Question:

After 7 years of misery, we had our Newfie neutered because one of his testicles hadn’t descended and had gone cancerous. He was always trying to mount my poor old mum (who is very unstable) beforehand.  I had no idea neutering would make such a difference and would definitely get future male dogs neutered.  He doesn’t try and mount her anymore (he weighs 65kgs, so you can imagine how terrified my mum was that he’d knock her over), but he hasn’t lost any of his zest for living and is a much more comfortable companion. I now have become a firm believer in having male dogs neutered as well as females.  They seem happier and more at ease.  Samson certainly does. Chris —         C & J

Response:

Only after seriously considering the questions raised in http://singaporestrays.com/neutering.htm (or http://singaporestrays.com/neutering.html) – Michelle – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I felt the same way about my male dog.  I knew he should be neutered > for all the good reasons however I was so hesitant to put him through > it and for fear he might change. Well he was neutered last week, and > after 48 hours he was completely back to himself, he is quite a jumper > (lab/golden X) and he jumps as high as ever, he is agile as ever and > happier then ever, and so am I.  Do it. > Deb >> okay.  I need some opinions.  I have always been a strong proponent of >> spaying and neutering your pets.  We have a spayed female GSD (spayed at 7 >> months).  We also have a male Dutch Shepherd pup (5 months) and I am >> hesitant about neutering him! (I suprise even myself with this statement!) >> I am NOT interested in breeding him (I couldnt find another DS around here >> if I tried, and I am not up for KNPV training him!)  I would however be >> interested in entering him in a rare breed show should I find one that is >> fairly local.  And we do flyball and agility but neutering wouldnt affect >> that.  I believe they have to be intact for the rare breed conformation >> aspect.  I was going to wait until he was 1 yr old to get him neutered >> anyhow so I guess I have some time to come to my senses  I work with >> GSD rescue, I know all the reasons to have your pets spayed and neutered. >> I guess I am just hesitant to put him under the knife.  Does neutering >> decrease a dogs ‘drive’ (we’re talking VERY high drive pup here!)  I know >> it makes them more focussed since they arent smelling every bitch in heat >> in a 5 mile radius.  Just wanted some opinions, I guess. >> Thanks >> Diane >The short answer: no. The long answer: >http://singaporestrays.com/neutering.htm – Michelle >– >Kevin Traster and Michelle Lee >Pen, Paper & Mouse, Ink. >A detailed description of our services and pricing can be found at >http://scritto.com >"In Singapore, they have their condo, their car, their cards and cash: in the >process, they lost their courtesy, their character, their conscience and their >cats." – Scritto >For information on a free web site, click on http://singaporestrays.com

– Kevin Traster and Michelle Lee Pen, Paper & Mouse, Ink. A detailed description of our services and pricing can be found at http://scritto.com "A price on anything cheapens it." – Scritto For information on a free web site, click on http://singaporestrays.com

Response:

I felt the same way about my male dog.  I knew he should be neutered for all the good reasons however I was so hesitant to put him through it and for fear he might change. Well he was neutered last week, and after 48 hours he was completely back to himself, he is quite a jumper (lab/golden X) and he jumps as high as ever, he is agile as ever and happier then ever, and so am I.  Do it. Deb – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> okay.  I need some opinions.  I have always been a strong proponent of > spaying and neutering your pets.  We have a spayed female GSD (spayed at 7 > months).  We also have a male Dutch Shepherd pup (5 months) and I am > hesitant about neutering him! (I suprise even myself with this statement!) > I am NOT interested in breeding him (I couldnt find another DS around here > if I tried, and I am not up for KNPV training him!)  I would however be > interested in entering him in a rare breed show should I find one that is > fairly local.  And we do flyball and agility but neutering wouldnt affect > that.  I believe they have to be intact for the rare breed conformation > aspect.  I was going to wait until he was 1 yr old to get him neutered > anyhow so I guess I have some time to come to my senses  I work with > GSD rescue, I know all the reasons to have your pets spayed and neutered. > I guess I am just hesitant to put him under the knife.  Does neutering > decrease a dogs ‘drive’ (we’re talking VERY high drive pup here!)  I know > it makes them more focussed since they arent smelling every bitch in heat > in a 5 mile radius.  Just wanted some opinions, I guess. > Thanks > Diane >The short answer: no. The long answer: >http://singaporestrays.com/neutering.htm – Michelle >– >Kevin Traster and Michelle Lee >Pen, Paper & Mouse, Ink. >A detailed description of our services and pricing can be found at >http://scritto.com >"In Singapore, they have their condo, their car, their cards and cash: in the >process, they lost their courtesy, their character, their conscience and their >cats." – Scritto >For information on a free web site, click on http://singaporestrays.com

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > okay.  I need some opinions.  I have always been a strong proponent of > spaying and neutering your pets.  We have a spayed female GSD (spayed at 7 > months).  We also have a male Dutch Shepherd pup (5 months) and I am > hesitant about neutering him! (I suprise even myself with this statement!) > I am NOT interested in breeding him (I couldnt find another DS around here > if I tried, and I am not up for KNPV training him!)  I would however be > interested in entering him in a rare breed show should I find one that is > fairly local.  And we do flyball and agility but neutering wouldnt affect > that.  I believe they have to be intact for the rare breed conformation > aspect.  I was going to wait until he was 1 yr old to get him neutered > anyhow so I guess I have some time to come to my senses  I work with > GSD rescue, I know all the reasons to have your pets spayed and neutered. > I guess I am just hesitant to put him under the knife.  Does neutering > decrease a dogs ‘drive’ (we’re talking VERY high drive pup here!)  I know > it makes them more focussed since they arent smelling every bitch in heat > in a 5 mile radius.  Just wanted some opinions, I guess. > Thanks > Diane

