Puppy booked in for castration this week -please reassure me!

[basildonbond]

That's it really - he's my PFP and I just feel really nervous... He's so lovely and happy and I don't want his character to change (could live without the humping though )

Any tips to make the op and recovery easier for him (and me?)

[fanoftheinvisibleman]

Mine didn't change in the slightest...he just stopped humping the beanbag

Mine was off colour the night of the op but just a bit whiney and mopey, he was still wandering around trying to get into trouble. I gave him metacam the next morn on the vets advice, he slept all day and when he woke up that afternoon he was his usual self.

He never needed the collar of shame either, he had a little lick but nothing too excessive.

Hope all goes well

[Pregnantberry]

Agree, my old dog didn't change at all! He did come out all feeble and floppy from the anaesthetic and seemed a bit shocked but he was back to normal the next day.

[WeAllHaveWings]

Our 11 month old lab had his op about 4 weeks ago.

We had it done on a Friday so we could make sure we were around for the first couple/three days all day.

We got him back around 4pm and he was totally glazed over and a bit whoozy, and all Friday and Saturday he just whined and whined, we were pretty sure he was just feeling sorry for himself so just kept an eye on him.

We only put the cone (we bought a comfy cone) on him at night and for the first couple of days we had to keep him beside us all the time and stop him when he tried to lick his wound. After a couple of days he left it alone, but we still put the cone on at night for 8-9 days until he destroyed it one night. He was surprisingly good at letting us put the cone on each night, he normally doesn't tolerate wearing anything.

He's used to being off lead and running through fields so pavement walking for a week was tough on him (although his loose lead walking improved that week!) and we had to do a lot more indoor entertaining for him.

4 weeks on he's over it and his character hasn't changed yet, but I heard it takes a while for the testosterone to leave their bodies. He still tries to sniff every lamppost we pass, but doesn't leave his own mark anymore which is good as he used to put his leg down sometimes before he'd completely finished and got a bit smelly at times.

[Lilcamper]

It won't necessarily stop the humping. Humping can be a lot of other things than just sexual. How old and what breed is the pup OP?

[Marrow]

How old is he OP? My puppy is nine months old and our vet is not keen on routine castration. I am happy to follow my vet's advice but it means we are unable to use a dog boarding home we have used in the past as they don't take entire males. Interesting to hear that it has had no effect either positive or negative on the other posters' dogs.

[basildonbond]

He's 7 months old, he's a Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever and the jumping started a few weeks ago - mainly other males ... He's completely non-aggressive - if another dog goes for him he squeals, turns tail or rolls over

[WeAllHaveWings]

Marrow I think its impossible to tell if a dog gets done as a pup as they are growing and changing anyway so you don't know what they would have been like if they hadn't been done and had matured still entire.

I spoke to two vets in the same practice and one was very anti castration (especially in labs due to possible weight issue) and the other very pro castration, when I told the pro castration vet about the first vets opinion he was very surprised as the practice is supposed to be pro castration (think I might have got the first vet into trouble!)

But it made me realise, on things like this which has pros and cons, vets have their own opinions too which are neither right or wrong.

[lljkk]

I have a neutered cat who humps (sigh).
But he doesn't wonder miles looking for another girlie, my arm will suffice.
Don't intact dogs try hard to get out & away to find bitches?

[Gooner123]

I had my lurcher done at 12 mths,didn't stop the humping but was less frequent,didn't change his character at all.
He had internal stitches & never needed the lampshade.

[Lilcamper]

Lovely breed but new research shows that it is better to wait til they are physically and sexually mature before castration.

[lljkk]

What is the advantage of waiting until they've gone thru puberty?

I know the advantage if doing it before puberty is that the sex hormones of puberty don't affect the brain as much (due to missing gonads). So they end up exhibiting fewer behaviours associated with the sexually mature animal (such as wandering off, sexual desire, etc).

Am pretty sure my cat wasn't done until after puberty (he has the full facial jowls of an intact tom), hence why I have a humping cat.

[VelvetGecko]

lilcamper what research? I'd be very interested to read it.
There are no known benefits of waiting until after puberty afaik but obvious health benefits to neutering prior to 1 yr of age.
Don't worry OP, he'll be fine, castration is quiet a minor OP in comparison to ovariohysterectomy in females.

[VivaLeBeaver]

When my dog was been seen by the professor behaviourist bloke there was a vet there as well for the sessions. I asked about neutering and whether it would help his aggression. They said that current advice is moving towards only advising that it helps with dog on dog aggression and won't change other behaviour. They did also say never to do it before 12 months.

