reasons for altering

[maryl]

I
Noticed that a lot of people on this forum alter their male dogs. My experience is with Newfys. I have never had to alter any of my dogs, even with intact girls around who I did not want them to breed with. I now have a 9 mo old EM.He is my only dog. I was not thinking of altering him, but now I am curious.I wouldn't do it until he was full grown(2-3 yrs). I was concerned about the increased incidence of sarcoma and TLC and a possible connection to bloat. I was wondering if any of you with altered dogs would share with me your reasons for doing so. Thanks, always trying to learn.

 

[maryl]

Sorry, I meant TCL.

 

[Smokeycat]

I have one intact and one altered male dog. The only reason Jiggers is neutered is I listened to the propaganda that all male dogs are going to be aggressive once they grow up if not neutered. He was my first dog and I had yet to learn that not everyone puts the long term health of the animal first. As of right now I have no intention of neutering Kryten.

 

[PrinceLorde13]

I think the world kinda fell under that smokycat, some places make it very difficult or even illegal to keep an intact male and people are heavily influenced by ignorant propaganda, laws, police, public, vets. I actually got rid of my last vet because she was so set on clipping my guy at 6months old. I know there are many places if your unaltered male gets out even with tags on he is automatically neutered at the owners cost, some places you can only have an intact male with a breeding permit. In my area I had to pay like 3x as much to register my male because he is unaltered and no puppy class or training with other dogs around here allows males over 6months that are unaltered. Also some do it out of sheer laziness thinking it creates a more docile easier to manage dog(ie less work as an owner), someone in that same vets office said it to me while the vet and I were arguing, I replied and if you gave your kids a lobotomy they would be calmer and easier to manage, you gonna make that appointment today

 

[marke]

chronic prostate infections ........neutered dogs are without question less aggressive than they would be intact .....i would bet most if not anybody you know that has been bitten by a dog was bitten by an intact male , testosterone is well documented as causing aggression .... i personally wouldn't neuter one of my male dogs unless there was a medical need ....... if the dog is already aggressive when you neuter him i think they tend to stay somewhat aggressive .......

 

[Boxergirl]

I adopted an unaltered male dog when he was six years old. He had testicular cancer from a retained testicle. While the removal of the testicles took care of the cancer, he had a prostate infection that we were never able to clear. He dripped urine and pus constantly and had to wear a belly band, which created an environment ripe for UTIs. It's unclear if the prostate infection and the cancer were related, but my vet felt that the prostate infection was due to him having been intact for so long. All that being said - I will only neuter my future male dogs if they have an undescended testicle or another health problem presents.

 

[DennasMom]

My past male dogs were neutered due to contract requirements (shelter or rescue group), or came to us already fixed.

We also do some traveling, and the boarder where we send out pups has doggie daycare, and requires dogs to be fixed after a certain age.

I would consider not neutering future dogs, as everyone here has convinced me it's in the dog's best interest to let them keep their parts.

I do NOT consider intact males more aggressive than fixed dogs. But I would say neutered dogs MIGHT be less interested in dominating or bullying around other male dogs.

The only time I've been bit was when I got in the middle of an argument between my two NEUTERED male dogs...
That, and all my puppies gnawed on me... until taught not to, anyway.

 

[Th0r]

I'm getting my guy fixed next month at 20 months old.
He's loves all dogs so it nothing to do with aggression.
His constant boners and jizz puddles are pretty annoying though. You can almost see the sexual frustration in him which is pretty sad!

 

[Boxergirl]

I'm getting my guy fixed next month at 20 months old.
He's loves all dogs so it nothing to do with aggression.
His constant boners and jizz puddles are pretty annoying though. You can almost see the sexual frustration in him which is pretty sad!

That's a thing? I've never actually had an unaltered male for more than a short time, so I guess I didn't know that was a problem. All of my male dogs were altered early, before I knew better. If that's a common thing then I might consider neutering my future male at some point.

 

[Th0r]

That's a thing? I've never actually had an unaltered male for more than a short time, so I guess I didn't know that was a problem. All of my male dogs were altered early, before I knew better. If that's a common thing then I might consider neutering my future male at some point.

Yeah he's had semi-permanent boners since he was about 10 months old. Pretty embarrassing when you are in group training and your big puppy sits down with a boner each time!

 

[PrinceLorde13]

I've found that if my guy is "letting the lipstick out" for too long or in public I can tip him over on his side it instantly disappears and doesn't come back out. Thank god it's not a common occurrence for him, and ya if he starts leaving jizz puddles we might have a problem lol.

 

[Hector]

I neutered my male because he was constantly redirecting to my old spayed female. He was on a horny frustration streak for weeks on end. He would cry, pace, pant and not eat. It was very stressful for us and him. The two times he went through this period, he lost a total of 16 lbs within a month. That was very alarming and unhealthy and we were seriously sick of babysitting/redirecting/correcting him.

I have to say it was a very good decision for us. His anxiety levels have been greatly reduced. He still marks and once in awhile seems interested in the female, but one verbal correction stops him. He's calmed down a lot, but his dog aggression is still there (did not expect to go away).

