May get shot down for this, but Seriously WTF!

[RubysGold]

My mum subscribes to one of the dog magazines, It came through today. One of the articles has really riled me up.
It says that neutering a dog, can cause cruciate problems, and behaviour problems. And other stuff. What it said made sense, and yes, I see that they want to inform people about the risk.
BUT it has taken a lot of awareness projects and work etc from charities like RSPCA and Blue Cross to get people neutering their dogs. This article could undo all that work without them even thinking about it.
We have enough unwanted dogs in this country as it is, and this sort of advert, will make people think neutering is bad, and therefore we'll have even more unwanted/unexpected pregnancies. Which if aborted, can cause upset to the bitch, and if born adds to the number of unwanted dogs!
Really annoyed by the article. Please don't shoot me down for posting this, it's just my opinion
Nickie

 

[Spudlet]

I know what you mean, I got a book on rescue dogs a while back and the author had a pop about neutering. I was really annoyed!

I know any op has risks and it's a decision to be taken carefully but there are so many unwanted pups out there already and this kind of thing doesn't help IMO.

 

[Gooby]

All my dogs and cats are neutered/spayed. We dont want any more animals or to be responsible for getting anybody pregnant! When the time comes to say goodbye to our animals we go to the local rescue shelter and rescue another one.

 

[Digger123]

I have never had my bitch done. This was my choice after discussing it with my vet. We had 1 litter of pups - again my choice. She won't be getting preggers again because I am a responsible owner and I won't let any other dog near her when she is in season !
However there are a irresponsible owners as well as responsible and I totaly agree with what you say. You have to decide what is best for your pet and make you decision on what you know.My old bitch became incontinent after being spayed - a possible side affect which I was told about afterwards.Hence the reason for not having my current girly done.

 

[woolly]

The problems with not neutering a dog are more to do with poor management rather than being the cause of unwanted puppies! If you have an un-neutered dog, well supervised and handled, then you won't get unwanted puppies!!! The risks of diseases occurring after neutering in certain breeds, is high so a good reason not to neuter. I think there is a misconception that not neutering produces unwanted pups... Idiotic, careless management produces unwanted pups!
Saying all that... Our dog was neutered. He stayed entire for 1 and 1/2 years as there was no intention to breed from him as:
a) his conformation was not perfect
b) We wanted him as a pet
c) he was our first dog
d) we are not breeders
The reason we had him neutered was inconsiderate other dog owners allowing children to walk dogs such as GSD's un spayed in season, in a dog rich environment or better still leaving unspayed in season bitches to roam free. You try stopping an Irish Wolfhound on a lead, when a loose bitch presents herself! It drove him mad and so we neutered him and he was a happier dog for it. However, we paid the price as he died of osteosarcoma aged 5. The number 1 killer of wolfhounds and prevalent in big, neutered males.

 

[Goya]

Both my girls are spayed. the lab 's hip score was too high for breeding and Jess is a cross breed.
I've had absolutely no problems with either,in fact it has given them a better quality of life.

 

[FestiveSpirit]

Would that magazine be Dogs Today by any chance? It specialises in sensationalist "journalism" (that is stretching the word rather

) and articles like the one you describe.

 

[Tinkerbee]

[ QUOTE ]
Would that magazine be Dogs Today by any chance? It specialises in sensationalist "journalism" (that is stretching the word rather

) and articles like the one you describe.

[/ QUOTE ]

Lol, my gran bought me a susbscription to that a few years ago. It's like the Daily Mail for dogs.

I loved it.

Wouldn't spend my own money on it though.

 

[MurphysMinder]

[ QUOTE ]
Would that magazine be Dogs Today by any chance? It specialises in sensationalist "journalism" (that is stretching the word rather

) and articles like the one you describe.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ah Beverley Cuddy, the fount of knowledge where all things doggy are concerned

At least its not dog show folk this time

 

[Puppy]

[ QUOTE ]
It's like the Daily Mail for dogs.