[VivaLeBeaver]

www.champdogs.co.uk/blog/pros-and-cons-of-neutering

[VelvetGecko]

An article written by a breeder .
The problem with a lot of these so called studies is when you delve a little deeper you often find their 'findings' are based on a handful of subjects. I am in constant battles with drug companies and their 'research' as part of my job. I will have a look at the rereferences later as I'm genuinely interested, however I'm fairly sure there will be just as many articles contradicting these findings.

[moosemama]

Long term health effects of Spay/Neuter in Dogs

Spay Neuter considerations

APBC advice.

Interesting podcast by Canadian vet.

We have been advised not to neuter our pup, who is fearful of other dogs, until a) we have worked through a comprehensive programme to make sure he's socialised and happy around other dogs and b) he is skeletally mature. Consistent advice from two vets and several behaviourists and trainers. He is only 8.5 months and already just over 27 " to the shoulder. Neutering before his growth plates close could lead to continued growth of the long bones, which unbalances the leg angle and can lead to increased susceptability to cruciate injury and hip problems. Being a breed that is already susceptable to cruciate damage and also having the fearfulness issue, means there's twice the reason not to have him neutered - yet. That's without the other reasons given in the studies and reports I've linked to. He has absolutely no sexualised behaviours, still squats to wee and is immature both physically and psychologically - the vet believes this is due to his poor start (rescue pup).

The rescue he came from are very pro neutering, in fact you have to sign a contract to say you will have them done by 6 months and they check up and start legal proceedings to reclaim the dog if you refuse - but they were in agreement with our vet that in my dog's case it would be the wrong thing to do and have allowed us to delay it.

[moosemama]

Sorry, should have said there is no one-size fits all answer. The pros and cons need to be weighed up for each individual dog, against breed, developmental stage, behaviour and health - any vet worth their salt would take all of these things into consideration before advising either pro or con.

[cashewfrenzy]

I completely echo moosemama's post of 19.45.

This thread is not the place to discuss the pros and cons of neutering (poor OP who I assume has come to this decision after discussion with her very and didn't sign up for all this debate!). However, neutering is absolutely something which should be considered on a case by case basis. As time goes on we're gaining a fuller understanding of its risks and limitations and so blanket advice to neuter is not good advice. For many many people it is still the right thing to do and that's fine. But it isn't one size fits all and it's a decision every owner has to come to for themselves after informing themselves fully.

[Lilcamper]

Didn't mean to cause trouble, had to run off and do tea and bed time, but I agree that vets shouldn't advise castration as a behavioural panacea. Owners need to be more aware of the pitfalls to make an educated decision.

[bakewelltartandcustard]

Humping is normal adolescent behaviour. They grow out of it. Sniffing and scent marking is normal male dog behaviour, castrated or not. "Wandering off" should not be possible, you make your garden escape proof and train him to come when called.
Our vet won't castrate dogs under 1 year, older for large breeds which mature later. It's not as routine as it is for cats as most entire dogs are perfectly good pets.

[HavantGuard]

I wouldn't neuter under one

www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0055937

[basildonbond]

well I could really have done without the pro and con arguments, thanks ... it's not like I've just decided to get it done on a whim

according to one of moose's links it's likely to help in his circumstances - I've got to do something as it's really starting to affect his interactions with other dogs and he's so utterly fixated on humping them that he's ignoring all their messages that his attentions aren't welcome ..

[VivaLeBeaver]

Sorry Basildon, I wasn't thinking.

Hope it goes well.

[moosemama]

Basil, you have done your research and made a decision based on what's right for your dog. That's all any of us can do. As I said upthread, there is no one-size-fits all answer to when/if to neuter.

He is a well trained, well socialised, happy, friendly boy. He's in no way anxious, nervous or aggressive and is not a large breed, there's no reason to believe he won't be absolutely fine - just like the vast majority of dog who are neutered every day.

Sorry if my post upset you. I posted as I feel it's just as bad to say 'all dogs must be neutered' as it is to say 'no dog should ever be neutered' and/or 'you should only ever neuter at X age'. I always think it's best to link people to the research and let them draw their own conclusions - and their own decisions regarding their dogs.

[moosemama]

Oops, meant to say. I've only had 2 males before Pip, but both were absolutely fine after neutering and acted as if they didn't even notice it had been done. One was done at 6 months, the other at 7 1/2 years.

Biggest problem we had was keeping them quiet to stop them popping stitches, because they didn't feel ill or sore at all.

If you think he'll hate the dreaded 'cone of shame' you could look at some of the alternatives:

There are a few ideas here.