To Desex Or Not To Desex

[WoofnHoof]

I was told today my boy will be getting a new collar. A pink one

Ugh you clearly need new friends, anyone who carries on like that about a responsible dog owner's decision is a waste of space.

[Gayle.]

My boy was desexed at 4 months of age, and at almost 3, he is very much a male. He started lifting his leg to pee at 10 months, he had no other male to copy so it is not learned behaviour, nor is it linked to sex hormones.

He looks like a male of his breed.....he's developed a broad chest and shoulders, a full ruff, good bone and he definitely has a big, solid male head.

He never got the chance to produce sex hormones as he was neutered so young, but he didn't grow up to be girly or have feminine features. If you saw hime side by side with my entire 2 yo female, you'd be able to pick at a distance which one was the male.

[Clyde]

My fave collar for my Rotti was pink and aqua with flowers. - real dogs wear flowers and pink

[RL1]

Ugh you clearly need new friends, anyone who carries on like that about a responsible dog owner's decision is a waste of space.

Not everyone sees it that way. My boys no longer a man to some.

My boy was desexed at 4 months of age, and at almost 3, he is very much a male. He started lifting his leg to pee at 10 months, he had no other male to copy so it is not learned behaviour, nor is it linked to sex hormones.

He looks like a male of his breed.....he's developed a broad chest and shoulders, a full ruff, good bone and he definitely has a big, solid male head.

He never got the chance to produce sex hormones as he was neutered so young, but he didn't grow up to be girly or have feminine features. If you saw hime side by side with my entire 2 yo female, you'd be able to pick at a distance which one was the male.

I didn't know you could desex them so young

My fave collar for my Rotti was pink and aqua with flowers. - real dogs wear flowers and pink

No, this boy won't be wearing pink. I've done enough to him already.

[geo]

A little off topic but i was reading the other day that if a dog (either sex) is desexed too young they will encounter several issues;

1, their bone mass will be lighter, they will be taller (due to no hormones to stop the growth plates) and have a smaller head size.

2, the leg bones mature at different rates, so a tibia for example will be fully grown at 8 months however the femur (or whatever the correct terminology is) will not be fully grown until 14 months, but it needs the sex hormones to stop the growth plates. Thus resulting in a lot of joint problems mainly with their knees/ankles

So when i saw the question to "desex or not to desex?" i though what will i do..?

I have a male that i don't intend on breeding (too many dogs being put down etc..) so i thought that i'd let him fully grow as i've always thought that desexing too early would inhibit growth, then give him the snip.

anyones opinion on when to snip would be good, wait 'til fully grown or earlier?

[WoofnHoof]

Ugh you clearly need new friends, anyone who carries on like that about a responsible dog owner's decision is a waste of space.

Not everyone sees it that way. My boys no longer a man to some.

See that's a completely alien concept to me, the dog doesn't care, why should anyone else? My dogs are males (note not men that is a human version of a male) they have doodles I am pretty sure they don't care if someone wants to project some kind of anthropomorphic feeling of male inadequacy onto them, they don't need balls for 99.9% of their daily activities (the other 0.1% is spent licking themselves and they do well enough without lol).

TBH I think that kind of mentality is potentially very harmful and not just relating to dogs, maybe you should ask your mates if they had to have a cancerous testicle removed would they like it if other blokes thought less of them? Would they risk their health and keep said nut because of some perception that without a full set they are somehow not a man? There are many men who have had to deal with this sort of thing and I think it is important to look at the deeper implications of this kind of thing because a lot of men not only avoid getting medical help for this sort of thing, but can also suffer depression because of the fact that these beliefs are quite ingrained and anything that can be done to combat them is a good thing IMO.

Be proud of your desexed male dog I'm sure he is proud of you

[Diva]

anyones opinion on when to snip would be good, wait 'til fully grown or earlier?

