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.

[Big J]

We spayed our collie bitch when she was about 18 months old. She only came to us aged 15 months. She's been wonderful, with no health issues relating to it and we've had her very nearly 10 years now. She's fit as a flea and alarmingly intelligent. 

 

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) back if you don't.

 

You raise ethical concerns relating to the operation, but I'd argue that it's generally unethical to have an unneutered male dog in Britain, unless you're intending to breed from it. It's behaviour will be harder to manage, meaning it'll be less able to be fully included in your life. 

 

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. I am lucky with her being so biddable, but part of that freedom is down to her being neutered. 

 

Do everything you can to maximise your pet's quality of life, and for me, that includes neutering.

[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. 

[Big J]

6 minutes ago, Unframed Dave said:

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. 

 

God, that must have been awful. And hilarious 😄

 

For me it all comes down to quality of life for the dog and for the owner. Anything you can do to improve this is worth doing. I'd say at least 80% of dogs I come across in day to day life look like a lot of work to live with. Crappy recall, don't do what they're told, have to be on leads, barky, humpy etc. If you can mitigate any of those irks, everyone is in for an easier life. That's where neutering comes in - you can't expect a sex crazed mutt to have good recall if it's hot on the scent of another dog/sofa/leg.

[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 🤣