Dogs

[JohnHelton]

I never thought about this before, but why do people generally neuter male dogs rather than given them a simple vasectomy? I don’t castrate my males but they have always lived behind a fence and can’t reproduce at will. However, if that wasn’t the case, I would just want them to have a vasectomy.

[BostonRugger]

Castration alters the dog’s temperament and other attributes besides reproduction.

[BenM]

It also eliminates the risk of testicular cancer. That's one of the ways they tried to sell it to us at puppy preschool. I don't know how prevalent it is in dogs, but I'm guessing not high!

There seems to be a bit of a movement away from it now amongst some vets, especially early in the dog's life. There is some evidence out there that testosterone can be protective against some diseases and conditions like hip dysplasia. We had our last dog fixed, but we are definitely on the fence about having our current pup done and are going to leave things alone until he's at least 12 months old.

[JohnHelton]

Castration alters the dog’s temperament and other attributes besides reproduction.

I know. That is the crazy part. Are we scared of male dogs? I think most people think they are castrating their male dog for reproductive reasons. It seems like the baseline, least invasive procedure would be a vasectomy.

[GlasgowJock]

I've usually seen folk recommend it in the UK either for the perceived health benefits or to alter the dog's behaviour (less humping/ destruction within the home). Both my male dogs still have their meat and two veg.

[BenM]

Our breeder reckons it won't change their behaviour much anyway. Our last dog certainly still humped things as a dominance behaviour even after being done.

I'm on the side of not doing it these days, unless there is a problem that it'll fix.

[MPat]

I had a German Shepard who would get aggressive with my wife on several occasions. We got him fixed, and that behavior went away, although he was still very protective of the house, and extremely intelligent.

[BostonRugger]

Castration alters the dog’s temperament and other attributes besides reproduction.

I know. That is the crazy part. Are we scared of male dogs? I think most people think they are castrating their male dog for reproductive reasons. It seems like the baseline, least invasive procedure would be a vasectomy.

Most people can’t handle a neuter, nevermind a male. This fact led me yesterday to pondering which weapon I’d use in the event I had to deal with one intact 90lb doberman and a slightly smaller neuter that were dragging a woman and her 10 year old daughter around in the vicinity of my toddler. I’ve always been a happy-fun-time-love-dogs-guy, but I find myself adopting some of the opinions of some of the dog h8orz on this board.

Back to the OP, think most people know and welcome these side effects.


ETA: I’m not criticizing ownership of dogs w balls or you for not neutering your dogs. Just the fact that you keep them locked up shows more awareness that a lot of owners have. I’ve owned intact males and neutered (no dog right now, sad). Males can absolutely be handled and trained in a way that they’re well behaved and submissive (separated from females too). Most people lack the discipline, temperament or knowledge to be able to train a dog well. Plus, I’m still pissy about that lady last night.

[Hanley]

pondering which weapon I’d use in the event I had to deal with one intact 90lb doberman and a slightly smaller neuter

Glock 19, @Cody ?

[BostonRugger]

pondering which weapon I’d use in the event I had to deal with one intact 90lb doberman and a slightly smaller neuter

Glock 19, @Cody ?

I 100% thought of Cody and something about walking a mile in a man’s shoes while checking my cant.

[brkriete]

Neutering was always sold as a way to both prevent breeding and improve behavior.

I have started to hear recently that it does less to change behavior and has more negative side effects than was historically portrayed. If I bought (instead of rescuing; most rescues are already "fixed" at very young ages) an intact male puppy I would not automatically have it neutered.

[Allentown]

There seems to be a bit of a movement away from it now amongst some vets, especially early in the dog's life. There is some evidence out there that testosterone can be protective against some diseases and conditions like hip dysplasia.

Last I heard, there is no movement away from it amongst vets at large, but I believe they are suggesting waiting, like, a month or something.
Also not sure how much of the recommendation is actually evidence based, TBF.

[mbasic]

It also eliminates the risk of testicular cancer. That's one of the ways they tried to sell it to us at puppy preschool. I don't know how prevalent it is in dogs, but I'm guessing not high!

There seems to be a bit of a movement away from it now amongst some vets, especially early in the dog's life. There is some evidence out there that testosterone can be protective against some diseases and conditions like hip dysplasia. We had our last dog fixed, but we are definitely on the fence about having our current pup done and are going to leave things alone until he's at least 12 months old.

yeah, I heard something similar as well. You are supposed to wait until the dog is fully developed...well, its skeletal structure, etc.
Like the hip dysplasia thing, I think the breeds with a weird history of ACL tears/problems can also be linked to (too) early 'fixing'.

Male or female.

-------------------------------------------------

EDIT: I joined a facebook group for German shorthair pointer dog owners.
This topic comes up now again ... when (or if) to neuter.
People start to argue about it like religion and/or politics.
It basically tears the whole group apart. Fucking hilarious.

[Mattjd]

Our breeder reckons it won't change their behaviour much anyway. Our last dog certainly still humped things as a dominance behaviour even after being done.

I'm on the side of not doing it these days, unless there is a problem that it'll fix.

It hasn't for my friend.

The dog was an asshole before training. The $4k training did nothing. The snipping of the bawls did nothing. The dog is still an asshole with everyone but the owner.

[Allentown]

Our breeder reckons it won't change their behaviour much anyway.

Also, from what I've heard, listening to a breeder on the topic is kind of like listening to a chiropractor about diet. They might know what they are talking about, but their profession doesn't really play directly into it.

[JohnHelton]

I think you have to neuter them really young in order to affect behavior. But then you have the downside of them not having the normal hormonal balance as they grow. I had a 140 lbs. male bullmastiff that was a bit too aggressive. He was a champion show dog. We neutered him at about two because of his behavior. It didn't change anything, and we had to rehome him to a family that didn't have any small people.

My current male is a really big Staffordshire Bull Terrier. He is three and intact. He is super sweet but also a total jackass. His maleness is a definitive part of his personality. The girl dogs just have to put up with him.

[MPhelps]

I'll take the cynical approach and say that it's probably way cheaper for a vet to neuter vs. vasectomy.

I think the whole spay and neuter campaign has spawned a whole 'nother issue. Everyone has some inbred, aggressive purebred dog now, where it used to be you could get a well behaved mutt at the pound that lived until 15. I guess the 2019 version of that is to have a 'rescue' which is probably part pitbull and has issues.

The other thing is the people that actually honestly believe that their dogs are their children and "how dare you be afraid of my 90 pound Doberman!"

[Hanley]

the 2019 version

Kill the monster

[MPhelps]

the 2019 version

Kill the monster

I hate your dog.

/sarcasm.

I should probably say that I'm just not into dealing with dogs for the most part, so anything I say is just me being a dick.

It's now commonplace for people to have their dogs with them everywhere and that somehow it's the other person's fault if their dog is being an asshole.

I'm also not insinuating that any individual dog owned by a member of this forum is somehow an asshole and like the general dog population in 2019.

A leash solves 99% of my dog issues.

[LexAnderson]

Growing up I had two German Shepherds who were never snipped between legs, and they were very territorial of the family, house, and yard. But anyone that was with us was fine, and we never had issues with that. Of course having two growing boys was helpful in keeping them exercised and tired for the most part.

I have heard that it does help with multiple health issues, and temperament. But they thing that I have noticed is that when you do it, you still have to continually train and work with your dog. So many people just assume that the dog is gonna go from 100 to 20 in a day. Some dogs I'm sure have that kinda change, but I wouldn't expect it to be a normal occurrence with most animals. I know for my female pit/lab mix, the vet suggested we wait 1 to 2 years before we got her fixed to make sure she developed fully and was healthy.