Hi everyone hope all is well, Henry is currently 9 weeks we arent going to neuter him yet but in the very far away future we were debating this. Apparently neutering him and not neutering him has its pros and cons and i heard neutering them can cause bone cancers and thyroid problems? ive never had a boy dog! just wondering what anyone has experienced/done thanks
Here's an article that may help you out: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/should-i-have-my-labrador-neutered-the-latest-evidence/ I chose not to have Shadow neutered unless he has any unmanageable sexually-driven behaviour. As of now (20 months) he doesn't; he's not even interested in bitches in season. If I were considering neutering for behavioural reasons, I would absolutely use chemical castration as a first port of call to see how his behaviour was affected. Once you chop them off, there's no going back!
I have two male Labs and both have been castrated, one is ten years old and the other is four years old. If you are going to castrate it is better to leave them until they are at least 18 months old and then they will have stopped growing, if you do them too early it can affect their bone growth, grow too much I believe. I possibly would not have castrated the younger one but both had a discharge which got on the walls and paintwork!
Oban was going to be snipped. But lucky for him I found the Sanborn and Kustritz articles, took them to my Vet to discuss and she completely flip flopped from saying he should be neutered by six months to saying we could wait till 18 months. 18 months came, we weren't having any issues (pun intended) that I could relate to sex hormones, and 18 months went. He's eight and a half now, still intact.
I have been dithering about Henry - although he is too little to even consider it at the mo, but over the years I have had two who had testicular cancer and so were 'done' as a matter of urgency. I will check out the link suggested above.
I like to keep my dog's entire unless they have a medical problem. My present Pointer was castrated at 3yrs old due to an enlarged prostate, it didn't change his character or habits at all, he's still top dog. It's just my personal observation but both the dogs I've had castrated seemed to lose some of their condition / muscle mass and become a little weedy looking despite having the same exercise routine as before.
IMO the testicular cancer question is an easy decision. Yes, more intact boys get it. BUT, more neutered boys get prostate cancer. Other prostate issues seem to be more common in intact boys but cancer is the worst, again IMO, and it is 4 x higher in neutered boys than intact. Testicular cancer is easier to find, you can often see problems; and easier to treat, then you snip. Prostate cancer is internal. The symptoms are harder to see and can resemble symptoms of other things. And it is greatly harder to treat. The numbers of both are low compared to some other cancers and other problems. @lynnew You had really bad luck to have two boys with it, really bad. @mandyb Oban has recently put me through some anxiety with an enlarged prostate. He was going to be neutered but with TCM the prostate is back to normal size. My Vet says she has more neutered boys than intact in her practice but she sees enlarged prostate in both neutered and intact. My friend with a 9 year old stud Keeshond also has an enlarged prostate and he is being successfully treated with what is typically human meds for it, as the dog ones usually used didn't work as well on him You have to check the boys regularly, feel him up. He'll probably like it.
Enlarged prostates are almost a given in all entire dogs by a certain age. Testicular cancer is very rare. 4 x very rare is still very rare. Before getting scared about specific diseases it's important to look at the actual base risk level, otherwise statements like '4 times the rate' or a '50% increase in risk' don't have any real meaning.
Yes, you should. Just like all his other parts, you should check by feeling for changes, as well as looking. You should be familiar with how he normally looks and feels so you'll notice a difference.
Thanks for this - I will check him, it wont be hard as he sleeps on his back with his legs flopped apart and there they all for all the world to see, ( and now feel ) regards, Lynne
I do check Rory plumbs. I know what they look like and what texture they are, just keep an eye on em like every thing else. My old dog was castrated a per vet advise at the time. He didn't need it and he developed a type of lupus which he more than likely wouldn't if we left well alone. I've not neutered Rory and have no intention of doing so at this stage. If he has any health problems due to this I will deal with it when it happens. The only thing which does worry me is that in this area unneutered males have been stolen for breeding. I keep a close eye on Rory.
Yup, just like all the boys in our lives need a good feel-up every now and again I had a quick feel of Shadow's after it was brought up a week or so ago. I made sure OH wasn't around .... don't want him to get jealous
yep don't tell your non doggy friends else you may end up on a register. rorys go neon pink in hot weather and small school boys laugh a point
Slightly off topic, but only just, currently have a giggle every time I look at the Forum calendar at work - I love the photo of Charlie with flying plums @JulieT (Although....that IS April isn't it, I haven't forgotten to flip my calendar again??)
Charlie's plums are a delightful bundle of milky chocolate loveliness and you are lucky to be able to look at them (he says). I can't check, because I ended up giving my calendar to my Dad (my Dad ends up getting most lovely Labrador things I manage to get) but is it this photo: hover dog by Julie T, on Flickr
Charlie looks very fit and magnificent in that photo but even he can't make me a convert - I just don't like the look of dog balls. I'm sure if I did like them I'd see Charlie's as a model for dog balls the world over.
I have had three male dogs, all neutered before they were one year old. It's what they do here in Canada, it is pretty frowned upon to not fix your dogs (and bitches) unless you are breeding them. I never knew there was a controversy about this until I joined the forum, to be honest. I didn't notice any negative behaviour changes in any of them.
Yeah, same here! I've had to get used to the idea that people might not automatically 'de-ball', so to speak. In Australia the common perception is that only breeders and bogans leave their dogs entire, hehe (apologies to non-bogan, non-breeder Australians with entire dogs).
