Hey kitty could i ask you a question? My brother is debating getting his dog fixed and he doesnt know if he should because he can't find any solid info on the pros and cons of it. Do you know of any resources he could read? or what you would do personally in his situation? It's a male, year old shiba, kind of a wild little man, only child for now but my brother is debating getting another dog somewhere down the line
all pets should be spayed and neutered point blank, not just because of social repercussions but for the health of the animal.
80% of dogs hit by cars are intact males. i can personally testify to this statistic - the majority of HBCs that come through are intact males. no matter what kind of fence you have, no matter how careful you are to keep your dog inside, an intact male chasing the scent of a female in heat will find a way to get out. i know a dog that straight up jumped through a window that was only cracked an inch. i know a dog that gave himself convulsions because he kept trying to cross his electric fence.Â
âlife finds a way.â - jeff goldblum
intact males rarely get along with other dogs, intact or not, whether they themselves are the aggressor or a passive victim. some dog parks require that your dog be spayed or neutered for this exact reason. intact males will display aggression toward other intact males in particular but also neutered males (neutered males, in turn, often instigate fights with them) and often provoke fights with and between spayed and intact females. if your brother doesnât neuter his dog, he shouldnât get another one. two intact males in the house is going to inevitably lead to fights no matter how well they get along; an intact male and female is inevitably going to lead to litters that donât need to exist. âbut i was watching them so carefully!â is such a common utterance when finding out their bitch is pregnant that i never want to hear it again ever. they also have a direct influence on other dogs even if theyâre not directly involved. my friendâs two spayed females - who got along without issue until now - ripped each other to shreds and cost her thousands of dollars in vet bills just because she brought an intact male in her home. she uploaded pictures of her walls and floors covered in blood to facebook as a cautionary tale.Â
leaving a dog intact inherently contributes to the 600,000+ dogs euthanized in shelters each year. unwanted litters are euthanized by the hundreds, and those puppies who make it to adulthood whether as strays on the street or intact in a home will in turn breed more unwanted litters until they themselves are finally caught and euthanized. unless he wants to be a breeder - which i guarantee he is not prepared for because out of the 30-odd breeders iâve met at my clinic i have felt only 1 has any business being in the industry - he doesnât need to contribute to the overstock.Â
while many people talk about spaying females to prevent the occurrence of malignant mammary tumors and deadly pyometras, the hidden health risks to intact males are rarely talked about. testicular cancer is as deadly as mammary tumors and easily preventable by neutering. prostatitis can be even deadlier because of its insidiousness. weâve had a pug hospitalized several days because his prostate was so enlarged he couldnât urinate or defecate. his kidneys were beginning to fail because his urine was backflowing. he had to have an emergency castration and a urinary catheter inserted to ensure he could urinate until his prostate swelled back down. he was still urinating blood as of yesterday, though at least he was able to urinate at all. we had a german shepherd hospitalized for several days because he had an enlarged prostate but his owner didnât want to castrate him. he was at deathâs door when his owner finally acquiesced but it was too late. his prostate had abscessed and ruptured, fusing his abdominal organs together. it was a mercy to euthanize him on the table. iâll never forget him.
is there a reason to delay neutering? in some cases, yes. i do think that severe health issues (such as clotting disorders that make any surgery a risk) can preclude the decision to neuter, though the risks of not neutering will eventually outweigh the risks of neutering as the dog ages. i also support people with large breed dogs, such as mastiffs or danes, delaying neutering until 1.5-2 years of age because the testosterone promotes healthy joint growth and prevents health issues down the road. unless his shibe has von willebrandâs disease or is a terrifyingly large shibe, that doesnât apply to him.
anyway thatâs my hot take
