mindym09 Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 What age did you get your dog fixed? Why did you? Or why not? Also my vet recommended starting Nitro on heartworm disease prevention. What's your opinions on that? Thanks ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 Darwin was already done when we took him into our pack at 1 year old Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robke Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 Alpha yes..age 2 years had an undescended testicle so needed to be done (would have done it anyways) Bindi yes ..age 5 years started having phantom pregnacies and after she was done we found out that she had spots on hercerfix that were harmfull... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robke Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 heartworm is more your side of the planet...I believe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carly Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 Skye, just under 12 months (after her first season)... We had intended to let her have a couple more seasons but she really didn't cope very well and cried and howled the place down for the entire time, it was just heartbreaking so we decided that it was less stressful for her to be "done" as soon after her season as possible, which is three months. Holly, not been done yet, but she will be shortly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 Blaze was around 16-18 months I can't quite remember , we got him done as he started growling at us it helped calm him down dramatically Skyla was 2 years n 2 months ( had to wait till after her season) we only got her done to prevent her getting pyometra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mindym09 Posted January 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 heartworm is more your side of the planet...I believe... What do you mean by this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goingsolo Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 Both my boys rescues so were done as that's dog's trust policy but would have done it anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormchaser09 Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 mine were done after first season for Storm and Gem. Had planned to have them done before that but other circumstances prevented both so they were done asap after. Tanna was already done when we got her at 3years. I always had entire males before and they were always fine with no problems so we just left them but the girls were a different story and I certainly didn't want pups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormchaser09 Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 What do you mean by this We don't have much trouble with heartworm on this side of the Atlantic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mydiamond Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 What do you mean by this Some regions in Planet Earth are more prone to heart worm than others. If you live in one of those high-risk regions then heart worm prevention is a must. If you don't, then it's up to you. Mine is intact, but only because the parents are against neutering. If I had my way he'd be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 I am not sure where you are from, but I use Iverheart for heartworm prevention, it's just a pill they get once a month. As far as neutering, you will find a lot of differing (and strong) opinions on the proper age to get them neutered. After doing tons of research, and trying to find unbiased websites, as well as talking to my vet, I had mine both done at 4 months of age. Many people will advocate waiting until at least 12-18 months of age though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mindym09 Posted January 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 Thanks for the advice! I'm considering neutering. My vet said if I want to get it done, then get it done after 6months. Nitro is 3 months now. And I live near Pittsburgh, pa. So.I don't know how prone heartworm is around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clare70 Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 Harry was already done when we rescued him at 18 months. Snowy we had done around 13 months. Some say it's better to wait until they've finished growing, to do with the hormones being affected. As Snow was a little dog, under fed before we rescued him we decided to wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 Here is a good map of heartworm incidents. AS you can see, it is more prevalent in warmer clients, but you are in the mid-range. I think most vets recommend it no matter where you live at in the U.S. I would definitely recommend neutering, it is just a matter of when https://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources/incidence-maps Thanks for the advice! I'm considering neutering. My vet said if I want to get it done, then get it done after 6months. Nitro is 3 months now. And I live near Pittsburgh, pa. So.I don't know how prone heartworm is around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 (edited) Loki is still intact, and honestly I don't really see a need to have him neutered, however I'd prefer to wait till around 18mths if I _had_ to have it done. If he escapes where I live now, probably the last thing I have to worry about is him getting a female pregnant, as being on the corner of 2 major roads, well, yeah. I've heard "rumours" about how it calms them down, prevents them from humping etc etc but as far as I'm concerned that's hugely dependent on the dog. I've seen dogs that have been fixed pre-1yr at the dog park going around humping every dog they can get their paws on and still run around just as mad. Loki is already a hugely calm dog and really has no drive to hump, nor has he ever marked in the house etc etc. If it ain't broke .. Females on the other hand, I've heard of far more beneficial reasons for having it done apart from the risk of puppies, but I've never owned a female dog. Edited January 26, 2015 by Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mydiamond Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 Loki is still intact, and honestly I don't really see a need to have him neutered, however I'd prefer to wait till around 18mths if I _had_ to have it done. If he escapes where I live now, probably the last thing I have to worry about is him getting a female