 

[maryl]

Thanks all, lots to think about. Haven't seen any physical "problems" yet but then he is only 9 mo. I only noticed my Newfys letting it all hang out when I had them up on a table grooming them or when one of the girls was in heat, but then they all had long hair.

 

[marke]

I do NOT consider intact males more aggressive than fixed dogs. But I would say neutered dogs MIGHT be less interested in dominating or bullying around other male dogs.

The only time I've been bit was when I got in the middle of an argument between my two NEUTERED male dogs...
That, and all my puppies gnawed on me... until taught not to, anyway.

there really is no doubt that male dogs are responsible for most dog bites , that would be a direct result of hormones , males are both more territorial and possessive ........ I think it would be no problem to see for yourself that intact male dogs account for a majority of dog bites , from many sources , and intact dogs responsible for a vast majority of those ..... universities , health department , avma , legal studies ................. here's one from the texas dept. of health , this is just severe bites , you should have no problem finding some info on just reported bites from any state ........personally I've found this info to fit what I've seen

Animal*s Sex
In severe animal attacks or bites involving canines (domestic dogs and
wolf-dog hybrids), the animal*s sex was specified in 511 reports. Of the
71 female canines whose reproductive status was specified, 15 (21.1%)
were spayed and 56 (78.9%) were intact. Of the 261 male canines whose
reproductive status was known, 232 (88.9%) were intact and 29 (11.1%)
were castrated (Figure 3). Of all dogs reported in severe attacks whose
sex and reproductive status were known, intact males were 2.1 times
more likely to be involved than females or castrated males.
While the exact proportion of sterilized versus intact animals in the overall
canine population in Texas is unknown, a study of the reproductive status of almost 25,000 dogs was conducted
by the Zoonosis Control Division of the Texas Department of Health in 1997. The sample data were drawn both
from veterinary records of dogs which were licensed and from dogs which had been impounded in animal
shelters. The study revealed that 2,788 (23%) of male dogs and 3,756 (31%) of female dogs in the sample had
been surgically sterilized. When comparing the sex and reproductive status of dogs involved in severe bites with
the study population, the following conclusions may be made. Spayed and intact females appear to bite in the
same proportion as their prevalence in the overall population. Neutering males appears to reduce the risk of
serious attacks or bites by more than 2 times.

http://dogbitelaw.com/images/pdf/TX-study-1999.pdf

 

[teodora]

I don't intend to alter my CC male - he's past 6 months now, he's our pet (not for showing/breeding) and I simply consider that the health risks associated with desexing are not worth the unproven benefits. There's an extended propaganda for neutering - sorry, I don't buy it. My dog is not aggressive at all and if he ever becomes aggressive, I am pretty sure there are better ways to manage it. I love the "spark" and energy of my young dog and my intention is to give him a happy life & fulfil his needs, not melt him down. I have a dog, not a golden fish.

 

[karennj]

I neutered Bear for 2 reasons.
1. I was concerned about bloat and knew I would be leaving him for 2 weeks while on vacation so I wanted his pexy done before we went away. I only wanted him put under once so I did the neuter at the same time.

2. When he was intact every male dog wanted to dominate or fight him. It was seriously getting old. I plan to do therapy with him soon and we often go with other dogs so I couldn't have other dogs trying to kill him on visits. After getting him neutered no issues at all with other dogs. Not even at dog parks.

I waited until he was over 12 months.

 

[babyjoemurphy]

We neutered Linc mainly because we'll that's what my husband believes to be right......Ya didn't matter what I said. What Studies I showed him. There was always another study showing the other side of the coin.
Also because he had to be put under for his broken nail so do it now as not to ever have to sedate again....so I thought.

I do have to say he did stop the horrible marking he was doing on our walks. That was nice. He also stopped trying to make babies with blankets, pillows and cushions so that is also nice lol

We also plan on bringing a girl pup in with plans on showing. With adopting Linc and him not being CKC registered we don't ever have to worry about an oops

I still don't like the fact that it has been done but it is and I have to except it.

 

[Th0r]

When you guys say markings, do you mean on walks, or off leash and indoors?
I control outdoor markings by only allowing him to stop and sniff when I want him to.
Off leash, I really don't care except when he's peeing trough the chain link fence and lubricating the neighbours back yard.
He did it a couple of times indoors once on at the front door and the second time on his food bin. I gave him a piece of my mind and it hasn't happened since!

 

[Hector]

When you guys say markings, do you mean on walks, or off leash and indoors?
I control outdoor markings by only allowing him to stop and sniff when I want him to.
Off leash, I really don't care except when he's peeing trough the chain link fence and lubricating the neighbours back yard.
He did it a couple of times indoors once on at the front door and the second time on his food bin. I gave him a piece of my mind and it hasn't happened since!

For Hector - yes marking outdoors - smelling pee spots, etc

 

[babyjoemurphy]

It was out doors for us too. Correcting him was near impossible. I had to walk down the middle of the road for him to not mark. But that still was not the reason. But altering did change his want to mark. Now he just doesn't care