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 Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 6:17 pm
Hello All, New to the Guild, so this is my first post. I've searched through the other topics and failed to find anything on the topic of Spaying & Neutering your pets. IF this has been addressed in other threads, then please forgive me for rehashing it. I must admit that I straddle the proverbial fence when it comes to Spaying & Neutering pets. On the one hand, it DOES help control pet populations. One the other hand, it seems cruel to force a pet into surgery if that pet's life is not immediately threatened. My vet has suggested that my male Lhasa Apso be neutered. The dog is going on 14-years-old and has never been neutered. Mind you, the dog was quite old when we adopted him. His original owner was bed-bound and paralyzed, and had died in his sleep. So anyway, the vet says that un-neutered male dogs run the risk of "catching" testicular cancer. But 14 years is a really long life for a dog, and he has YET to get cancer. So, I'm thinking, if he hasn't got it yet, what are his chances of him actually getting it? Likewise, he is so old that the surgery itself could put his life into jeopardy... and there is no 100% guarantee that he won't get cancer, even after having the surgery. My dog is an indoor dog, and really has no interest in other dogs (aka mating)-- therefore he is not CONTRIBUTING to the pet population. So my question is, I am wrong for not neutering my dog? I just don't see it as necessary, and actually doing it could prove to be the death of him. Likewise, do you guys have a particular stance when it comes to spaying and neutering? Pro or con? For or against? Necessary or uncessary? Kind or cruel? This is something that has plagued me for quite some time. Thanks in advance for any helpful advice......... P.S. I realize this isn't really a Vegan/Vegetarian topic per se, but it is one that interests me, and possibly others here in the guild.
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 1:37 pm
For the most part, I am pro-spay/neuter. My old beagle did get cancer down there and I had no choice to neuter him. All kinds of prevention is a good thing. Too bad humans don't do it razz Also, I work and live with dogs so I know what I am saying when spaying and neutering can help differ unwanted behaviors such as aggression, dominance, extreme hyperness.
Let me use this example: A male unneutered chocolate lab at my work named Biscuit is unbelievably hyper. He has a major humping problem to say the least. I cannot count how many times my leg has been humped by him while trying to walk him. No one can walk him without being clamped onto by him. He is very strong and it is difficult to get him off of you when he does this. Not to mention his nails rip your clothes and skin. While walking him today, he noticed the heaping, sexy laundry basket and decided to mount it. If he was neutered, he would not be as bad and a lot of less violated laundry.
I hope you enjoyed that very true story.
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 1:39 pm
If your dog is 14 I would not get him neutered but keep his vet visits regular so they may try to detect anything if a cancer begins to grow. Just like people.
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 6:30 pm
@ Henbane:
Thank you for commenting and the advice. I was starting to wonder if anyone ever would. xd
Even though the vet suggested that I might want to consider neutering my baby--and addressed the benefits of it--he did say that the surgery alone could kill him. What a dilemma to be in! You don't know how many hours of sleep I've lost over this one.
My dog sees the vet every three weeks anyway for his back problem. (Can we say EXPENSIVE much? eek ) Basically, all the disks and vertebrate in his spine are starting to fuse together, that's why he's there all the time.
But, I've been thinking about this alot lately, and since he's at the vet's so often, I think I'm just gonna forego the surgery for now. If something crops up, I'll just have cross that bridge when I get to it.
Why, oh why, must our children tug at the heart-strings so? sad It can be soul-crushing to say the least.
Anyway, thanks for the advice.
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 10:51 am
I would have commented much sooner only I have not been online much lately. Sorry for the wait smile It sounds like you take good care of your old dog. No need to put him through an unnecessary surgery.
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Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2006 5:54 pm
In general, I'm definitely pro-altering pets. I've owned many many animals and they seem much more content altered. Also, it's a really easy surgery for male pets in particular -- no more of an out-time than you get for dental care for pets (they have to be put under anaesthetic for that). It helps prevent animals from hurting themselves trying to get out to go "do things" or roaming. It helps prevent behaviors that many animals get abandoned over like spraying. There is a terrible pet overpopulation problem.
I don't think it's cruel.
For a 14 year old dog you've only got recently I don't think it's really necessary though. If he's really that old and you don't want to get him neutered -- and he doesn't try to escape to roam or mark or anything like that, and you can be responsible about not allowing him near female dogs -- it should be okay. Small dogs do live longer than big ones though!