Personally, if you have a secure enough yard that you can guarantee no escape, I'd let him mature first. It's not an opinion popular on this forum and most will disagree with me, but I have a giant breed and I take the growth plate issues seriously. Small breed which matures early it probably doesn't matter.

Rottylover, the only blokes who think your dog isn't a man anymore are those who, firstly, confuse their dog's balls with their own, and secondly, think the only think that makes them a real man is testicles. Not right, not bright and not worth it. IMHO

Edited January 1, 2010 by Diva

[RL1]

See that's a completely alien concept to me, the dog doesn't care, why should anyone else? My dogs are males (note not men that is a human version of a male) they have doodles I am pretty sure they don't care if someone wants to project some kind of anthropomorphic feeling of male inadequacy onto them, they don't need balls for 99.9% of their daily activities (the other 0.1% is spent licking themselves and they do well enough without lol).

TBH I think that kind of mentality is potentially very harmful and not just relating to dogs, maybe you should ask your mates if they had to have a cancerous testicle removed would they like it if other blokes thought less of them? Would they risk their health and keep said nut because of some perception that without a full set they are somehow not a man? There are many men who have had to deal with this sort of thing and I think it is important to look at the deeper implications of this kind of thing because a lot of men not only avoid getting medical help for this sort of thing, but can also suffer depression because of the fact that these beliefs are quite ingrained and anything that can be done to combat them is a good thing IMO.

Be proud of your desexed male dog I'm sure he is proud of you

I am. He's the same dog to me. Just might take a bit of getting used to.

He worships the ground i walk on

I visited the parents today to see my sisters baby, and even they couldn't believe i had him desexed. They were

almost shocked.

Rottylover, the only blokes who think your dog isn't a man anymore are those who, firstly, confuse their dog's balls with their own, and secondly, think the only think that makes them a real man is testicles. Not right, not bright and not worth it. IMHO

Yes, to some it's not the done thing for a guy to have his tough male dog to be desexed.

Anyway, i won't go on about it. It's done.

Edited January 1, 2010 by RottyLover01

[WoofnHoof]

Good to hear

[corrie]

Edited January 1, 2010 by corrie

[Gayle.]

I didn't know you could desex them so young

When I bought him, it was on the condition that I have him desexed as soon as possible. He was bred from some serious working lines, the sire was imported into Australia by the breeder and she wanted to protect her lines by not allowing the offspring to be indiscriminately bred from by someone who wouldn't have a clue what they were doing.

Can't say I blame her for that, she paid a lot of money to import the sire and if it were me, I'd probably do the same.

The vets will desex from 8 weeks of age....founr months was absolutely not a problem for them. He is the right size, the right build and has all the right features (bar his balls) for a male of his breed. His legs aren't longer than they should be, he isn't taller than the standard and he looks perfectly proportioned.

And he has the very best of temperaments. He is sweet natured, friendly, funny and a great big smooch. Being neutered at such a young age did him absolutely no harm whatsoever.

[OSoSwift]

RL01 - We had our Stafford desexed at 8 years of age due to testicles of different sizes. Although it turned out the were shrinking due to old age, the easiest way to deterine if there was a tumour was removal.

My husband is a not desex male dog person at all! He did it because the health of his dog was potentially at stake. He now doesn't even think of it! He still cocks his leg, still taste female dog wee and will still hump given half the chance - when our Whippet was in season, he couldn't get close enough to her very often though.

My general thing is to not desex them until they are mature, for me around 18 months (at least one season for a bitch).

I have two entire Whippets here, Rommi will be desexed either when I decide she will definately not have a litter, has reached my cut off for a safe breeding age or if there is any sign of a medical problem. Lewis will probably not be desexed unless there is a medical indication.

In a few months time you probably not even think about wether dog has his testicles. He now has a much decreased chance of any prostate problems and no testicular cancer (obviously).

Tell the "friends" who are giving you a hard time to bugger off and waste someone elses time.

