Having The Dogs Balls Removed

[Witterings]

As per title .... how do others feel about this, The Mrs is very keen to get it sorted although it seems a bit man hate ish  the way she presents it and I think if she could get a 2 for 1 deal I'd be in there with the hound ... that said she'd probably pay treble if it was just to have me done.

 

He's about 9 months and has a big sister (both labs) which I'm sure is in the balance of him challenging her a lot more recently to see who comes out as top dog and he's just started trying to mount her.

He was also quite aggressive / dominant to a young puppy walking on the beach the other day ... his behaviour actually quite shocked us as overall he's really a softy and placid with all other dogs but this was quite bullying.

 

Personally I could never take him and drop him off at the vets knowing what was going to happen to him although I'm not being asked to ... I think she'll relish in the journey there feeling she has "in control" over what's about to happen to him.

 

They say it calms them down which I get but I just imagine it was me being taken in and the fact the Mrs almost seems to relish in it just seems to make it a whole lot worse .... although she walks him 90% of the time and has to deal with his behaviour that may or may not be dependent on whether he's got his dangly bits still intact or not.

 

Your thoughts please?

Edited April 7, 2021 by Witterings

[peds]

Only responsible thing to do these days, unless you can reasonably claim (between you and the dog) to be able to produce a healthy litter of pups with decent homes arranged to go to before they are even born. 

Male owners' attachment to their dogs' testicles can sometimes be borderline fetishistic. Unless you are willing to wrap his wee hotdog up in a little condom every time he runs around a corner, the right thing to do is to cut them off.

 

My dog was the only survivor of a litter culled as a result of overpopulation and careless owners not getting their dogs the snip. His mother's keeper threw the rest into the river.

Edited April 7, 2021 by peds

[PeteB]

I was against getting our GSD done, and felt that it was an unnecessary expense as well as harm. But, on reflection,  I don't have to walk him, chase him down when he has escaped or worry about him turning into a leg humper! We were never going to breed with him and he has a gentle streak in him so they went. I'm sorry, but, I know feel that she is right and that unless these pets are to be bred, get them neutered or spade as soon as possible....

[Pete Mctree]

We nearly spayed our youngest dog due to prostate issues and as a result did loads of research. We discovered that there is growing evidence that the early spaying of pets impedes both there physical and mental development. The hormones are required for physical maturation- growth plate formation in joints is impeded as can bone growth. I seem to remember hip displasia becomes more common too. Mentally they can develop many issues, especially fear/confidence related. I would have a good google if I were you. 
I am not against spaying, however I think that the vets are out of step with current evidence - remember sick pets are there business. I would get some solid advice when to spay him - people seem to think past 18 months is a good time when physical maturity is reached.

[Stubby]

5 minutes ago, Big J said:

 

 

I would strongly recommend getting your lab neutered. There is nothing worse than a big male dog that tries to hump everything. You're creating a rod for your own (or more specifically, your wife's) LEG if you don't.

 

 

Fixed that Jonathan 😁

[Unframed Dave]

All my dogs have been done. 

 

None of them put on weight. 

 

None of them calmed down overnight. 

 

They all forgave us. 

 

None of them had their health effected. 

 

After seeing my lab remove the cushions off the sofa to hump them many years ago, and a red setter finishing enthusiastically all over a mate in the park, I don't regret doing it at all. Although, I have just had a chuckle remembering the setter incident. I was laughing too much at the time to do anything about it. 

[Youngstu]

Depending on where you live and whether your family likes to be able to walk your dogs off the lead where other dogs are walked it would seem to be bordering on irresponsible not to have your male dog neutered unless you're intending to breed from him. 

I have friends who have had to divide off their houses as they've insisted on keeping both the male and female siblings un-neutered as they might want to breed them sometime. It's obviously much worse if the bitch is in season but the male can be a pain at other times too. 

Other dog owners with young female dogs that haven't been spayed also have to deal with your big randy male dog and his urges. We have a female cocker and before she was spayed on the beach had to lift her up out of the way of much bigger out of control male dogs who were somewhat persistent with their desires!

Depending on your house and garden situation you could also end up with an escape artist if there's a whiff of a bitch in season in the neighbourhood!

[Witterings]

1 hour ago, Unframed Dave said:

and a red setter finishing enthusiastically all over a mate in the park, I don't regret doing it at all. Although, I have just had a chuckle remembering the setter incident. I was laughing too much at the time to do anything about it. 

 

Classic 🤣

[Doug Tait]

It can have its place but in my experience people have the expectation that it's a silver bullet, a cure to all their issues, and are surprised that surgery hasn't resulted in the perfect dog.

 

2 hours ago, Big J said:

 

I can take my dog absolutely anywhere. She follows me and the forwarder round all day, she meets loads of other people and other dogs whilst doing that. I can walk her (to heel, without a lead) through a flock of sheep, through a busy town centre, take her on a canoe, swim across a lake with her or put her in a car for an 8 hour journey.

This is how I feel life with dogs should be, and it is possible without an operation 

[Witterings]

I guess all the responses have pretty much confirmed what I actually thought ... it's just the idea of doing it that I find quite disturbing.

 

Big J ... that's the level of behaviour we're aiming to get him to, overall he's actually extremely good for a 9 month  old Lab so certainly heading in the right direction ... we learnt an awful lot about training by volunteering to help Canine Partners for nearly 4 years which helped us massively.

 

He's actually my daughters 21st B'day pressie, we're looking after him whilst she finishes her OT degree, she then wants to train him as a therapy dog to help her with her work.

 

Cheers for everybody's input has put my mind at rest and he's booked in for the 21st of this month.