I loved it.

[/ QUOTE ]

LMAO!! Oh I'm guessing I shouldn't read it....

 

[Tinkerbee]

Only if you are prepared for much eye rolling...

Things such as Neutering Your Dog Cause Cancer of the Housing Market have no doubt featured...

They may even have done a piece on immigrants stealing dogs

 

[RubysGold]

Haha, that obvious eh? Or have you seen the article in the mag? lol
I've decided I'm going to write a letter to them, see if I can get star letter in next mag lol.
I can see what you mean about it being poor management rather then the fact that they are unneutered, but put the two together and you get unwanted pups. Putting people off means there will be more dogs with irresponsible owners and unspayed dogs.

Nickie

 

[CAYLA]

Typical, these articles are printed and they never think passed the bull [****].
There are risks for neutering and for not, and to me NOT NEUTERING is far more riskier than neutering, there is no way I would put my bitches through a pyo, it's a horrendous and painful condition for them to have to suffer at any age, but at the age they usually show themselves and knowing this is preventible along with mammary tumours is something I can do for my dog.
I have never had an signifigant health problems in my dogs, and they have all beeen neutered young, my oldest dog is now 16, she has never been on medication in her life for anything, same with my 13 year old deerhound boy.

I have seen far more cruciate problems in un neutered dogs than neutered, and the breeding from them continues as with the bloody health problems.
We also believe it or not have more large breed un neutered bitches on propalin than the latter, yep, it's common in large breed bitches whether neutered or not.
It's fine if people want to keep their dogs or bitches entire and say, they won't get caught, but how many do?? inc the posts on here of my bitch has been caught, and the pregnancy goes ahead beause people cannot bear to abort or have left it to late for an injection.

Ok I feel im going off into an all mighty rant, I will never expect people to understand my feeling and understand ignorance is bliss, when dealing with trying to keep dogs out of body bags every day and dealing with 40+ and no less, struggling for homes whilst breeding still goes on left, right and center esp the back street irrisponsible kind, boils my blood.
I see healthy dogs put to sleep frequently and it's sole destroying, and there is only one reason for this, the amount of unregulated dog breeding that is allowed to happen every day.

 

[CAYLA]

Reading that back, prob has nowt to do do with the origional post

I applaud u for writing to them, and ask them where they get their facts, esp the cruciate one, which I find bizarre.
*Cala* laves post to calm down

Edited to say, there would be a mass of behavioural problems if castration decreased.
Why do u never see articles stating, breeds being mass bred and sold to gormless gonks, that like the look of them, and their needs not being met, IS THE PRIMARY FACTOR IN BEHAVIOURAL PROBLEMS.

I know, Im leaving

 

[Spudlet]

ANNNND

breathe

How exactly is neutering meant to be linked to cruciate problems? Because as a total non-verterinary person, that makes no sense to me

Barney was neutered and lived to the age of 16! I can understand why b!tch owners might be a bit wary of spaying but personally I would not have a dog and not neuter it.

 

[CAYLA]

I can only imagine they will pin it on, the dogs gains weight through neutering and therfor more likely a big fat dog will suffer cruciate problems

ok im p!ss taking a little, but thats my bet.

Not....a dog can be more prone to weight gain when neutered, but aslong as u are not a FEEDER and a lazy owner, u can easily keep this under control, but decreasing food and upping the exercise

unless your dog has health issues or bad hips, then obs it would suffer either way.

 

[CAYLA]

You see, there are more health benefits to neutering a female then a male even though it's a bigger op, if I had to....god forbid own entire dogs

, I would have to keep an entire male, I would never own an un neutered bitch

 

[Spudlet]

Hmmm that is a tenous link!

Henry has lost 10kg, all since being neutered, through diet and exercise so what a load of BS is that is indeed the theory!

