Hi all. Apparently it's been almost exactly two years since I was last online here! I can only imagine how much you've missed me! Joking aside, I wasn't sure where best to post this. It's non-lab related, as we're firmly on the Dark Side, but I've always had great advice from you lot. Monty is three years old, intact dog. He's great. We are on the list for another Springer, this time a bitch. The litter was just born last week and we have first choice of four bitches. We live very remotely, however our neighbouring farm has a one year old, un-neutered lab bitch. They're best friends. She seems to go into season about 14 times a month however, (an exaggeration obviously!) and we can always tell because Monty turns into an absolute moron! He will go off his food, whine and try to escape. It's a real pain! The bitch we are getting in seven weeks(!) will also be Monty's half sister, so there is no option to mate them. I suppose the easy choice is to neuter Monty. It will stop the annoyance with the farmer's bitch. I am a bit peeved that he's got the pup and I'm then having to neuter my older dog because of him - I never planned to neuter Monty. (the farmer and I are good friends, and he's good with it, locking her away and giving me a heads up when it's coming). I'm worried it will change his personality - the dog not the farmer! (he's three and a half)? Another option will be to neuter the new bitch (Lucy). I will still have the annoyance of the farmer's bitch, but I can live with that. It's a bigger job on girls but I'd be less worried about changing her personality as we've not even met yet! I guess you have to still leave it 12 months before neutering? How do I deal with that first year if she comes into season? Any advice, options I've not considered etc would be much appreciated. James
Hi there James, and welcome back!!! Nice to see you. When I first got Poppy, we still had our old boy, Bones. The first time Pops came into season we sent him to stay with friends for the duration. He died (aged 13) before she came into season again. At five years old we had Poppy spayed, for health reasons, and that made it possible for us to have another male dog. I wouldn't have chosen to have an intact male and female living together otherwise - you can do it, but it is definitely tricky. Your options are: neuter Monty (personally, something I would not choose to do, for health reasons). You can chip him, which is like a temporary castration, and will last around six months, while you decide what to do. You can spay your female dog after her first season (though again, not something I would choose to do, also for health reasons; I would at least wait until after the second season) - or you can think again and pick another male dog. Which personally I think would be the most sensible option, but I understand sometimes things work out differently!
It is a bigger op to spay a bitch than to castrate a dog, so I would castrate Monty. However, if the dogs were mine I would have both done, the bitch for health reasons. I have had 8 dogs (5 females and 3 males) neutered over the years and it hasn't altered their characters one bit. In fact I think it takes away the stress of wanting to mate. I have worked for a vet and seen the misery of mammary tumours and pyometra in bitches. Of course not all bitches will get this!
No idea, just wanted to say nice to see you back! You know we welcome everyone here, even crazy spaniel lovers I know some people manage to keep their dogs separate in the house, but must be a total nightmare and so risky. I hope you work it out, and hang around at least long enough to furnish us with some photos - spaniels, blue tits, ducks.....we're not fussy jac x
Yes spaying a female is a bigger surgery but there are more health related reasons to spay her rather than neuter him (pyometra and increased chance of mammary cancer). Neutering at 3 years shouldn't alter his personality other than take away some of his distractibility.