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Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 1:53 pm
I agree with Henbane and MoonJedi. Spaying/Neutering is for the most part beneficial to the pet. Female cats in particular need to get spayed if they're not going to be bred, because they will simply remain 'in heat' forever, and it drives them insane. We didn't get my cat spayed until she was almost a year old, and lemme tell you, she went NUTS.
However, if your dog is already 14, he's probably at the age where he's loosing interest in that sort of thing. As long as you are careful to supervise him while he's outdoors to make sure he doesn't run into a female, he should be fine.
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Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 2:33 pm
In your instance, I wouldn't agree with the operation because the risks of it outweigh the benefits. Although, the risk for developing cancer always increases with age. The operation would decrease his chances of cancer, but at his developed age, it seems unnecessary to have an operation unless something had already developed.
I've never had a dog, but I've had male cats and rats as pets. Although male rats can develop testicular cancer, the prevalence is somewhat low. I only have males, so I didn't see a reason to have them neutered. Conversely, female rats are at a high risk of developing mammary tumors frequently, which would put them through many surgeries. Although I have not kept female rats before, because of this, I would certainly have them spayed at a young age because it has more benefits when performed between 3 and 4 months of age (*).
I'm sorry that Lhasa Apso has a back problem, but it's wonderful that you take such terrific care of him!
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Posted: Tue Dec 19, 2006 7:37 am
I'm pro-spay/neuter unless you're going to breed them.
Spaying or neutering your pet provides many practical benefits as well as preventing animal overpopulation: your pet is more content and far less likely to roam, bite, scratch, fight, mark territory or develop uterine, mammary or testicular cancer.
Frankly, I think it's irresponsible if you don't spay/neuter your pet. There are 70,000 kittens and puppies born in the U.S. every day - on average, 64% of all animals taken into shelters nationwide have to be euthanized for this reason. Even if your dog/cat is an "indoor" animal, their hormones may convince them to get outside / escape and breed.
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Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 8:58 pm
With younger dogs, I see where neutering might be necessary. My dog was neutered as a puppy, mainly for possible behavioral issues.
As for your dog... Fourteen years is an old age for a dog. Neutering now, in my opinion, would be more of a burden to him than a blessing.
Plus, it's a risk. There's always a chance of the dog dying, however. I know a girl who took her puppy to the vet to be neutered and he died.
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 9:03 pm
I'm for spaying and neutering. Since animals don't (as far as I can tell) make conscious decisions about when to breed and how many litters to have, etc. then I don't see reproductive rights as applying to them, really. I only have experience with cats, so I'm going to talk about them. Female cats get miserable when they're in heat (I've heard of people having to hold their cats all night when they're in heat so they can get some sleep), and toms wander farther from home than neutered males (something like a 3 mile radius) which puts them at a great deal more risk. Toms also get into a lot more fights than neutered males, which puts them at risk for serious injury and blood/saliva borne diseases.
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Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2007 7:46 pm
[ theoretic martyr ] I'm pro-spay/neuter unless you're going to breed them.
Spaying or neutering your pet provides many practical benefits as well as preventing animal overpopulation: your pet is more content and far less likely to roam, bite, scratch, fight, mark territory or develop uterine, mammary or testicular cancer.
Frankly, I think it's irresponsible if you don't spay/neuter your pet. There are 70,000 kittens and puppies born in the U.S. every day - on average, 64% of all animals taken into shelters nationwide have to be euthanized for this reason. Even if your dog/cat is an "indoor" animal, their hormones may convince them to get outside / escape and breed.
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Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 11:02 am
I agree with theoretic marytar on this.
It's so sad that so many animals wind up in shelters, only to be euthanized. By spaying/nutering you pets, you're contributing to a solution to the problem of the widespread euthanization of healthy animals.
Both my kitties were shelter cats, and have been altered. I'm happy to know that they will not be contributing to the problem of overcrowded shelters and the euthinaization of healthy animals. heart
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Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2008 11:24 pm
Spaying and neutering pets prevents a huge amount of needless suffering. There are already too many stray dogs and cats in the world, we don't need any more cute little animals dying in the streets from starvation and exposure. I also think that the brief discomfort caused by the neutering/spaying procedure is far outweighed by the benefits of the procedure, such as the reduction of uterine/ovarian cancer cases. Plus, less dogs would be needlessly put down or abandoned by unscrupulous owners just because they pee on the rug.
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Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 2:55 pm
your dog probably can't have puppies at that age, and as long as you keep it from other dogs, it will most likely be okay without you neutering it. That's basically my view on neuter/ spaying.
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