The short answer: no. The long answer: http://singaporestrays.com/neutering.htm – Michelle — Kevin Traster and Michelle Lee Pen, Paper & Mouse, Ink. A detailed description of our services and pricing can be found at http://scritto.com "In Singapore, they have their condo, their car, their cards and cash: in the process, they lost their courtesy, their character, their conscience and their cats." – Scritto For information on a free web site, click on http://singaporestrays.com

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > okay.  I need some opinions.  I have always been a strong proponent of > spaying and neutering your pets.  We have a spayed female GSD (spayed at 7 > months).  We also have a male Dutch Shepherd pup (5 months) and I am > hesitant about neutering him! (I suprise even myself with this statement!) > I am NOT interested in breeding him (I couldnt find another DS around here > if I tried, and I am not up for KNPV training him!)  I would however be > interested in entering him in a rare breed show should I find one that is > fairly local.  And we do flyball and agility but neutering wouldnt affect > that.  I believe they have to be intact for the rare breed conformation > aspect.  I was going to wait until he was 1 yr old to get him neutered > anyhow so I guess I have some time to come to my senses  I work with > GSD rescue, I know all the reasons to have your pets spayed and neutered. > I guess I am just hesitant to put him under the knife.  Does neutering > decrease a dogs ‘drive’ (we’re talking VERY high drive pup here!)

I personally haven’t seen neutering decrease a high driven dog.. Remember Darcy? Spaying didnt slow her drive down a bit! But if you want to show in conformation, then by all means wait a bit and take a stab at it! You’ll find out soon if he can acquire enough points by the time he’s a yr old. If he doesn’t , then your decision to do it by the time he’s a yr old will be easier… Good luck, Terri

Response:

>aspect.  I was going to wait until he was 1 yr old to get him neutered >anyhow so I guess I have some time to come to my senses  I work with >GSD rescue, I know all the reasons to have your pets spayed and neutered. >I guess I am just hesitant to put him under the knife.  Does neutering >decrease a dogs ‘drive’ (we’re talking VERY high drive pup here!)  I know >it makes them more focussed since they arent smelling every bitch in heat >in a 5 mile radius.  Just wanted some opinions, I guess.

Neutering is going to do good things for him, not bad. If he is neutered, he is far less likely to get jumped by a passing male dog at an agility trial or obedience trial, or flyball trial. Having an intact male means you have to have eyes all over. Last week at an agility trial, Sligo was standing with his head right next to my left thigh, on a two foot leash, between me and a table. Another dog reached AROUND MY LEGS!! and went for him. This is not the first time something like this happened. You can’t be too careful with a male dog in a crowded space. I can’t tell you how many times I have told people to get their dogs away from him. Yesterday at a match there was a guy with an intact male, who was posturing at Sligo…who was lieing down behind me, on a mat, minding his own business. I asked the guy if his dog LIKED other males, and he told me that well, no not really. I had to tell him to MOVE his damned dog before we had a problem. So, ask yourself, do you mind living with this aspect of male dogs? And FWIW, Sligo is a mush of a male Golden. He is friends with many males, but that doesn’t count for anything when a stranger walks up and doesn’t like him. I keep a sharp eye on who is around his crate, I do not sit with him at ring side with other dogs coming up close to him, and I watch it on sits and downs in obedience. If you think you will be fine, and nothing bad will ever happen, take a deep breath and think it through again. Owning an intact male and going to dog events takes some thought and common sense. You have to assume that other males can have a problem with your dog, even if he minds his own business. So, if you want to wait a year and then decide, go knock yourself out. But remember that he’s starting to reek of testostorone. And he’s a Dutch Shepherd, not a Golden Retriever. If a male decides to start in with him, I would bet that he won’t back down…he’ll go back at him. This could cause him to have a perm. serious bad outlook on other dogs. You will find that lots and lots of folks who do dog activities are breath takingly STOOPID about dog behavior!! I saw another one yesterday whos’ dog was growling at HER. What did she do? Fed it a cookie! I almost fell off of my chair. He was also growling at any dog who ever looked at him, and he was big enough so that it was a real issue…there was no way she could control him. Anyway, all of this is just to tell you that owning a male with balls is not always perfect. If you know you are never going to breed him, and if there are few if any rare breed shows, I’d go ahead and neuter him ASAP. It’s a common procedure and he’ll be fine. And you won’t worry that some big ol’ alpha dog will eat him for lunch! Ann, Twzl & Sligo —

Response:

okay.  I need some opinions.  I have always been a strong proponent of spaying and neutering your pets.  We have a spayed female GSD (spayed at 7 months).  We also have a male Dutch Shepherd pup (5 months) and I am hesitant about neutering him! (I suprise even myself with this statement!) I am NOT interested in breeding him (I couldnt find another DS around here if I tried, and I am not up for KNPV training him!)  I would however be interested in entering him in a rare breed show should I find one that is fairly local.  And we do flyball and agility but neutering wouldnt affect that.  I believe they have to be intact for the rare breed conformation aspect.  I was going to wait until he was 1 yr old to get him neutered anyhow so I guess I have some time to come to my senses  I work with GSD rescue, I know all the reasons to have your pets spayed and neutered. I guess I am just hesitant to put him under the knife.  Does neutering decrease a dogs ‘drive’ (we’re talking VERY high drive pup here!)  I know it makes them more focussed since they arent smelling every bitch in heat in a 5 mile radius.  Just wanted some opinions, I guess. Thanks Diane

Response: