Fixing vs. Not Fixing your dogs

[AnnaWolf]

Oh my gosh! Thats nuts! I'm considering keeping a dressage whip at my side when we walk Ember. I do not what to be fighting off any dogs empty handed. Crazy!

I think you under estimate the wil power not only by the males but also your female. If I was alone in my situation I would have lost and they would have mated.

 

[Weeg]

Every single animal we have had besides one cat was spayed completely or neutered. But I've started considering maybe not with any males i have at least (I'll definately try the ovary sparing one if i get females, never knew that was a thing) when i get my own place. Something about altering now just seems.... i dunno how to say it without offending someone

This is kind of how I feel. We've always altered in the past without a question, but this time, I don't know. I'm hesitant I guess.

 

[Weeg]

I think you under estimate the wil power not only by the males but also your female. If I was alone in my situation I would have lost and they would have mated.

I can only imagine. No doubt they're more driven than I can even wrap my brain around. I think it will depend on our situation. If we don't spay her and I find that theirs a crazy aggressive male dog barking down our door, I might reconsider an ovary sparing spay.
Or, maybe we get lucky and we can avoid the male dog. Guess we'll have to wait and see.
I appreciate everyones stories and past experience.

 

[Halfpasthen]

In my opinion most owners should spay and neuter their dogs. You have to be incredibly responsible to keep an intact animal. I had 2 female dogs that I had until they died in old age. 1 was spayed very young when we adopted her. 1 we kept intact. My spayed dog did develop urinary incontinence in her older age which is not uncommon in females spayed very young. My intact female never had health issues until the very end. She developed brain cancer and had to be put down. She never got bred or had puppies. I work with dogs for a living. I've seen lots of dogs almost die of pyometra. I've also seen lots and lots and lots of dogs develop endocrine issues because of very young spay and neuter. I currently have an intact 2.5 year old male dog. He has never bred. He does not mount, mark, or have dog aggression to other dogs. Though in my experience unaltered animals are a bit more prone to biting (not aggression but reactive biting) because they are hormonal. I can easily see both sides of the debate. I still say most people should spay or neuter their pets because they simply won't be responsible enough to keep them from breeding or to manage the challenges of a hormonal intact dog. But I lean towards not altering my animals personally. Or altering them after they're fully grown.

 

[AnnaWolf]

I can only imagine. No doubt they're more driven than I can even wrap my brain around. I think it will depend on our situation. If we don't spay her and I find that theirs a crazy aggressive male dog barking down our door, I might reconsider an ovary sparing spay.
Or, maybe we get lucky and we can avoid the male dog. Guess we'll have to wait and see.
I appreciate everyones stories and past experience.

You have to do what you think is best.
Just hope you wil never encounter a male like that

 

[Halfpasthen]

And I agree most people vastly underestimate the lengths dogs will go to to breed. Going so far as to breed through kennels, fencing, break down doors, break windows, climb fencing, chew through fencing, dig under fencing. When dogs in heat would come into my previous work all the other dogs would go absolutely insane.

 

[allenw]

A chainlink wire kennel is no barrier when a female is in heat.

 

[NatJ]

If we don't spay her and I find that theirs a crazy aggressive male dog barking down our door, I might reconsider an ovary sparing spay.

If you have the vet do an ovary sparing spay, she will still go into heat.
The "crazy aggressive male dog" will be just as much nuisance every time that happens.

Yes, such a spay will prevent pregnancy, and will prevent pyometra (no uterus, so no puppies and no uterine infections). But it will not prevent the male dogs coming and causing trouble.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

If you have the vet do an ovary sparing spay, she will still go into heat.
The "crazy aggressive male dog" will be just as much nuisance every time that happens.

Yes, such a spay will prevent pregnancy, and will prevent pyometra (no uterus, so no puppies and no uterine infections). But it will not prevent the male dogs coming and causing trouble.

Will the soaring spay prevent bleeding during heat too?

 

[addctd2plnts]

Worked for vets for years. I am for spaying and neutering, but not till dog is fully done growing. With my giant breeds I wait a full 3 years. If you do this they do not get cancer. If you spay/neuter large/giant breeds before they are done growing, they grow much taller and do mot look like the breed standard, then they get cancer by 5 years old and die. Since I've quit spay/neutering till 3 years old, my giant dogs have lived to 12.5-13.5 years old. If you don't spay/neuter them, they usually die by 10 years old of mammary cancer. Just my experience. Working in rescue, I can tell you the thousands of wonderful family pets are killed yearly. I can also testify that dogs will do anything to get to a female in heat, and if you also have unfixed males, you're not going to sleep for 6 weeks a year while they cry and wail when your female is in heat. I've done it with rescue dogs that couldn't be spayed till out of heat and it was a horrible nightmare!