Rspca!

rustyboy21

You have to look at the broader picture here IMO.

I agree wholeheartedly that neutering pups/kittens at such a young age as 6 weeks is not acceptable, however as a broader picture, the RSPCA seems to be the No1 place for people to dump abandond pets and puppies. Why don't people use the dogs trust and other animal sanctuaries? Because the first place people think of and who advertise the most is the RSPCA. Am I correct in thinking that the RSPCA PTS dogs quickly if they get full up, or a dog isn't chosen? Heard that a while back. Dogs trust state they never put a heathy dog down.

I got my boy from the RSPCA 15 1/2 years ago, he was 8 months old and had been in twice. We got him 8th January 1997. He was terrified of rolled up newspapers and the ironing board ( cowered in the corner ) . We got a voucher off the RSPCA for castration, which we did straight away. How many other people get the same and don't go agead with it and end up with more dogs in homes or cruelly abused?

He was a GSD/Lab x. He had 15 1/2 glorious years with us, treated like a baby and was as soft as it too. According to the link, he wouldn't mature til he was 3 years old. How many offspring could he have had by then? He had no real health issues until his very late years, so something doesn't ring true to me with the link.

Some people are just very anti neutering.

IMO, potential dog owners, should hit the homes first, before buying from breeders. This would restrict supply which would cut the amount of dogs available, which if the potential dog owner was serious of having a loving pet, would be less likely to go for a ' Status' breed which come with their own inherent health problems. Being a pedigree dog doesn't mean that it wouldn't mate with any dog in the area while your back was turned ! This is what actually makes the situation worse. They dump the xbreeds inat the RSPCA, as they can't sell them.

As I have said 6 weeks is too young, but slightly older 6-12 months I don't have an issue with. If it cuts down on the amount of unwanted pets and the possible death of a healthy pet, that is not a bad thing.

meritaten

PixieDust wrote: »

Meritaten...sorry if I wasn't clear My point is that the early neutering is somewhat clearly proven to be detrimental to the longterm wellbeing of ferrets, even allowing for environmental factors like the unusual amount of daylight that US indoor ferrets are exposed to compared to the shorter daylight hours that UK outdoor ferrets get.

I believe that there is a direct correlation between early neutering and early death, and higher instances of certain cancers. I don't see why this would be any different in any other young animal who is neutered before they are fully developed.

I totally agree with you pixieDust! my point was that US vets will neuter at a very early age and also, they think it is fine to 'de-claw' domestic cats! it just makes me think they are consumer led and NOT ethics led!
I actually think that neutering is carried out too early even in this country. an animal should be allowed to mature before it is neutered to allow it to develop naturally. I know the 'oh but we dont want all those kittens and puppies' people will advocate early neutering and shoot me down in flames!
BUT - would they advocate neutering children of 6 or 8 years old? if not why not? possibly on the grounds that the child needs it 'growing' years? so why deprive a kitten or puppy of that?

PixieDust

I agree....though I only really know about ferrets....but we prefer to keep them intact until after their first or second season (females/jills) and just as they reach maturity (males/hobs). Some people who have pets are so woefully ignorant though...."oh, I had to let her have a litter of kits cos I was told she'd die if she wasn't mated". No....she'd potentially die if she wasn't brought out of season....that does NOT have to mean mating and ending up with 6-16 kits !!!!!!. But no, it's cheaper to pair her with the "big hob" down the road than to pay £15 for an injection from the vet. Oh and look, I can make money from the kits too....heyyyy...why bother getting her spayed? This is a good racket...... Grrrr *and breathe*

Sorry for hijack...as you were, all

Air_Cooled_75

I think if there wasn't so many irresponsible people around this wouldn't have to happen. They stopped the voucher scheme because people didn't bother. I don't think the RSPCA are to blame, they are only doing their best to deal with an already terrible situation.

mountainofdebt

rustyboy21 wrote: »

IMO, potential dog owners, should hit the homes first, before buying from breeders. This would restrict supply which would cut the amount of dogs available, which if the potential dog owner was serious of having a loving pet, would be less likely to go for a ' Status' breed which come with their own inherent health problems. .

Yes but the difference with a breeder and a rescue home is that you can go to a breeder, hand over your money and go home with your pup.

With a rescue if you don't tick the perfect home box you don't get the dog regardless of how much love you would give the animal

rustyboy21

mountainofdebt wrote: »

Yes but the difference with a breeder and a rescue home is that you can go to a breeder, hand over your money and go home with your pup.

With a rescue if you don't tick the perfect home box you don't get the dog regardless of how much love you would give the animal

We didn't have any isue whatsoever with the RSPCA, no home check done, just general questions. saw him round 2 ish, went home with him about 4, after going to pick up bowls,leads,bed, food etc. We hadn't had a dog together either.

I think the point of being able to go to a breeder and take the dog home straight away, shows what a business racket there is with pedigree dogs. It also shows taht if they let the animal go home without any checks on the buyer, then IMO they have no caring for the animals they have raised. There is also the fact that continous in breeding causes more and more health problems. That is why it's illegal to marry your sister !

Give me a Crossbreed mongrel anyday. We will eventually get round to getting another dog. My OH , who was so adament, that when Rusty passed away, that I was not allowed one, has now said we should have 2 ! I am putting the reins on him, saying I want to grieve first, maybe go to the dogs trust next January and rescue 2 who have been dumped after Christmas.

Don't even get me started on giving animals as Christmas presents !:mad:

Person_one

mountainofdebt wrote: »

Yes but the difference with a breeder and a rescue home is that you can go to a breeder, hand over your money and go home with your pup.

With a rescue if you don't tick the perfect home box you don't get the dog regardless of how much love you would give the animal

I'm a bit fed up of this attitude, because its repeated so often I wonder how many people who might want to rescue don't even enquire because they assume they'll be turned down.

I live in a small first floor flat with no garden, I live alone and I work, yet here I am with two happy little rescue dogs that the rescue were delighted to see go to someone who'd dote on them.

What you're saying might be true of some rescues, or it might be that you can't always get exactly the sort of dog you want, or it might be that you actually aren't in a position to get a dog even though you want one, not everybody is!

If what you want is to pay your money and take a dog straight home there's always places like Battersea or Manchester Dogs Home for that, they even get puppies in regularly.

rustyboy21

What you have to look at as well is that a dog should be a considered purchase/decision.

Anywhere you can go and buy a dog or other animal and you can take it home as if you bought it from a supermarket, is wrong IMO.

A dog is a loyal, loving creature, who shows unconditional love to you. It wouldn't matter to the dog if you had 3 heads, 4 eyes and one arm, they love you just for being you and caring for them.

Air_Cooled_75

I know we wanted cats but I didn't even consider rescues at first due to hearing about them not letting people with dogs, kids under 5 etc etc. however, the 2 RSPCAs we got our cats from didn't bat an eyelid.

viscachaz

All RSPCA centres are different, one near me never puts any animal down unless there's no other option (ie. the animal is in incurable pain etc)
While it's not right to neuter them at such a young age, surely it would be worse to put them through pregnancies etc, and then bring even more unwanted animals into the world, when centres are crowded enough as it is.. They do their best, but they have neither the time nor the resources to look after litters of animals, when it could have been avoided, as well as all the abandoned animals they already have.