<p>i would most definitely spay/neuter any dog. there can be behavioral problems if you don’t, and i just don’t understand why anyone would choose not to do it. why would you do it?</p>
<p>I am a veterinarian, and I am REALLY surprised that your vet said that–I have yet to meet a single vet who is against neutering any dog that is not meant for (responsible) breeding. The most common health condition it will prevent is an enlarged prostate (quite common and painful, and will basically require neutering anyway). It will, of course, prevent testicular cancer, though admittedly that is rare. The largest reason is for behavior/birth control. No, it won’t turn a totally wild dog into a laid back one, but it will help. If done before the behaviors are ingrained, it can certainly reduce things like humping and roaming. As an illustration for the roaming point, the large majority of hit-by-car dogs are intact males. I know you said your dog will be well-supervised, but very few people can say that their dog has NEVER gotten out. If it does, an intact male is more likely to run, and then of course more likely to become a father, since he has the tools for it, lol. I am not aware of any health/behavior conditions that are scientifically linked to neutering (at least nothing that is common enough to outweigh the benefits of neutering), though I could be wrong.</p>
<p>I am confused by this:
" Sadly, this lack of friendly puppies from neighbors is driving the internet/puppy mill wheel of designer dogs." </p>
<p>That doesn’t make sense to me. If all people really wanted was a friendly neighborhood (mutt) puppy, they’d go get one from the shelter. I think it’s a status thing, or just because people are ignorant of the millions of dogs and cats euthanized every year in shelters.</p>
<p>I would also like to see some documentation of this, as this was not taught in school (I’m not behind the times–I just graduated in May):
“not neutering a male or female dog until at least 2 years of age is now known to be best for the structural health of the animals.”
I have heard and understand the risks of “early” neutering (4 months or younger), but as far as I know there is no difference whether you do it at 6 months or two years. Again, I could be wrong, and our surgeons just weren’t up to date or didn’t mention it.</p>
<p>Someone DID make an interesting point about pet overpopulation not being a problem in Europe, even though routine neutering is not practiced. I spoke about this with a Norwegian exchange student in vet school. In Norway, it is actually FORBIDDEN to spay or neuter a dog except for a medical or behavioral problem. Neutering is much more common than spaying (for instance, they were allowed to neuter their dog because they wanted to use him for hunting and not have him run off). I was trying to figure out from her how it was possible that they don’t have unwanted dogs everywhere. She had a number of theories: 1) Less people have dogs and almost no one has more than one dog. 2) People live further apart–lower concentration of dogs in an area (probably not true in other European countries). 3) People control their dogs better. 4) Unwanted puppies are killed. She mentioned a story about her own family dog when she was little–the vet told them to just take the puppies immediately from the birth canal before they had taken a breath, and put them in a bucket of water. I was appalled–granted she said that was like 20 years ago and it was just ONE story.</p>
<p>I dunno. All I know is I fully intend to do my part in convincing owners to spay/neuter their pets. The procedure is very low risk, and I see very few reasons an animal needs to keep their man/lady parts. For those with female dogs, it’s even more important for them, and it should be done before her first heat for the most benefit.</p>
<p>Sorry for the long post!</p>
<p>Here is one link to studies. I f I find more, I will share them:</p>
<p>Chris Zink is a canine behaviorist so has long had an interest in behavior. However it is well established that spay/neuter too early will drastically affect the bone growth as well as the temperament. Here is the link to one of her earlier studies,
<a href=“http://www.thedogplace.org/Veterinary/0603-SpayNeuter_Zink.asp[/url]”>http://www.thedogplace.org/Veterinary/0603-SpayNeuter_Zink.asp</a></p>
<p>Her web site,
[Canine</a> Sports Productions: Biographical Sketches](<a href=“http://www.caninesports.com/biograph.html]Canine”>http://www.caninesports.com/biograph.html)</p>
<p>I think this is a different one:
<a href=“http://www.caninesports.com/SNBehaviorBoneDataSnapShot.pdf[/url]”>http://www.caninesports.com/SNBehaviorBoneDataSnapShot.pdf</a></p>
<p>My vet wasn’t against it outright and I was talking about mainly male dogs. He doesn’t believe because of many studies, it is a “must do” with some males. He also believes 1-2 years is the best and that’s what the docs suggested at work if I was going to do it. He said he didn’t do it himself, but a hospital nearby would.</p>
<p>He isn’t aggresive at all, not the “alpha” our old dog was and even he wasn’t aggressive, real sweetheart.
