Hunting dog-to neuter/spay or not
- Thread starter rhino519
- Start date
Thank you all for the input
Just to clarify, I own a Brittany Spaniel, named Hunter, he's about 9 months now, I've heard all the same health arguments from our vet and fallowed some of the recommendations she sugested, but as the date draws closer I'm more and more sceptical/apprehensive (maybe wrong emotion expressed but sadness doesn't fit either).
Hunter gets about 2-3 hrs of exercise a day (most of the week) out of 1 hr recommended, he's handsome (I could be prejudiced)playful, driven, and we both enjoy outings together, and I would hate to see him change after the procedure
damn hard decision, it's not my first huntin dog, my family owned a few (the arrangements were.....complicated?) they were always part of our hunting pack and they were never fixed, some passed away on the hunts, very few died of old age or sickness
but Hunter is different, he's all mine (ours, opposite of the rest of my hunting family) and as much pet as a hunting partner, I got some thinking to do
Cool. American or French ???
Not trying to sway you one way or the other just sharing a link I was given some time ago ref the french
http://www.syntonieanimale.com/res/site62148/res617509_1-Final-20Neuter-spay.pdf
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I have heard all this anti neutering and spaying excuse BS for so long that it is hard to comprehend in this day and age people still believe any of it. But I hear some folks still believe the earth is flat, and I still know men that refuse to get a vasectomy because they feel they will no longer be a man.!!
I have been very fortunate in having owned and hunted some of the best labs both male and female. Myself and the folks I have trained and hunted with all have had our dogs fixed unless a litter was wanted. We have never ever had issues with dogs loosing drive or under performing due to Neutering and spaying. Like the fella stated above we are hunters not dog breeders. Plus I never had to worry about my boys wandering off while pheasant hunting at Pelee because there was a female in heat next field over. Used to see a lot of that sort of thing. Or two unfixed males fighting over whatever ticked them off.
Boils down to if you want to breed the dog to perpetuate it's excellent qualities, then obviously you don't spay/neuter. If your just going to use the dog for hunting and a pet. Do the dog a favor and yourself get it fixed. Then there's always the folks who can't resist breeding the dog several times just to get the $$$ from selling the pup's.
I have been very fortunate in having owned and hunted some of the best labs both male and female. Myself and the folks I have trained and hunted with all have had our dogs fixed unless a litter was wanted. We have never ever had issues with dogs loosing drive or under performing due to Neutering and spaying. Like the fella stated above we are hunters not dog breeders. Plus I never had to worry about my boys wandering off while pheasant hunting at Pelee because there was a female in heat next field over. Used to see a lot of that sort of thing. Or two unfixed males fighting over whatever ticked them off.
Boils down to if you want to breed the dog to perpetuate it's excellent qualities, then obviously you don't spay/neuter. If your just going to use the dog for hunting and a pet. Do the dog a favor and yourself get it fixed. Then there's always the folks who can't resist breeding the dog several times just to get the $$$ from selling the pup's.
Early spay and neuter has been the advice of most North American veterinarians for decades. The comments above are true, but a recent study has caused us veterinarians to have another look at this recommendation. It looks like early neutering protects against mammary cancer and hemangiosarcomas, but increases the risk for some other cancers.
Neutering dogs: effects on joint disorders and cancers in golden retrievers.
PLoS ONE. January 2013;8(2):e55937.
Gretel Torres de la Riva[SUP]1[/SUP]; Benjamin L Hart; Thomas B Farver; Anita M Oberbauer; Neil Willits; Lynette A Hart
[SUP]1[/SUP]Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California-Davis, Davis, California, United States of America.
[h=3]Article Abstract[/h]In contrast to European countries, the overwhelming majority of dogs in the U.S. are neutered (including spaying), usually done before one year of age. Given the importance of gonadal hormones in growth and development, this cultural contrast invites an analysis of the multiple organ systems that may be adversely affected by neutering. Using a single breed-specific dataset, the objective was to examine the variables of gender and age at the time of neutering versus leaving dogs gonadally intact, on all diseases occurring with sufficient frequency for statistical analyses. Given its popularity and vulnerability to various cancers and joint disorders, the Golden Retriever was chosen for this study. Veterinary hospital records of 759 client-owned, intact and neutered female and male dogs, 1-8 years old, were examined for diagnoses of hip dysplasia (HD), cranial cruciate ligament tear (CCL), lymphosarcoma (LSA), hemangiosarcoma (HSA), and mast cell tumor (MCT). Patients were classified as intact, or neutered early (<12 mo) or late (≥12 mo). Statistical analyses involved survival analyses and incidence rate comparisons. Outcomes at the 5 percent level of significance are reported. Of early-neutered males, 10 percent were diagnosed with HD, double the occurrence in intact males. There were no cases of CCL diagnosed in intact males or females, but in early-neutered males and females the occurrences were 5 percent and 8 percent, respectively. Almost 10 percent of early-neutered males were diagnosed with LSA, 3 times more than intact males. The percentage of HSA cases in late-neutered females (about 8 percent) was 4 times more than intact and early-neutered females. There were no cases of MCT in intact females, but the occurrence was nearly 6 percent in late-neutered females. The results have health implications for Golden Retriever companion and service dogs, and for oncologists using dogs as models of cancers that occur in humans.
Neutering dogs: effects on joint disorders and cancers in golden retrievers.
PLoS ONE. January 2013;8(2):e55937.
Gretel Torres de la Riva[SUP]1[/SUP]; Benjamin L Hart; Thomas B Farver; Anita M Oberbauer; Neil Willits; Lynette A Hart
[SUP]1[/SUP]Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California-Davis, Davis, California, United States of America.
[h=3]Article Abstract[/h]In contrast to European countries, the overwhelming majority of dogs in the U.S. are neutered (including spaying), usually done before one year of age. Given the importance of gonadal hormones in growth and development, this cultural contrast invites an analysis of the multiple organ systems that may be adversely affected by neutering. Using a single breed-specific dataset, the objective was to examine the variables of gender and age at the time of neutering versus leaving dogs gonadally intact, on all diseases occurring with sufficient frequency for statistical analyses. Given its popularity and vulnerability to various cancers and joint disorders, the Golden Retriever was chosen for this study. Veterinary hospital records of 759 client-owned, intact and neutered female and male dogs, 1-8 years old, were examined for diagnoses of hip dysplasia (HD), cranial cruciate ligament tear (CCL), lymphosarcoma (LSA), hemangiosarcoma (HSA), and mast cell tumor (MCT). Patients were classified as intact, or neutered early (<12 mo) or late (≥12 mo). Statistical analyses involved survival analyses and incidence rate comparisons. Outcomes at the 5 percent level of significance are reported. Of early-neutered males, 10 percent were diagnosed with HD, double the occurrence in intact males. There were no cases of CCL diagnosed in intact males or females, but in early-neutered males and females the occurrences were 5 percent and 8 percent, respectively. Almost 10 percent of early-neutered males were diagnosed with LSA, 3 times more than intact males. The percentage of HSA cases in late-neutered females (about 8 percent) was 4 times more than intact and early-neutered females. There were no cases of MCT in intact females, but the occurrence was nearly 6 percent in late-neutered females. The results have health implications for Golden Retriever companion and service dogs, and for oncologists using dogs as models of cancers that occur in humans.
Maybe so... But I can't see any of the members of this board running out to their doctor to have their balls lopped off... Just imagine IF your doctor said this to you! It's healthier, you won't miss them, it won't affect your drive, you'll have less health risks (like cancer)...
No thanks, I'll keep my balls & so will my dog.
Cheers
Jay
Humm this may explain something.
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