 

[RubysGold]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only person pissed off at this article.
The reason they made the connection isn't becuase of weight, I'll quote what he says.
<font color="blue">'A study of 1,444 golden retrievers performed in 1998 amd 1999 found bitches and dogs spayed and neutered at less then a year old were significantly taller then those more then a year old. The sex hormones by communicating with a number of other growth related hormones, promotes the closure of the growth plates at puberty, so the bones of dogs and bitches neutered or spayed before puberty can often continue to grow.' </font>
I understand all he is saying there is that under a year old is a problem, I understand that dogs need to be a certain age before neutering, but he then says things like
<font color="blue">'Spayed bitches are 5 times more likely and castrated males twice as likely , to develop haemangiosarcomas then unneutered dogs. Neutered dogs have twice the risk of developing bone tumours. One study showed no evidence that neutering a male prevents prostrate cancer as we are usually led to believe. Neutering is also linked to increased risk of hypothyroidism, behavior problems, contracting infectious diseases and adverse reaction to injection. This is added to the well known problem of obesity in neutered dogs and of incontinence in neutered bitches.
Which leads me to conclude that you should think twice before having your dog neutered. and if you do decide to, dont have it done too early' </font>
This article wouldn't annoy me quite so much if it was balanced, but there is not one positive thing said about neutering in the entire article!
Nickie

 

[RubysGold]

It sounds Cala as though you hate breeding as much as I do. Someone said to me a few weeks back something along the lines of 'I'm going to find a stud for my staffie bitch' I was like NO! She said why, I said, 'go to the local rescue centre and you'll instantly see why, a) 80% ish of dogs in rescue centres are staffies and b) there are enough unwanted dogs in this country, why make more?!
Nickie

 

[prosefullstop]

The breeder we got Stella from made us sign a spay contract, so it was a non-issue. But I never would have bred from her, anyway, as I don't know the first thing about breeding and think there are far too many unwanted Boston Terriers out there. Not to mention the mammary cancer issue.

I must admit, I'm puzzled by the whole spaying and weight gain thing. At age six, Stella continues to be a lean, mean muscle machine. Does the struggle to keep weight off occur much later in life for spayed animals?

Muscles McStinker

 

[RubysGold]

The breeder of your Boston Terrier sounds like a responsible breeder, I think it would be good if all breeders started making people sign contracts.
Is your girl blind in the eye nearest camera? or is it just the way the photo was taken. She's very pretty

I don't agree with the neutering causes weight gain, if the owner feeds and exercises the correct amount for their dog, it won't be overweight.
Not a great pic, because it makes her look bigger then she is, but one of my spayed bitches looks underweight, thinks she is crossed with lurcher. She's certainly not going to get obese.

 

[prosefullstop]

Your girl is lovely. Though I own a little bodybuilder, I have a huge soft spot for lanky dogs

Yep, Stella is blind in her right eye. She suffered a severe head trauma last summer. She was thrown against a staircase by her best doggie pal while sprinting at top speed, and thereafter developed glaucoma. Though the eye was undamaged, the vet had to remove it because the optic nerve was destroyed (what you are seeing is a prosthesis). Here's a slighly clearer photo, and also proof that her insane fetching skills have in no way been diminished.

 

[RubysGold]

She is so nice, I love her devil ears and the fact she's still chasing the ball, and hasn't lost it, she knows exactly where it is, even when blind in one eye.
I have an old boy who is going blind, his eye is cloudy on one side, and he's going deaf, so on walks when I lose him because he wonders off I have to stand and shout his name over and over until he can find me, bless him.

(I have 10 dogs lol, quite a hand full)
Nickie

 

[FinnishLapphund]

I've owned bitches for 19 years and none of my girls have ever been anywhere close to having any "accidents"/unplanned pregnancies. In Sweden this far it is unusual that dogs are castrated/spayed without medical or temperament reasons and it is very unusual with unplanned pregnancies happening, however we have our share of irresponsible owners and I blame the influence from USA and EU for that it is increasing (but to be honest it's probably just the buy and discard society).

