as i dont plan to breed them.I agree with you they need the necessary hormones for their well-being . Stick to your decision. A whole dog is a healthy and happy dog. So far my greys haven't wanted to mount any females maybe because i'm mindful of female dogs or whole males when out.
I think it's time veterinary medicine accept that not all animals need to be spayed/netuerd as a routine procedure unless there's a medical reason.