Hi all Could do with some advice/ideas about neutering my two monsters. The reason Iam now considering it seriously, apart from the usual reasons, is the old Jack Russell next door (a field away ) is in season. Last week she wouldn't leave us alone and I had to take her home twice, she is allowed to wonder where she wants!! she usually comes racing at us barking like mad. This week presumably her last ( fingers crossed) the scent is driving my two and consequently me nuts! They whinge, whine and squeak even indoors. Evenings are worse for some reason and they can't settle. How it still affects them inside I don't know? My problem with neutering my two is how to stop them licking !? Scott is especially bad for licking. He loves to lick. He will sit by you and lick your jumper if you let him. This may be a shock to some of you but my dogs are outdoor dogs. They are indoors when I am and can keep one eye on them but they sleep outside and go out if I'm out. When I say outside I don't just chuck them out. They have a big insulated kennel with a large pen attached. The only thing I can think of re the licking of stitches is not really practical. I would have to stay with them 24 hours a day for the 2 weeks. The vet suggested internal stitches but there'd still be a wound so she basically advised me not to bother. Anybody got suggestion ? Jen
Re: To neuter or not to neuter that is the question ? Do people using the cones leave them on at night? I guess they must do. Not sure why medical pet t-shirts, soft or hard cones wouldn't work in an outside kennel? I suppose it is easier to hear if they get into trouble if they are inside. Could they sleep in the kitchen for 2 weeks?
Re: To neuter or not to neuter that is the question ? Sorry I cant really help Jen as Sam didnt have a cone at all , maybe we were just very lucky but he didnt bother with the wound at all . Our Vet gave us a come, just in case but we took it back after a few days , think it might be very different for Millie :
Re: To neuter or not to neuter that is the question ? We left Riley in a cone overnight or if we weren't there to make sure he didn't scratch. He was inside at night and you could hear him if he started crashing about :
Re: To neuter or not to neuter that is the question ? Hi I used a cone with my old lab at night or if I couldn't keep an eye on him. These two are a completely different ball game. Murphy was older and calmer when he first had stitches so keeping him inside wasn't such a big deal. Also I could just imagine these two sitting opposite each other chewing the others cone. Chewing is as much fun as licking apparently. I've just got back from a walk. As soon as we left our lane I knew they'd calmed down when we reentered at the other end they started getting worked up. We were doing a bit of retreive in the garden and I let them race about to get rid of pent up energy when next doors dog started barking. It had obviously been let out and I think was on our field. I'm glad I have a very secure fence. ( the man who did it did the lion enclosure at Knowsley safari park so should keep two labs in ! ! ) They then just stood gazing in the direction of next door so I gave up and we came in. Guess I'll just have to camp down stairs for a couple of weeks ! I really don't like seeing them get so worked up. Thanks all Jen
Re: To neuter or not to neuter that is the question ? I'm amazed they don't have a houseful of dogs if they just let her wander around like that when she's in season. Terribly irresponsible!
Re: To neuter or not to neuter that is the question ? Good grief Millie, my rescue terrier ( type !) is right in the middle if her season and we are paranoid re walks etc. wouldnt dream of taking our eye off the ball so to speak . We are currently getting up crack of dawn to take her to our usual dog walking riverside/woods , its very remote so if no cars are there in the car park, then nobody else is there so she can have a run with big Sam . If, like today, a car is there, she is on her long line until we establish who it is and if a male, is it entire , its unfair on other dogs and owners to just let them go free
Re: To neuter or not to neuter that is the question ? Our neighbours are lovely known them all my life but they do have slightly (put it mildly) irresponsible attitude to dogs. They've always had Jack Russell's and German shepherds and have always just let them wander and do what they want. The last German shepherd they had attacked my old lab in our field ! He had a very nasty puncture wound on his back. Murphy would never have fought back complete wimp. Like you say how they haven't constantly got litters of pups I don't know. Thankfully the don't have a GS anymore. I always had to time my walks etc when I knew it was penned up. The Jack Russell must be at least 13 so I don't think it would be good for it to have pups anyway. Takes all sorts I suppose. ??? Jen
Re: To neuter or not to neuter that is the question ? Jen,whilst you have been writing your thread I have been ordering a cone on line for Dexter. I've got a vets appointment on Saturday when I get back home and I think the state of play will be a discussion over removing the damaged tip of his tail.....this has led to discussions between Chris and I about getting him neutered.my feelings about putting him through a general amaesthetic have always been a factor in my worries over the neutering but if he is going to have to have one anyway for his tail it seems the sensible,responsible thing to do.....Dexter isn't a great licker,the couple of tries he's had at his tail splint have been discouraged with leave it and he's never attempted to chew it off( I was coating the dressing with the stop chew product you can buy for skirting boards though )However I wouldn't have trusted him to leave it overnight( choking hazard) so I tried the traditional plastic cone and the floppy version......neither went well.the hard one was upsetting him,he was bashing his head on everything trying to get it off and he devised an ingenious method to slide the floppy one back so it looked like a choir boy ruffle! Anyway anticipating what may come and having limited choice in Dubai I've been onto this following advice of a UK vet....to look for a Kong Cloud e-collar.....it's like one of those neck cushions you can use on the plane .i couldn't find a stockist in the UK in the size I needed so I have searched around and Pet-supermarket do a version called the Comfy Collar....that might help you....... Can't believe your neighbor is so lax about her dog,totally irresponsible ......had a smile at your choice of builder though x
Re: To neuter or not to neuter that is the question ? There was a post on here a couple of months ago from someone whose 12 year old labrador bitch had completely unexpectedly had a couple of pups. Bitches dont get the menopause - they continue ovulating all their lives, so can get pregnant and give birth right up into old age, which of course can kill them. So Jen there's no hope that your little JR neighbour will stop coming into heat any time soon... We had a JRT who lived until he was nearly 17!!! If you do decide to go ahead and have your boys neutered, it might be worth considering doing them one at a time, or else seeing if you can split them up at night as you are probably right - they might go for each other's stitches. Good luck in whatever you decide!
Re: To neuter or not to neuter that is the question ? Thanks both of you for your advice. I will have a look for the collar u suggested Angela its worth a try. I hope Dexter gets on ok with his tail and it all goes well. It's a good idea to get everything done at once if he has to have a general. Apart from anything else you only have to worry the once. :-\ Good idea to get them done separately Karen. I'd not thought of that. 17 so at least another 4 years of the little minx then. Unless she gets run over by a tractor first. That sounded like a threat. It wasn't how she hasn't been run over is a miracle she races out at the wheels. PS. A strange coincidence re next doors bitch in season. The frustration my 2 must be feeling is having no adverse effects on their training! ! ! If anything they are better especially Scout his retrieve has been excellent !!
Re: To neuter or not to neuter that is the question ? That was a massive factor for me too, there was a chance of a GA for something else at one point and we thought we would probably get Riley neutered then. In the end no GA so Riley still has all his bits and bobs although they seem to have little bearing on his behaviour 8)
Re: To neuter or not to neuter that is the question ? I had my 19 month old Lab castrated last week. The stitches were internal, the wound only about an 1" and my dog did not lick the wound even once. He was a bit miserable the first evening, but by the next day was fine. The only difficulty was keeping him on the lead for a week, even though after a few days I let him go on an extended lead, by day 5 and 6 he was doing the wall of death round the garden and living room and giving me a heart attack! So vet said let him off the lead completely on the 7th day and all is once again peace ;D
Re: To neuter or not to neuter that is the question ? Thanks Stacia A 1" wound doesn't sound so bad even if they did lick. I'm not sure what I was thinking but in my head the wound was a lot bigger than that! Jen