Besides the reasons for and against, I don't know about the cost for spaying in UK but where I live, spaying a bitch costs from maybe 400 GBP for a smaller bitch and up to 620 GBP or more for a larger bitch. And to give you something to compare to, a registered Finnish Lapphund-puppy costs about 698 GBP and you can get a decent quality, brand new laptop for less than 390 GBP.


Anyhow, I'm neither for or against neutering, I'm against irresponsible owners.

 

[prosefullstop]

[ QUOTE ]
She is so nice, I love her devil ears and the fact she's still chasing the ball, and hasn't lost it, she knows exactly where it is, even when blind in one eye.
I have an old boy who is going blind, his eye is cloudy on one side, and he's going deaf, so on walks when I lose him because he wonders off I have to stand and shout his name over and over until he can find me, bless him.

(I have 10 dogs lol, quite a hand full)
Nickie

[/ QUOTE ]

I almost lost the plot last year after her accident, but she does amazingly well with one eye. At first she was a bit jumpy if a large dog appeared from nowhere on her blind side, but now it doesn't bother her a bit. Beside her fetching, she still turns on a sixpence and outruns her doggie pals. Often my heart is in my mouth if she runs near a wall but her other canine senses always save the day.

Thinking about it, your dog--facially, at least--reminds me a little of Crow, the dog involved in the accident (whom Stella still adores

). Is she part Border Collie perchance? Our thinking on Crow is JRT/Bassett/Border Collie.

 

[RubysGold]

Yeah, all mine are border collie, collie x's. When we got her she was in a terrible state, we thought she was a puppy, and still had to fill out, turns out she wasn't and is full size. Decided she must be lurcher x collie.
They are a crazy breed, so I'm not surprised Crow bashed into your lass. They are so full of excitement that sometimes they don't think lol
Nickie

 

[prosefullstop]

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah, all mine are border collie, collie x's. When we got her she was in a terrible state, we thought she was a puppy, and still had to fill out, turns out she wasn't and is full size. Decided she must be lurcher x collie.
They are a crazy breed, so I'm not surprised Crow bashed into your lass. They are so full of excitement that sometimes they don't think lol
Nickie

[/ QUOTE ]

You must be run ragged with ten Collies

Do you have any photos of them all together?

I consider Stella an energetic dog; she will play with her damn squeaky ball for hours and hours, but Crow takes the definition to a whole other level. When we walk the pair of them together, Crow runs in these massive arcs through the woods, takes a plunge in the lake, and then she's off again. She is such a sweetie--Stella is absolutely the dominant one in the relationship--but being comprised of a hunting breed, a herding breed and a terrier does mean that she's very conflicted!

 

[RubysGold]

Yeah, definitely run ragged, but when people ask I always respond with 'i don't want 10 dogs, but I love them all and wouldn't be without any'
Squeaky balls are a pain arent they haha. Collies can run all day and not get tired! They are definitely hard work, but boy are they intelligent.
Havent got a pic with all in, as they wont all sit still, but will put a few up so that all are included. Mine do agility, which gets some of the energy out, collies are fantastic if you can channel the energy into something constructive.

Me and my mum. Left hand side, at front is Bilbo, behind him is Maddi, on the wall between us is Willow, other one on wall is Angel, the 3 dogs in front of me: one standing up is megan, sitting down black and white is Sian, the mostly white one is Bess.

This one is Abby, one of my 3 oldies

The other two oldies, silver tinsel Jake, gold tinsel Kira

Sian and Maddi, who are in first photo but are mine because I compete them

Nickie

 

[woolly]

and indeed in wolfhounds certainly there is a link between osteosarcoma and neutering... Even if that is completely conclusive, would I do it again... YES!!!! Better our dog had 5 years of not being driven mad by trailing bitches (he lost weight, exercised continuously until he would literally drop as he was so driven to go for walkies and smell the scent) and be happy concentrating on his hunting which he adored...Osteosarcoma is prevalen in the breed and we took part in a study with the AHT before he died as hopefully one day they can find out why.