He’s a very good pup, active like many labs, but that wouldn’t change and I wouldn’t want it too…he is the way he is supposed to be.
My husband I guess never neutered and all his dogs lived long lives (13-15) without illness so there wasn’t any “I wish I did”. When my older lab was neutered at 11, another vet thought his prostate was making him pee more, he was very stiff from being in the OR,his arthritis setting in more then, and it wasn’t that after all, he had other issues that made him urinate more. (doctor later said he was sorry, but it didn’t hurt him to have it done) It was extra money though and any OR and anesthesia is a risk to some degree.</p>
<p>We probably will, have time to decide,but with every procedure there is some risk of infection, etc. I will read over all the links though, interesting.</p>
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<p>Plenty of friendly, purry kittens and cats can be found in shelters, since humans have not discovered a way to create a breed of vicious house cats (although some are working on it by cross-breeding house cats with wild species). The same cannot be said about dogs - sadly, where I am located, close to 50% of dogs in shelters are pit bulls or pitbull mixes! The % goes even higher for puppies.</p>
<p>^And what about the other 50%? Do those just not count? Your comment makes no sense in more ways than I am even prepared to address.</p>
<p>The other fifty percent are other less desirable for a family pet type canines.</p>
<p>I know that there is a /wide/ spectrum of shelter pet quality, as the quality of resources available to different shelters varies widely, but I certainly hope you don’t discourage anyone from checking out their local shelter by saying things like that. I’ve spent two years working with shelter dogs-- including pit bulls-- and any one of those dogs would have made a great family pet, better than most of the breeder dogs I know. </p>
<p>There are just certain subjects in life… pet ownership, education, and the legal field in particular I think, where most people have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHATSOEVER what they are talking about, and yet everybody wants to talk like they’re an expert.</p>
<p>Ema, what is the point of your pointless rant? The fact is that most people will not even consider adopting a pit bull, period, no matter what you tell them or how much you try to educate them. Do I feel sorry for these dogs? You bet. Am I mad at the people who irresponsively breed them? You bet. What I stated is a sad fact. Yes, the truth can hurt.</p>
<p>Some homeowners insurance policies have specific carve outs for liability from pit bulls. It’s a bad rap and I’ve known a few mushy, sweet pit bulls, but unfortunately there is quilt by association.</p>
<p>It does shelter dogs, and the folks who work so hard to find them homes, a great disservice to suggest that the dogs in shelters are not fit for adoption. Good for Ema who’s putting her time and effort where her heart is. </p>
<p>Yes, there are many pitbulls in shelters. Many of these may not be suitable as pets for some families. Neighborhood breed restrictions may take these dogs off some people’s list of adoption candidates as well. However, some of these dogs can make wonderful pets. Our next door neighbors have two young children and a pitbull mix adopted from the local upscale humane society. The dog is a goofball. Close friends of ours recently lost their sweet pitbull of many years. That dog grew up with their children. These are individual cases, but then every dog adoption is an individual case.</p>
<p>Then there are the “other 50%” that one poster claims won’t make good pets. I beg to differ, as evidenced by our last two beloved dogs, both of whom are shelter rescues. I saw lots of nice dogs in my shelter visits. We ended up working with a rescue group and driving to an overcrowded shelter in another part of the state to adopt a dog who had been there for seven weeks. This rescue group had recommended three dogs in that shelter for us to consider, and all were friendly and healthy.</p>
<p>Finally, the contention that spay/neuter policies have led to a lack of dogs to adopt is a leap of logic that ignores many factors, including the fact that pitbulls take up lots of kennels in shelters because they sit there, unadopted, while other breeds come in and are quickly adopted. Just last week a different neighbor adopted a gentle, well-behaved yellow lab mix who ended up at the shelter due to a divorce. If you want to adopt a shelter dog you may need to be a little more patient or a little more resourceful, but there are many, many great dogs in shelters, and many kindhearted rescue volunteers working to get them out of the shelter environment and into a loving home. </p>
