I think I have read that study about the bone cancer. I have a collection of interesting spay/neuter links on my other laptop; I will see if I can find it later in case you'd like the source.
I really wish I had known more four years ago when my dog was spayed. I didn't even consider waiting or have any idea that there was any reason not to spay. I don't like the fact that many people accept that de-sexing their dogs is the correct thing to do to be a responsible pet owner.
My sister's whippet Joey is intact, and I believe that his personality and structure have benefited from being intact. I plan to keep my next dog intact if it's a boy and to at least spay later if it's a girl.
I feel that if a person is educated about what they are doing, and takes proper steps and precautions to ensure unwanted litters aren't going to happen - great! That's being a responsible pet owner in the first place
( ... )
god help me, it's crossed my mind to have steve's retained testicle removed and let him keep the other one. but i'd probably never be able to show my face at work again if i requested that, because OMG it's a freaking criminal act to have not neutered my puppy at the appropriate age. at least now i can just keep pushing it off to "later". (if both his nutties were down, i'd just leave him be.)
it's frustrating to me, because i feel like people in the veterinary field should be *more* informed, but that's clearly not always the case.
Are undescended testicles a health risk? Just curious -- I've never heard anything one way or the other.
I kept Gromit intact until about 18 months, and man-o-man did I get sideways looks for that! (In our case -- I wanted him to have his correct adult bone proportions and musculature to make him sturdier for agility.)
retained testicles have a high cancer risk- testicles aren't meant to be kept at that high of a temperature.
that's why i am keeping stevie intact as well- i want to do everything i can to keep him healthy, and since i know he's going to be putting a ton of wear and tear on his body and joints, making sure his growth plates close at the appropriate time and his angles end up as they should is a big concern for me.
I'm lucky to have a vet that wasn't military on spaying and neutering. When I told her my plans on Zoran she just made sure that both testicles descended properly and told me good luck with trialing. In probably a month we get to through with OFA and a bunch of other tests (woo more money flying away)!
The only thing that bothers me about having an unaltered dog is female dog urine. It's like crack to them -_-. At least it gives me something to work on with the leave it command?
I agree with you that desexing is probably the right choice for many people, but it makes me mad that many vets either don't know or choose not to educate their clients about the risks.
For what it's worth, Joey (who is intact) is totally easy. The worst thing he does is try to lick the ground where the girlies pee. He's way, way easier to live with and take into public places than Faith.
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There are pros and cons both ways; it's of course, always best to know all of them and make the decision for yourself.
But the majority of people I know with dogs are... less than intelligent, and can't seem to figure out how to prevent getting them knocked up :/
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My sister's whippet Joey is intact, and I believe that his personality and structure have benefited from being intact. I plan to keep my next dog intact if it's a boy and to at least spay later if it's a girl.
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it's frustrating to me, because i feel like people in the veterinary field should be *more* informed, but that's clearly not always the case.
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I kept Gromit intact until about 18 months, and man-o-man did I get sideways looks for that! (In our case -- I wanted him to have his correct adult bone proportions and musculature to make him sturdier for agility.)
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that's why i am keeping stevie intact as well- i want to do everything i can to keep him healthy, and since i know he's going to be putting a ton of wear and tear on his body and joints, making sure his growth plates close at the appropriate time and his angles end up as they should is a big concern for me.
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The only thing that bothers me about having an unaltered dog is female dog urine. It's like crack to them -_-. At least it gives me something to work on with the leave it command?
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(The comment has been removed)
For what it's worth, Joey (who is intact) is totally easy. The worst thing he does is try to lick the ground where the girlies pee. He's way, way easier to live with and take into public places than Faith.
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