I have a male Jack Russel. He's about two and a half and a fabulous little guy. Courageous, fun, intelligent and energetic but without papers and my vet is trying to encourage me to have him neutered. What are the pros and cons? I don't think I should consider breeding him. As lovely as he is, he's not physically perfect (his hind legs tend to go around in rather endearing circles when he runs slowly; at a full speed gallop he's fine). I'd like to hear your views on the matter. Thank you for your attention.
Great thread Trish! Personally, I do not agree with castrating healthy males - there is growing evidence that suggests doing so (especially at a young age and particularly for larger breeds) can increase the risk of certain cancers. For females however, the evidence seems to suggest the opposite - that neutering can sometimes prevent certain ailments (but usually when done later in life and again should not be done before the dog has fully matured). But it all boils down to personal preference, and what you feel is best for your dog. Knowing you can keep him from getting another dog pregnant, or taking into consideration having a busy household with doors opening all the time (where you think he might be able to run off and get another dog pregnant) are factors that you help you decide.
He's a gorgeous little guy I agree with Azz. A good read to both the pros and cons of neutering is here - http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf
Thank you both, Azz and Dogloverlou, for your time and advice. The article makes very interesting reading and corroborates Azz's remarks and clinches the deal as far as I'm concerned. So Jack will remain intact unless health problems suggest otherwise. Thank you again, this time from Jack as well as me.
We got Bill done when he around 2. He spends a lot of time off lead and even though we don't walk in places where there's dogs everywhere one day he got the whiff of a lady dog in season and I only just got there in time to stop him doing the deed. From that day he turned into a sexual predator and the vet recommended getting his nads chopped off, so we did and had no problems since.
I have mixed feelings tbh. I had always kept two entire males of various breeds without incident, no fighting, no chasing after bitches etc. Then I got my male Dobermann and never gave neutering a thought until we decided to get a female Dobermann, my OH was very insistent on getting him done and the vet agreed. He was neutered at about a year old, never had any issues with him before or after. Rio the female was also spayed. My staffie was done and so was the terrier, the terrier came with aggression issues and will still hump for England given half a chance, his aggression has been worked on. Milan female Dobermann came with aggression issues and has not been spayed for that reason, I don't want her getting any worse when mostly these days she's as good as gold if a bit bolshie. The Pugs two females and a male are all entire and I have no plans to change that. I lost Sydney my male Dobermann to Bone cancer last summer aged just 8 so I'm in no rush to put another dog through that, or me for that matter. Rio my female Dobermann suffers spay incontinence and while it's easily controlled at the moment she's still having drugs every day that shouldn't be necessary. Milan I'm in a bit of a quandary about she's now 7 and if I'm going to get her spayed I should get on with it but I'm reluctant to do it. I just feel that although I know I could lose her early to pyo isn't that better than having to deal with an aggressive dog day in and day out. I will not be breeding my entire dogs ever but see no reason to chop bits off to avoid unwanted pregnancies. My experience of neutering has been less than great and think the vet is the last person to advise on it if I'm honest. I do trust my vet but you never get the whole story unless you already know the risks and you bring the issues up.
Bogie and Witty are both neutered, as were the males I've had in the past, because at that time it was said that it prevented prostrate cancer. Since getting Pepe, though, I've been reading that entire dogs live longer, so, unless there is a reason to do so in the future, I'm not intending to have him done. The bitches I've had have always been spayed after a couple of seasons.
Hi Trish while I would routinely spay bitches as a preventative measure having lost two and almost a third with pyometra I would not normally have a dog neutered . As a responsible owner I think it is up to me to keep my bitches safe from dogs not for dog owners to neuter their dogs for my benefit.
i had phoebe spayed at around 2. My vet was trying to get me to have it done from 6 months but a friend stopped me explaining she needed to be fully grown and mature. then i thought why bother its fine. then she had her first season and it was a blood bath i couldnt handle that every 6 months so she had to be spayed for that reason mainly but im glad i did it then as i wouldnt want her going under at her age now
chuk is neutered, katie was spayed at 4 months which was probably too young, and dr. halsey said we should wait till brena is at least 6 months before we spay her. i notice no physical or psychological changes in either chuk or katie, not even changes in weight. since we have no plans to breed brena, we definitely want her to be spayed, especially to avoid some diseases that unspayed females can get.
we had katie spayed at the local low cost spay and neuter clinic, and for some reason i am not sure of they wanted to do it at 4 months. i wish we had had dr. halsey spay katie. we have decided to spend the extra money and have dr. halsey spay brena, since we feel she would be traumatized having to spend the night at a strange place, whereas with dr. halsey we can take her home the afternoon of the same day. dr. halsey neutered chuk i believe.
