To neuter or not

[CorvusCorax]

My main issue is every now and again I need to use home dog boarding - the good/insured ones I’m happy to use round here don’t take uncastrated males over 12 months!

Do they take entire females? If I was home boarding my dog I would want to make sure that if they were not being monitored, which is the best way to stop anything silly from happening, that they are in a secure area away from other non-household dogs, one or the other.

It's just becoming a thing of convenience to lop off bits and I don't know if I like it. As my old trainer used to rant, you wouldn't lop out a kidney if the dog had a water infection. And I say that as someone who had a dog neutered for primarily medical and secondarily temperament reasons.

ETA if it helped with indiscriminate breeding, then I might have a different view, but overproduction of dogs seems to be even worse now than it was before routine neutering was 'a thing'. Back in the day if you had a badly assembled or bad tempered or poor coloured dog you just...didn't breed from it because no one would have wanted one.

 

[some show]

Agree with the comments about male dogs but I think I would always choose to neuter a female because of pyometra, it's so awful and spay incontinence is the 'lesser evil' in comparison.

Saying that I'll probably be getting rescue dogs for the forseeable so they come snipped and chipped whatever your preference!

 

[Jenko109]

Sounds like you just need to work him while waiting his turn.

Sit-stays, down-stays, call to front, heel positioning blah blah blah.

My collie is annoying at agility training in the group lessons and will squark unless I'm working her in some way or another.

 

[BallyRoanBaubles]

Well there was no pestering/crying last night at training so balls can stay for now

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

I've been umming and ahhing about spaying my bitch. She's 3.5 now and absolutely no intention of breeding from her. She is around entire dogs a lot at the yard and apart from her being a bit more defensive when coming into season (she doesn't come with me when she is in season) I don't think they interact with each other any different than the spayed bitches and dogs do.

But I worry about pyometra.

 

[Nasicus]

I've been umming and ahhing about spaying my bitch. She's 3.5 now and absolutely no intention of breeding from her. She is around entire dogs a lot at the yard and apart from her being a bit more defensive when coming into season (she doesn't come with me when she is in season) I don't think they interact with each other any different than the spayed bitches and dogs do.

But I worry about pyometra.

If just from the sheer amount of Pyos they get in the practice where my sister works, I don't think I'd ever keep a bitch entire.
That and seasons are a pain in the ass for both human and dog!

 

[paddy555]

I agree about entire male dog musculature but balls should always be hidden by fluff in my world . I hate seeing a shiny pair of bollocks

totally agree. That is why my entire male GSD is long coated.

I don't think there is any way I would neuter a male dog. A female I would be a lot more unhappy about having to make the decision. Leave her or risk pyo.