[Erny]

My husband is a not desex male dog person at all! He did it because the health of his dog was potentially at stake. He now doesn't even think of it! He still cocks his leg, still taste female dog wee and will still hump given half the chance - when our Whippet was in season, he couldn't get close enough to her very often though.

Hhhmmm. But what about your Staffy?

Sorry ...... couldn't resist.

[OSoSwift]

Yep Staffy does!

Didn't think about that too hard did I!

[Tassie]

RottyLover01

Two words for people who make comments -

Lance Armstrong.

:D

[felix]

He now has a much decreased chance of any prostate problems and no testicular cancer (obviously).

Obviously desexed dogs can't get testicular cancer. However, desexed dogs has 4 times more chance to develop prostate cancer. Just to set the facts right.

Cheers

[Starkehre]

A little off topic but i was reading the other day that if a dog (either sex) is desexed too young they will encounter several issues;

1, their bone mass will be lighter, they will be taller (due to no hormones to stop the growth plates) and have a smaller head size.

2, the leg bones mature at different rates, so a tibia for example will be fully grown at 8 months however the femur (or whatever the correct terminology is) will not be fully grown until 14 months, but it needs the sex hormones to stop the growth plates. Thus resulting in a lot of joint problems mainly with their knees/ankles

So when i saw the question to "desex or not to desex?" i though what will i do..?

I have a male that i don't intend on breeding (too many dogs being put down etc..) so i thought that i'd let him fully grow as i've always thought that desexing too early would inhibit growth, then give him the snip.

anyones opinion on when to snip would be good, wait 'til fully grown or earlier?

Geo, my personal opinion is to wait until the dog is atleast 14 -18 months of age, but this depends on the breed. Smaller breeds reach physical maturity younger than larger breeds and individual dogs mature at differing rates dependant upon their lines etc.

And the information you post is quite correct, but less noticeable in toy or small breeds and sometimes difficult to notice in some medium breeds also. It is typically the large and giant breeds that these factors are more relevant to as it is more obvious and as they are heavier can be more of an issue.

So, for your situation, IMO it depends on what breed you have, and when that individual dogs' growth plates are closed and he is fully mature structurally.

[RL1]

He now has a much decreased chance of any prostate problems and no testicular cancer (obviously).

Obviously desexed dogs can't get testicular cancer. However, desexed dogs has 4 times more chance to develop prostate cancer. Just to set the facts right.

Cheers

You're kidding me, right ??

Wish i'd known that.

[OSoSwift]

He now has a much decreased chance of any prostate problems and no testicular cancer (obviously).

Obviously desexed dogs can't get testicular cancer. However, desexed dogs has 4 times more chance to develop prostate cancer. Just to set the facts right.

Cheers

Why is it then if a dog has an enlarged Prostate one of the first recommended treatments is desexing?

[OSoSwift]

He now has a much decreased chance of any prostate problems and no testicular cancer (obviously).

Obviously desexed dogs can't get testicular cancer. However, desexed dogs has 4 times more chance to develop prostate cancer. Just to set the facts right.

Cheers

You're kidding me, right ??

Wish i'd known that.

I don't think that is correct, I have found this and this is from the first animald medical site I came across

When an unneutered male dog reaches 8 years of age, he has a greater than 80% chance of developing prostate disease, but it is rarely cancerous (benign or malignant). The gland serves the same function in the dog as it does in man and suffers from all the same diseases. Fortunately for the dog, however, the incidence of life-threatening conditions is much lower. Still, most unneutered canines will at one time or another, suffer a lot of discomfort if not severe pain due to the prostate gland.

In almost all cases, where it is an option, the patient is neutered, because after the testosterone is removed, the gland will shrink and the condition is much easier to treat.

Over 90% of all prostatic diseases would be prevented during the life of all dogs if the animal was castrated in the first year of life. Neutering will have no effect on the incidence of cancer, but remember this is very rare.

Edited January 3, 2010 by Rommi n Lewis