Did you have your cat or dog 'done' and why?

Darren_G

Unless you want to show your dog or breed from it, then there are no reasons not to have them neutered. Benefits off the top of my head:

Males - less inclined to wander in search of females, less likely to be aggressive with other dogs, no leg humping (if you get them done early enough in life), less chance of marking indoors, removes risk of testicular cancer.

Females - no mess associated with being in season, no crowd of horny male dogs turning up, fewer problems with dominant aggression - especially if two or more females live together.

There is also notional evidence that neutered dogs live longer due to the reduced stress levels by not having to worry about the whole sex thing.

Harley sulked for a couple of days and licked himself sore when he was done, but we had painkillers and precautionary antibiotics as part of his aftercare and he was fine in no time. Short term pain, long term gain as far as I am concerned.

pineapple

Paradigm wrote: »

I have yet to find a compelling reason to subject my pet to neutering, which is after all invasive surgery carrying it's own risks.

ETA: This applies to dogs only, I have no experience with cats or the problems of owning one.

I've never had a cat though it sounds as if there is good reason. I'm still not convinced about dogs though. My friend's dog is a 4 year old blind dog that they gave a new (and kinder) home too. Naturally there were some issues when they first took him on - including marking and some mounting behaviour. But he was learning and is a beautiful good natured dog. They hurried the process along IMO by having him done.
One difference is this....
When you came to the door, he was there, expectant and eager with tail wagging. He was everything a dog should be having been denied much in his former life. Now he just 'looks' up at you and then down again. He often doesn't even bother getting to his feet and is alltogether more placid - to the extent (if you knew him like he was before) you would think he was on Prozac. Of course I appreciate that it's easy for me as it's not me that has to look after him. My friend says 'Don't you think he's a lot better?'
What she means is they got the dog that will fit in with their busy lives - also with their existing older, slower dog.
I know many people do it for health reasons and I appreciate why rehoming organisations do it, but sometimes, I think, we do it so that they fit in with our lifestyle.

lostinrates

CFC wrote: »

It always astonishes me when people seem to think that having an animal neutered is a 'natural' thing to do. It's highly unnatural and an invasive procedure. Whether we decide as individual owners to neuter or not, we need to bear that in mind. It's incredible to think that some folk want them done before they are even adult.

A lot of aspects of our lives with pets are unnatural. Including providing veterinary care and balanced nutrition, training them, expecting them to live alone, stay alone and relativelysedentary while we go out, not to chase cats, or reproduce (neutered or otherwise) steal food, expand the pack, or fight....

Just as in our own lives, heating and electricity are not natural, nor medical care. I would still rather have some unnatural elements than not.

Natural is an excellent starting point for things like behaviour....e.g.....looking at how much time to be letteing your dog sleep for, and how much exercise it should have, what feeding patterns (time spent eating, content) to replicate and full full physiological and behavioural needs. Imo the best care and animal science takes what nature meant we and our animals did and make it better, healthier, and sometimes easier. E.g, when my dog broke her leg last year, i did not leave her to wither away, i had a choice to replicate nature more kindly by having her put to sleep, or operating on her, and keep her still for two months, We chose the very unatuaral latter and she coped superbly.

MrsAtobe

We privately rehomed an 8 year old female spaniel on New Year's Eve, and she was in season when she came to us. We had her spayed as soon as we could. You see, she'd been a working/breeding dog, and following her op, the vet said that she'd had a LOT of puppies in her life. We also got some of the lumps removed from her mammary tissues at the same time.

For me the risk of losing her through pyometra, and the fact that she'd been used as a breeding machine for years made the decision to spay her a bit of a no-brainer. It didn't stop me feeling as guilty as heck for inflicting that pain on her, though.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

pineapple wrote: »

I've never had a cat though it sounds as if there is good reason. I'm still not convinced about dogs though. My friend's dog is a 4 year old blind dog that they gave a new (and kinder) home too. Naturally there were some issues when they first took him on - including marking and some mounting behaviour. But he was learning and is a beautiful good natured dog. They hurried the process along IMO by having him done.
One difference is this....
When you came to the door, he was there, expectant and eager with tail wagging. He was everything a dog should be having been denied much in his former life. Now he just 'looks' up at you and then down again. He often doesn't even bother getting to his feet and is alltogether more placid - to the extent (if you knew him like he was before) you would think he was on Prozac. Of course I appreciate that it's easy for me as it's not me that has to look after him. My friend says 'Don't you think he's a lot better?'
What she means is they got the dog that will fit in with their busy lives - also with their existing older, slower dog.
I know many people do it for health reasons and I appreciate why rehoming organisations do it, but sometimes, I think, we do it so that they fit in with our lifestyle.

So a new, younger dog that hadn't learned manners/appropriate behaviour used to do something and stopped doing it when he grew a bit older and was in a better, calmer environment.

