Dog advice.

[Lady Tippy Wolfsbane]

Personally, I will not subject my dog to the possibility of a blood filled scrotum, mass infection, kidney failure, excessive bleeding, or death unless it is necessary. I would rather take a few extra steps as an owner to ensure that my dog does not contribute to pet overpopulation.

[Fragile Bird]

I, on the other hand, had a very good vet. :)

[Ken Stone]

I think I thought of a couple of solutions to the OP that don't require any "alterations".

#1) Jerk off your dogs daily. You probably don't want to tell your friends you do this. Also, it can be messy.

#2) Make a female dog analog. You just need some lumber, a fake fur rug and a pocket p*ssy. The good thing about this is your dogs can take care of their own needs as often as necessary. The downside is you need to be handy (in a different way then #1) to construct the "body" for the dogs to mount.

#3) Buy a female pig/goat/pony. This way the dogs can get their needs met without the risk of puppy's.

Why am I the only one that can come up ways to solve problems around here?

[Greywolf2375]

When the heck did say I don't want advice? I started a thread asking for advice. Huge logic fail on your part dude. I was reluctant about neutering because I heard it has side effects. Is that bad? No - its the opposite of it.

I asked for advice which I only got after the racism, the condescending attitude and the baseless allegations. And constant ignorance of the fact that I already to you - I had the female spayed when I realized too much breeding is bad.

Now how in the world can too much breeding be bad for a 10 month old golden retriever who hasn't done it yet. LOL.

Advice: Get the male neutered.

Unnecessary, offensive, baseless spam: 'Where I'm from we take good care of dogs' and 'Where did you send the pups? Did you kill them? Did you? Did you?" 90% spam, 10% advice. No I'm not thankful.

And the comments you are focusing on ALSO came with the "get them neutered" mantra. Now, since you have said "I didn't know..." a number of times and you have gotten a number of recommendations, go do research instead of getting your hair up about the feedback.

[Lady Tippy Wolfsbane]

Well, that's not true. I agree that by being thorough one can minimize the risk, but absent ridiculous only-cat-on-Mars scenarios, there is no level of planning that drops the level to "there is no risk". In fact, luck has everything to do with it. A window gets broken by an errant baseball, a storm blows part of a fence down, a chain has a flaw from the factory and bob's your uncle, Perdita's looking rather bulgy.

To quote the great fictional mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm, "Life will find a way."

Which it why when I'm not around my dog is on lockdown in his extra large crate. I would also never leave my dog alone in the yard for an extended period of time.

The simple fact seems abundantly clear, that many pet owners are not responsible pet owners.

If that statement weren't true, you wouldn't have a dog or a cat euthanized every 8 seconds in the USA, would you?

I NEVER denied this fact. Did I?

Responsible pet owners don't need to read or listen to the admonitions to spay or neuter their pets, because their pets won't be having unwanted pups or kitties. Although I keep hearing stories about people who end up with unwanted puppies because a neighbour's dog jumped their 8 foot fence to get at their female dog that was in heat.

And their female dog that was in heat should have never been unattended in the backyard.

[Robin Of House Hill]

Personally, I will not subject my dog to the possibility of a blood filled scrotum, mass infection, kidney failure, excessive bleeding, or death unless it is necessary. I would rather take a few extra steps as an owner to ensure that my dog does not contribute to pet overpopulation.

Well, I used a vet who actually knew what he was doing. I couldn't train my dog to use a condom. Something about the lack of an opposable thumb.

[Lady Tippy Wolfsbane]

I, on the other hand, had a very good vet. :)

No vet can be that good. No vet can anticipate your dog having an allergic reaction or kidney failure.

The ONLY way my dog will be neutered is if I must find him another home. The same reason I spayed my female dog before making the hard decision to give her to a family member. But hey, that's responsible pet ownership.

[Lady Tippy Wolfsbane]

Well, I used a vet who actually knew what he was doing. I couldn't train my dog to use a condom. Something about the lack of an opposable thumb.

You're sarcasm is not appreciated.

[Fragile Bird]

I never said you denied the fact that many people are irresponsible pet owners. You did say, however, "Most Americans are constantly fed the propaganda about neutering and spaying".

Leaving a dog in what appeared to be a secure location - surrounded by 8 foot fences - is not unreasonable. And while vets are not God, the vast majority of surgeries are accomplished without the side effects you mention. All surgery is dangerous, for humans too. But you don't stop doing surgeries because a percentage have bad outcomes.

[Ixodes]

No vet can be that good. No vet can anticipate your dog having an allergic reaction or kidney failure.

Actually it's not that hard to perform those surgeries without blood filled scrotums, mass infections, kidney failure, excessive bleeding, or death.

As with anything in life, you have options. Surgical sterilization is an option and it carries a list of potential pros and potential cons. Methinks you are overstating the cons a bit but to each their own.

I would rather see a set of testicles removed than a host of unwanted dogs that ultimately become someone's problem but you are absolutely correct that vigilant ownership is the best way to prevent problems with your dogs.

