Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Do I need to get my boy castrated? Really?

83 replies

MsGameandWatch · 03/03/2017 14:40

Took him to the groomer today and she asked if I was getting him "done"? And told me how she gets all her dogs done as soon as they hit 8 months. I don't know. Obviously I have thought about but just been delaying really. He's 8 months old and a Scottish terrier. He's obedient and loving though a bit feisty.

I am going to google obviously but have a lot of respect for The Doghouse Collective opinion. So opinions please?

OP posts:
user1474439326 · 06/03/2017 21:09

I was told wait till they reach maturity - we have a big dog so 18-24 months but smaller dogs around 12 months - when you call to book it vet can advise x

BurningBridges · 07/03/2017 10:41

Happy I'm interested in your opinion - my dog (currently only 5 months so no rush) has an undescended testicle - does that increase the risk of cancer making castration (and finding the missing testicle) essential?

LadyWhoLikesLunch · 07/03/2017 14:50

I have a boxer cross and we held off as long as possibly but were always going to get it done as the vet advised the breed was very prone to testicular cancer. He was done at just after a year as he was trying to hump in girl dog that he came into contact with.

However I can attest to the fact he is no calmer and is currently going through a second rebellious teenager phase at almost 18 months.

HappyFlappy · 07/03/2017 14:51

From what I've read an undescended testicle does raise the cancer risk. However, the greatest risk is that the testicle will become twisted and maybe even infected as a result. This is both painful and dangerous.

I would discuss it with your vet as they will know when the safest time is if he does require castration. What breed is he? If he's a very small breed it may be safe to do it soon. If he's big you may be better to wait longer if you can.

Iris65 · 07/03/2017 19:34

Dogs with retained testicles have a greatly increased risk of developing testicular infection, torsion and cancer.

Quote from petwave article on indescendded testicles in dogs.

MrsDoylesladder · 07/03/2017 19:49

Do you mean neutered rather than castrated? Why wouldn't you have him neutered?

HappyFlappy · 07/03/2017 20:16

Neutering male dogs IS castration MrsD

MrsDoylesladder · 07/03/2017 20:23

Obviously I'm ignorant- I thought castration was removing the penis.

justdontevenfuckingstart · 07/03/2017 20:30

We've not had out Rottie done, he is two next week. I thought we 'should' but having read up a bit I see no reason to. We got our Cairn x bitch done early (she's a runner) still bonks everything in sight.

HappyFlappy · 07/03/2017 20:33

No MrsD - it's the testicles which are removed.

Whit bitches most vets do a full spey/spay, which is removal of the uterus and the ovaries. It is possible to have a bitch half-speyed (i.e. just uterus removed), but its a much more complex operation and very few vets are prepared to do it. A half-spey means that the bitch continues to produce oestrogen and progesterone and will still come into heat (though obviously can't get pregnant - nor will she ever develop that nasty killer condition pyometra). The advantage is that those hormones do protect against many conditions (same as they do in us ladies) and (and here I'm being shallow) will mean that her coat and weight remain unaffected.

I have to admit I'm dreading getting our spaniels speyed because their coats are stunning and I don't want them to go dull and soft. Unfortunately one of them gets very aggressive with the bitches when she's in heat and she's hard work.

LumelaMme · 07/03/2017 20:49

He's not going to be allowed on the new sofas (yeah, right).
@Eolian, we're currently saying exactly the same thing...

HappyFlappy · 07/03/2017 21:39

Our dogs aren't allowed on the sofas either.

It doesn't bother them.

They just go upstairs and lounge on the bed instead.

AndShesGone · 07/03/2017 22:09

happyflappy

Totally don't understand why it's more complicated to just remove the womb and not the womb plus the ovaries Confused

Sounds so much better! I want that for my girl !

Actually I don't want to get her done at all, seems like a bad idea for her in particular - double heart/spleen cancer risk, plus the risk of uterine problems. Can't I just keep her away from dogs when she's in heat?

BurningBridges · 07/03/2017 23:50

Thanks to Happy for info upthread. BTW my dog is a cockerpoo, and I've had 3 opinions which seem to settle on after 1 year and before 18 months. Looks like we have to have it done.

MrsDoylesladder · 08/03/2017 07:11

I knew that neutering meant removing the testicles. The word castration means removing the penis. Still don't understand why neutering your dog is an issue.