<p>It’s been my experience that the rescue volunteers are extremely knowledgeable and adept at assessing dogs’ temperaments and suitability for potential adopters. They are a very helpful resource. We never would have chosen our dog without the advice of the rescue group that pointed her out to us. We wouldn’t have recognized the fact that she’s the world’s best dog.</p>
<p>Ema and Zip, I’ve spent more time volunteering in shelters and rescuing animals than both of you put together. I do know what I’m talking about, so does Bunsen. It’s our first hand experience. Nobody said pitbulls (all the bull breeds) or pitbull mixes can’t ever be good pets. The population of dogs/puppies at shelters has changed in my lifetime, and Bunsen’s. We’ve seen it. You may not be old enough to have seen it, but we are.</p>
<p>I’ve spent time volunteering in shelters, too, and I know what cottonwood is talking about. zipyourlips and Ema, please do not try to read between the lines of our posts and make outrageous statements that we claim that shelter dogs do not make good pets. They do, when they match what the prospective dog owners are looking for. The poster wondered why people would look into buying a purebred puppy instead of simply going to a shelter. I’ve seen families coming to the shelter multiple times and leaving empty-handed, because none of the multiple dogs in that shelter would match their criteria for a family dog (I do not blame them for being picky - a welcome pet is not going to be surrendered). Many families give up on adopting a shelter dog after a while (e.g., read the recent puppy thread by mini). </p>
<p>PS - When I see “gangsta” teens lounging on the benches in Westlake center with their obviously non-neutered pitbulls at their feet, which happens daily, I want to come and smack these irresponsible and possibly criminal dog owners! Something needs to be done, or the kind hearts like Ema would be too swamped taking care of these dogs’ offspring.</p>
<p>I don’t want to risk boring you with another pointless rant, so I’ll just assume you must know volumes more than I do since it was so important to you to try and make me feel stupid.</p>
<p>Cottonwood wrote, “The other fifty percent are other less desirable for a family pet type canines.” This was in response to a mention of the “first” fifty percent being pitbulls. No need to read behind the lines to interpret this as an assertion that shelter dogs don’t make good family pets. I agree with you that the statement is outrageous, though.</p>
<p>BB, whatever your intent, I found that your comment comparing cats and kittens to shelter dogs suggested that there are not plenty of good dogs awaiting adoption in shelters.</p>
<p>Back to neutering, anyone concerned about their male dog’s appearance after surgery can have neuticles (prosthetic testicles) installed. No, I don’t know anyone that has done this.</p>
<p>^^^Please tell me you’re kidding. That’s just sick. But I guess that’s one way of getting the “gangstas” to neuter their pit bulls. Tell them they can “hide” the fact that they’ve been neutered. Neither the dog nor the owner would lose any machismo.</p>
<p>Hi, I am back with another article, this time about a study (cannot tell how good it was at all- sorry) about possible positive effect on longevity in *****es who keep their ovaries.
Again, not a great article, per se, not that scientifically convincing, but:</p>
<p>[A</a> HEALTHIER RESPECT FOR OVARIES, by David J. Waters, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACVS - courtesy of Dr. Patricia Jordan, DVM, CVA, CTCVH](<a href=“http://www.thedogplace.org/CanineHealth/Respect-Ovaries_Waters(Jordan)-1106.asp]A”>http://www.thedogplace.org/CanineHealth/Respect-Ovaries_Waters(Jordan)-1106.asp)</p>
<p>Performersmom: fascinating article. Using Google Scholar, I went off to see if I could find the original article (here: [Exploring</a> mechanisms of sex differences in longevity: lifetime ovary exposure and exceptional longevity in dogs - Waters - 2009 - Aging Cell - Wiley Online Library](<a href=“http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1474-9726.2009.00513.x/full]Exploring”>http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1474-9726.2009.00513.x/full)). It would appear the author’s primary interest is human aging. It’s not clear to me if he looked for any other factors than age of spaying. </p>
<p>Montegut: my guess would be that neuticles are more common in the show world, where other forms of faking it are present too (hair extensions are very common in showing poodles).</p>