Far better to be antisocial, potentially aggressive (ANY male dog can become aggressive where a fertile female is concerned - I'd bet that Rin Tin Tin and Scooby Doo would have fought to the death if there were something on heat in the area), and quite possibly destructive and unreliable if he slipped his lead in following a scent? Or waiting to be put to sleep because a second owner was unable to manage a house stinking of dog urine, paying for treatment from fights where the other dog has been bitten, paying for treatment for a dog run over because he caught a whiff of a female, legged it out the door and promptly got squished by a bus as he couldn't see the thing coming?


Sounds more like he has relaxed because he's in a place that is familiar, he knows the smells and sounds and doesn't need to bounce off the urine marked walls anymore.


Mind you, I'm not entirely enamoured with your attitude towards treatment/mental illness either. Medications such as Fluoxetine save lives and provide relief from the most awful mental distress. Yet you refer to them as if they're a bad thing, which reinforces negative stereotypes and contributes towards preconceptions that can result in desperately ill people refusing much needed treatment.



The animals have been created specifically to fit in with us. They aren't naturally like that - they've been bred.



Of course we intervene to influence their health and behaviour. If they don't fit in, they suffer. Did you want a return to the days when all dogs were left to wander the streets, feed on scraps, get into fights/run over/and then come back (perhaps) and sleep on bare concrete outside? When they weren't busy dying of parvo? After all, vaccinations are also only for our convenience, as it's a real nuisance getting attached to an animal only to have it die horribly.

Or where the standard method of dealing with this Spring's litter was to stick them in a bucket? Seems reasonable - don't worry about stopping the problem before it starts, just drown the things when they come out and problem solved for another 3 months. More natural to lose countless litters, after all.




A man who loses both testicles to cancer may well be depressed, a boy/teenager who loses them is going to be devastated. But they understand long term implications and concepts that a cat or a dog hasn't got the foggiest about.

These are animals, not people. To attach abstract reasoning and sophisticated philosophical concepts to the fact an animal isn't over the moon, peeing on the floor, bouncing up and down like a four month old puppy because some random person is at the door is anthropomorphic claptrap.

rustyboy21

A responsible dog owner, looks after their dog in a responsible way.

If this means that they are not gowing to breed from it( which as the state of play is, there are far too many unwanted dogs in this country) then castration is the responsible thing to do.

If you think that a pair of bo**ocks on your dog is a status symbol, then my friend, you should not have a dog.

Rusty was 8 months old when he was done. No ill effects. He was the kidest, softest dog you could ever meet. Kids used to see him and were terrified as he looked like a fox, but after saying he was ok, they would be all over him, pulling his tail, riding on his back, all he gave in return was a big smile, lots of kisses and a sniff of whatever they were eating at the time ( very food orientated ! )

I remember once taking him for a walk, he dashed off and caught up to a 18 year old lad, who pinned himself up against a hedge in shock. I ran over, said sorry, said he wasn't vicious, he is just after your mars bar ! The lad said I wonder why he was growling, it sounded like he was saying '' I want one'' lol
The guy gave him a bit, and the lad eneded up playing with him for an hour afterwards. He said he wasn't allowed a dog when he was a kid.

Most dogs who are castrated, live longer, have a more calmer outlook and for me, a more loveable demenour. Average age for alsations/retrievers is 13 years, he was 16 and apart from his ailments, still pottered around till his final days.

God I miss him !

pineapple

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Mind you, I'm not entirely enamoured with your attitude towards treatment/mental illness either. Medications such as Fluoxetine save lives and provide relief from the most awful mental distress. Yet you refer to them as if they're a bad thing, which reinforces negative stereotypes and contributes towards preconceptions that can result in desperately ill people refusing much needed treatment.

What on earth are you talking about? I don't recall ever talking about mental health treatment. If anything I'm the one who, as an ex mental health worker, jumps into forums to persuade people to get treatment. I'd be extremely interested if you could provide a link thanks. Then apologise for confusing me with someone else.

pineapple

rustyboy21 wrote: »

If you think that a pair of bo**ocks on your dog is a status symbol, then my friend, you should not have a dog.

Did anyone say this? It's sad that we can't seem to accept different viewpoints without getting aggressive/defensive about it.

pineapple

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

To attach abstract reasoning and sophisticated philosophical concepts to the fact an animal isn't over the moon, peeing on the floor, bouncing up and down like a four month old puppy because some random person is at the door is anthropomorphic claptrap.

Wow - talk about putting your own spin on something. Learn to accept that other people have different opinions. Unpleasantness is not necessary.
But a big thumbs up to those who have made some genuine informative responses.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

pineapple wrote: »

What on earth are you talking about? I don't recall ever talking about mental health treatment. If anything I'm the one who, as an ex mental health worker, jumps into forums to persuade people to get treatment. I'd be extremely interested if you could provide a link thanks. Then apologise for confusing me with someone else.

Complaining that a dog looked as though he was on Prozac, that he lost his personality - that bit. It reinforces the impression that psych meds turn people into zombies.

And the original complaint that he looked like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest. Where the shock is the change in a leuctomised/lobotomised character is so dramatic that the 'hero' euthanises him, because his life, once treated, isn't worth living.




So you won't be surprised to find the apology you need isn't going to be forthcoming.