neutering

[skinnydipper]

Susie T

I and others joined this thread to share our personal experiences in an effort to be helpful.

I am not an authority on the subject and I am not medically qualified and therefore would not dissect and contradict other people's posts.

 

[CorvusCorax]

I nearly lost an older female to a pyometra so would always spay older females. She had her scare at 11 and lived to 14 and was PTS with a completely unrelated issue.
My last male dog was neutered for a variety of reasons, did it help, who knows, it was two less appendages to get infected. The training may have helped his behaviour, it could have been the neutering, he died young anyway.
My current male is not neutered, again, for a variety of reason, and will probably not be until later life, if at all.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

One of the implants was shown to increase the possibility of testicular cancer and I can’t remember which one. Bar the logistics of day care not taking entire dogs, I’d leave them. The benefits/disadvantages are very balanced. This is a balanced study:
http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

thanks for this CT-very interesting. I was aware of alot of it-hence not rushing into neutering in the first place but it does seem on balance to not be worth the risk in my case. I do find it especially interesting that a) adverse vaccination effects in neutered dogs are more common. I do wonder if alot of allergy problems we see now are caused by early neutering. certainly sex hormones in livestock species play an important role in immunity. Having lived with a dog with multiple allegies I know its not alot of fun-and his was at least controlled by immunotherapy which doesnt always help and b) the actual incidence of bitches dying from pyometra is actually very low in this review.

my vet certainly has never suggested I neuter either of them

SD my last wee rescue was a cross breed, beagle x staffie x something (possibly collie-the SSPCA had her down as a Plummer when they took her as a pup, she almost certainly wasnt as she was too leggy and big although there is someone up here trying to recreate them). She was spayed at 6 months (I got her when her owners died, she was 5)-skin allergies and epileptic and we lost her to epilepsy at 5yo. great wee dog, was devastated when we lost her-she went into status epilepticus one day and had to let her go) but on her own doesnt do alot for the whole hybrid vigour idea..

 

[skinnydipper]

MoC. So sorry about your little dog. Annie was on Phenobarbitone and Potassium Bromide and I also gave rectal diazepam for prolonged seizures. Unfortunately she too went into status epilepticus and neither rectal nor intravenous drugs could not halt it.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

MoC. So sorry about your little dog. Annie was on Phenobarbitone and Potassium Bromide and I also gave rectal diazepam for prolonged seizures. Unfortunately she too went into status epilepticus and neither rectal nor intravenous drugs could not halt it.

sorry about Annie. prior to me having her she'd also been on a trial for another drug (can't remember the name)and had previously been on pot bromide. she was on phenobarb when I had her and seemed fairly stable with one seizure a month that I was aware of-usually at night. she started seizing one day and just didnt stop although I understand that it can occur in any dog its made me very wary of specific breeds that seem more prone to it.

 

[skinnydipper]

sorry about Annie. prior to me having her she'd also been on a trial for another drug (can't remember the name)and had previously been on pot bromide. she was on phenobarb when I had her and seemed fairly stable with one seizure a month that I was aware of-usually at night. she started seizing one day and just didnt stop although I understand that it can occur in any dog its made me very wary of specific breeds that seem more prone to it.

The drugs controlled her seizures to some extent. She could go a couple of weeks or so and then had a cluster. Unfortunately she had more fits when she had an infection. I know there are some who would have PTS but Annie enjoyed life to the full.

Perhaps it was Pexion that your dog had a trial of. It was mooted for Annie but there was some reason why she couldn't take it - I can't remember what now.

 

[Thistle]

Beans, my springer had the Suprelorin implant in Feb 2017. My elderly spayed lab girl had a salivary gland tumour that made he smell like a bitch in season and Beans wouldn't leave her alone. The young lab dog was luckily uninterested.

In hindsight I wish I hadn't done it, however bitch lived much longer than expected (was told gone by Xmas, she lived a full and active (if a little wonky) life until the following May. I had to do something immediately and didn't want to rush into irreversible surgery (castration). He's also a good working dog and well bred.His coat is now dreadful, like a big woolly bear.. He always had a very fine coat and not a huge amount of feather, now I'm constantly grooming and trimming him (I don't want to clip him as I want his coat to improve)

So far his testes are still very small and shrunken. He also seems to put weight on very easily and now is on about half the food he was a year ago but still fatter than I'd like him.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

thanks for your input Thistle, I hope the coat improves! It seems to be the gun dogs worst affected by coat change and neutering from what I can make out.

 

[skinnydipper]

Layla's tumour ruptured and she haemorrhaged when I was alone in the countryside with her and my other dogs. She died. It is not an experience I would want to repeat and it upsets me to think about it much less discuss it.

I should add that I had taken Layla to the vets 3 times in 2 weeks because I was concerned about her, the last time being Thursday, the day before her death.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Sorry, CT. I was not being random or scaremongering, I just highlighted the problems associated with my dogs. I appreciate that entire dogs do rupture their cruciate but the fact this risk doubled I felt was important, to me at least.

I wasn’t accusing, I promise! Just thought that we should research more than one study etc. I do know testosterone helps to close the growth plates so early neutering may lead to leggy dogs/increased incidence of cruciate problems.

certainly has never suggested I neuter either of them

I follow my vet practice’s Facebook page and they posted last week saying ‘Get your pet neutered’. I challenged this cos I don’t think it should be done as a matter of course, which they seemed to be suggesting. I think the majority of responsible dog owners wouldn’t dream of putting their dog in a position to mate accidentally so unless there’s a real issue eg humping [Bear!] I would be loathe to do it.

I’m so sorry about your girl, skinnydipper, that must have been horrific for you.

 

[Crugeran Celt]

I had two entire labs who never gave us any problems, they never wandered and we could walk them with females as long as they weren't in season. I now have two females, one spayed one not and again the unspayed one gives us no problems at all. Did intend having her done but she is now 9 so too late.

 

[Clodagh]

I had two entire labs who never gave us any problems, they never wandered and we could walk them with females as long as they weren't in season. I now have two females, one spayed one not and again the unspayed one gives us no problems at all. Did intend having her done but she is now 9 so too late.

I always laugh when vet nurses (usually vet nurses rather than vets, they tend to have little sense of humour and an inflated view of their qualifications - sorry all VNs) say 'If you don't get her spayed she will get pregnant'. I am absolutely sure there is more to it than that.

 

[skinnydipper]

'If you don't get her spayed she will get pregnant'. I am absolutely sure there is more to it than that.

LOL

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I wasn’t accusing, I promise! Just thought that we should research more than one study etc. I do know testosterone helps to close the growth plates so early neutering may lead to leggy dogs/increased incidence of cruciate problems.





I follow my vet practice’s Facebook page and they posted last week saying ‘Get your pet neutered’. I challenged this cos I don’t think it should be done as a matter of course, which they seemed to be suggesting. I think the majority of responsible dog owners wouldn’t dream of putting their dog in a position to mate accidentally so unless there’s a real issue eg humping [Bear!] I would be loathe to do it.

I’m so sorry about your girl, skinnydipper, that must have been horrific for you.

It's rather like vaccinating, routine flea treatments etc, of course vets recommend those procedures, they get paid for them. They don't get paid if owners choose not to subject their dogs to them.

 

[SusieT]

it would be more profitable for vets to treat disease than prevent them actually..