Userone1 · 08/03/2017 07:16

MrsD castration doesn't mean removing the penis. It's removing testicles.

Something beginning with P means penis removal. I'm going to have to goggle now to find out!!

Userone1 · 08/03/2017 07:21

Penis removal is called Penectomy. I now need eye bleach after googling! Smile

olliegarchy99 · 08/03/2017 07:22

from wikipedia :
In the case of pets, castration is usually called neutering, and is encouraged to prevent overpopulation of the community by unwanted animals, and to reduce certain diseases such as prostate disease and testicular cancer in male dogs

randomsabreuse · 08/03/2017 08:08

We had our lab done at 8 as he started showing signs of prostatitis. He didn't show any unwanted behaviours before then. He's now 10 and still doing well. We had always planned to have them off if they started causing health issues - and the prostatitis is gone completely (has been scanned clear). The only change is castration reduced his muscle and he needs less food.

HappyFlappy · 08/03/2017 08:38

Still don't understand why neutering your dog is an issue

It needn't be. Some dogs need to be neutered for medical reasons, some for social ones (they're very, very "humpy"), some as a way of preventing unwanted puppies etc - I'm sure that there are more.

The "unwanted puppies" reason is the one that most vets/ rescues quote. However there are many equally good reasons for leaving a dog entire (though not a bitch - she's the one who has the puppies after all, and bitches can get mammary tumours, ovarian and uterine cancers and pyometra if they aren't spayed.) - and I wouldn't have it done (with the knowledge I have now) just as a matter of course which it's pretty much become - it's not "if" you get your dog neutered, but "when" these days.

And advantage (not to the male dog's owner though) of all dogs not required for breeding being neutered is that it greatly reduces the risks to bitches which are high risk for surgery and can't be spayed.

No-one has to spay a bitch, either, but you need to be sure you can keep her in if you don't want her to have puppies (and she will try to get out - she'll get desperate!). If your bitch is accidentally mated it will cost you £200+ for a mis-mate jab to prevent conception (and it's putting a lot of very powerful hormones mother body). Of course you could let her have her puppies and then sell them/ give them away - but that it a HUGE responsibility if you are a caring owner - and if you don't know which dog has "caught" her (and there could be several) you don't know if the puppies will be too large for her to whelp safely. An emergency caesarion (£1,000+ - depends on size of dog, time of day/night, any complications ) may be necessary, and even if your bitch has an easy whelping, she can develop eclampsia, which can occur very suddenly, with little or no warning and is very often fatal.

It isn't always all beer and skittles.

HappyFlappy · 08/03/2017 08:38

Userone

Grin
HappyFlappy · 08/03/2017 08:40

The only change is castration reduced his muscle and he needs less food.

Yes - it's easy for any dog to get fat after neutering Random

Did he keep his coat quality?

It usually destroys the coat, but not always, which is one of the reasons we wanted our springer to have at least two heats - she has a lovely shiny coat, and I dread it going soft and dull. I don't clip my dogs for the same reason - alters coat quality.

HappyFlappy · 08/03/2017 08:52

Oh - I should mention that most pet insurances don't cover costs incurred due to breeding.

HappyFlappy · 08/03/2017 09:02

She'sgone

Taking our the womb and ovaries as one is easier because they form a unit and can be removed with minimal blood vessel and nerve "slicing" (for want of a better word). Obviously all of these vessels need to be sealed off.

Taking the womb separately means that the blood vessels between the womb and ovaries must each be separately cut and seal to prevent haemorrhage - there are a lot more of them and they are smaller which makes them easier to miss, and of course, the surgery takes longer which increases the risks from the anaesthetic.

I imagine it is the same principle when people have heart transplants - wherever possible, the heart and lungs are replaced as a single, large unit, because there are fewer good vessels, and the only really major nerve that the surgeon needs to worry about is the recurrent laryngeal nerve (damage this can affect breathing and speech, but it's a nice big one and they can see it clearly). Smaller vessels and nerves may not bleed etc so horribly, but it is time-consuming and very complex to ensure they are effectively dealt with.

HappyFlappy · 08/03/2017 09:04

*fewer blood vessels, not fewer good vessels

(Most vets are trained to do full hysterectomies and not many get the chance to do partials - and it's like everything else, practise makes perfect)

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.