pregnant, as being on the corner of 2 major roads, well, yeah. I've heard "rumours" about how it calms them down, prevents them from humping etc etc but as far as I'm concerned that's hugely dependent on the dog. I've seen dogs that have been fixed pre-1yr at the dog park going around humping every dog they can get their paws on and still run around just as mad. Loki is already a hugely calm dog and really has no drive to hump, nor has he ever marked in the house etc etc. If it ain't broke .. Females on the other hand, I've heard of far more beneficial reasons for having it done apart from the risk of puppies, but I've never owned a female dog. Not trying to sway your opinion, but I'd like to mention that intact males make "multiple dog situations" tricky. Dime is also very calm, and with only two females in my entire neighborhood (both of whom have walking schedules opposite of ours and live behind tall gates) I don't mind keeping him intact all these years. But at the same time, when other dog owner wants to set up a puppy play date, it became super crucial for me to interrogate them about their dog. If it's an intact female then it's either a cold hard "sorry, no" or "OK but oh my gosh I'm stressed already". Since Dime immediately humped the last intact female we met though I tend to lean towards the first response nowadays. Intact males are even trickier. I would then need to expand the interrogation to their play style, level of tolerance, same-sex aggression tendency, et cetera. Don't even ask about boarding when the entire family has to go out of town Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 (edited) Having just moved in with a housemate with another intact male husky, I definitely know what you mean, however given the situation it has been working out quite well. They've had their fights, there's been a bit of attempted humping but realistically no one has been hurt beyond a few scratches, and I'll jinx myself saying this but we haven't had a fight in a good 3 days now, which is awesome. IMO you should just gauge it on the individual dog. I don't see any harm at all in neutering provided it's not done way too early, however in MY instance there's very little risk of Loki escaping and producing puppies, and his behaviour is already exactly where I want it (although around other dogs he could stand to be a little less timid, but that's just training). I wouldn't organize Loki a playdate with an intact female either just because of the risk, but it's not hard to find another that isn't. Chances are though if the dog knows how to hump, they'll probably try their luck (even with other males). Edited January 26, 2015 by Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Loki is still intact, and honestly I don't really see a need to have him neutered, however I'd prefer to wait till around 18mths if I _had_ to have it done. If he escapes where I live now, probably the last thing I have to worry about is him getting a female pregnant, as being on the corner of 2 major roads, well, yeah. I've heard "rumours" about how it calms them down, prevents them from humping etc etc but as far as I'm concerned that's hugely dependent on the dog. I've seen dogs that have been fixed pre-1yr at the dog park going around humping every dog they can get their paws on and still run around just as mad. Loki is already a hugely calm dog and really has no drive to hump, nor has he ever marked in the house etc etc. If it ain't broke .. Females on the other hand, I've heard of far more beneficial reasons for having it done apart from the risk of puppies, but I've never owned a female dog. Humping isn't always a sign of needing to be neutered etc , it can be through excitement too they get so excited when playing they get a bit carried away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Humping isn't always a sign of needing to be neutered etc , it can be through excitement too they get so excited when playing they get a bit carried away Yep, I've heard of it being common in female dogs too for that reason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 (edited) My boy is fixed, but he's a rescue so not sure when he was neutered. I found a good article a couple of years ago, that outlines the pros and cons of spaying/neutering dogs. The article is about 12 pages, so prepare to sit down and read through it. The full article is attached below, and here is a quick summary of it: An objective reading of the veterinary medical literature reveals a complex situation with respect to the longterm health risks and benefits associated with spay/neuter in dogs. The evidence shows that spay/neuter correlates with both positive AND adverse health effects in dogs. It also suggests how much we really do not yet understand about this subject. On balance, it appears that no compelling case can be made for neutering most male dogs to prevent future health problems, especially immature male dogs. The number of health problems associated with neutering may exceed the associated health benefits in most cases. For female dogs, the situation is more complex. The number of health benefits associated with spaying may exceed the associated health problems in many (not all) cases. On balance, whether spaying improves the odds of overall good health or degrades them probably depends on the age of the dog and the relative risk of various diseases in the different breeds. The traditional spay/neuter age of six months as well as the modern practice of pediatric spay/neuter appear to predispose dogs to health risks that could otherwise be avoided by waiting until the dog is physically mature, or perhaps in the case of many male dogs, foregoing it altogether unless medically necessary. The balance of long-term health risks and benefits of spay/neuter will vary from one dog to the next. Breed, age, and gender are variables that must be taken into consideration in conjunction with non-medical factors for each individual dog. Across-the-board recommendations for all dogs do not appear to be supportable from findings in the veterinary medical literature LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf Edited January 27, 2015 by Elyse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robke Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 What do you mean by this Do not Have it much in Europe.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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