[Lady Tippy Wolfsbane]

I never said you denied the fact that many people are irresponsible pet owners. You did say, however, "Most Americans are constantly fed the propaganda about neutering and spaying".

And that is TRUE! While many of them are unaware of the bad things that can happen to their pet. I did not mean that as a bad mark against spaying and neutering, which I said in later posts for those that read it that way. As I said earlier, I have encountered many people that think I'm an ignorant monster for not neutering my dog due to the spay and neuter propaganda, and that is simply not true.

Leaving a dog in what appeared to be a secure location - surrounded by 8 foot fences - is not unreasonable. And while vets are not God, the vast majority of surgeries are accomplished without the side effects you mention. All surgery is dangerous, for humans too. But you don't stop doing surgeries because a percentage have bad outcomes.

I wouldn't take the risk of leaving my female dog outside unattended while she was in heat. That line of thinking is why people have accidents. Also, I would not have unnecessary surgery...just ask my neurologist.

[Robin Of House Hill]

You're sarcasm is not appreciated.

I imagine not. When a medical issue is turned into a political issue, folks get up tight. The "I'm an exceptionally responsible pet owner", doesn't stand up to the ratio of adverse surgical/post-surgical events vs. the number of unwanted animals kiled.

[Inigima]

You're sarcasm is not appreciated.

Well, now, I wouldn't say that.

[Yagathai]

I get what you're saying, LTP. And obviously the evaluation of risk to one's chattel is to a large degree a personal choice. But if you make that choice -- which you're free to make, obviously -- it flies in the face of the numbers. The rate of fatal complications for neutering male dogs is, according to the best data available, around 0.01% (the overall fatal spay/neuter complication rate is around .1%, but females account for just over 90% of that figure). So there's a 1/10,000 chance of fatal complications for a male dog, and this is a once in a lifetime event.

By contrast and for for perspective, there are approximately 2.6 human drowning deaths a year for every 10,000 swimming pools and hot tub in the US (or at least were, a decade ago). And let's not even talk about owning a car as a risk factor.

In other words, someone owning a pool or hot tub is, statistically speaking, twice as likely to kill a human being every year than your dog is likely to die as a result of getting neutered once a lifetime. If that's a level of unacceptable risk to you, fine. I don't think that makes you an "ignorant monster". But it doesn't seem rational, at least not to me, and being rational is the key to being responsible.

Refs:

Pollari FL, Bonnett BN. Evaluation of postoperative complications following elective surgeries of dogs and cats at private practices using computer records, Can Vet J. 1996 November; 37(11): 672–678.

Pollari FL, Bonnett BN, Bamsey, SC, Meek, AH, Allen, DG (1996) Postoperative complications of elective surgeries in dogs and cats determined by examining electronic and medical records. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 208, 1882-1886

http://www.cdc.gov/n...0/nvsr50_15.pdf

http://www.marketres...od/1461666.html

[Seli]

Which it why when I'm not around my dog is on lockdown in his extra large crate. I would also never leave my dog alone in the yard for an extended period of time.

...

Is it just me or is locking up an animal a lot of the time while considering a relatively safe operation too risky/harmful a slightly contradicting set of values?

[Lady Tippy Wolfsbane]

Actually it's not that hard to perform those surgeries without blood filled scrotums, mass infections, kidney failure, excessive bleeding, or death.

As with anything in life, you have options. Surgical sterilization is an option and it carries a list of potential pros and potential cons. Methinks you are overstating the cons a bit but to each their own.

And that's your opinion, I'm entitled to mine. The truth is these things happen and I don't want to risk it happening to my dog. I haven't told anyone to not neuter or spay their pet. I'm simply defending my choice and the choice of others not to do so, and I don't see the issue with that.

I would rather see a set of testicles removed than a host of unwanted dogs that ultimately become someone's problem but you are absolutely correct that vigilant ownership is the best way to prevent problems with your dogs.

I would too, and I never stated otherwise.

[Inigima]

And that's your opinion,

No, actually, Ix is a professional and this is a matter of experience and math.

[Lady Tippy Wolfsbane]

I imagine not. When a medical issue is turned into a political issue, folks get up tight. The "I'm an exceptionally responsible pet owner", doesn't stand up to the ratio of adverse surgical/post-surgical events vs. the number of unwanted animals kiled.

Did I EVER say that I was an "exceptionally responsible pet owner", or that I'm against spaying and neutering which lowers the number of unwanted animals?

[TerraPrime]

There is a risk any time you cut open an animal for a surgery. This is granted. The assessment of the risk is, on the one hand, rather subjective, and yet on the other hand, should be based on real statistics. It's the same as with evaluating other risks in life. Do airplanes crash? Yes, all the time. Is it therefore a good decision to not go visit your family because you don't want to fly? Do cars get into accidents? Yes. Does it mean you should stay indoors all the time?

This almost reminds me of anti-vaccination talk.

[Robin Of House Hill]

Is it just me or is locking up an animal a lot of the time while considering a relatively safe operation too risky/harmful a slightly contradicting set of values?

Some dogs actually like confinement as it gives them a sense of security. Others, are claustrophobic (mine) and will become frantic if confined.