I am looking for advice that anyone can offer about the different kinds of operations male dogs can have and which is the simplest but most effective operation.
I am asking because I obviously don't want our dog to suffer unnecessary pain, but want to ensure that he has an operation that will ensure he can't father any puppies.
As a Jack Russell he is a born escape artist, and we don't want any 'accidents' to happen with any neighbouring dogs!

Up until now I have only had a bitch Golden Retriever and obviously the operation dilemmas are a lot more straight forward.

I have already looked at some threads about age of castration. We live in Germany and they do not like to operate before 12 months, as he is a smaller breed and they mature earlier is it normal practice in the UK to wait this long?

All advice welcome - thank you.

Neutering is done over here in the UK at any time from 5-6 months onwards. Even earlier in some cases.
As far as I know there are only two options, neutering (removal of both testicles) or vasectomy (tying the "tubes" that supply the sperm), but neutering is better as it removes the chances of testicular cancer, and also can help dog aggression. Also vasectomy isn't always 100% effective, whereas neutering is. It's a very minor op for a male dog, so I wouldn't worry about pain.
Lisa
xx

At 12 months he will be physically and sexually mature. The operation on a male is much more straightforward than that for a bitch, as bhe bits incolved are external. Simple castration is usually the best method, unless you want ot make a male sterile and continue to show, but then the dog will still mate and have all the male urges.

Dogs recover very quickly from Castration, with stitcjes being removed a week or so after the routine operation. A painkiller is sometimes prescribed to use for a few days.

Are there actually vets that will perform vasectomies (or, say, tubal ligation for a female) on dogs rather than the outright spay/neuter? I have to admit, having grown up with both altered and unaltered dogs, I _prefer_ the temperament and personality of entire animals, both dog and bitch. But if I have a dog I don't want to breed, leaving them entire-and-capable isn't the best choice.

I'm sure there might be someone who does it, but the question is, what is the point? Why put them through the surgery and still have the risk of nasty cancers, pyometras etc? There is little if any change in a bitches behaviour after spey, and a male can be made less aggressive, and unless you're after that kind of personality (grumpy!) then you're better off just getting them done. ;)

Well, as I said, I've grown up with both dogs and bitches of various breeds, and some who were 'fixed' (Why do they use that term? They worked just fine before!), and lots who weren't.

Gordon Setters, for example... even my dad's stud was a good dog, good with people and friendly as well despite being entire. Another of them was very much similar - out to enjoy life, athletic, and keen. One of his other dogs was neutered and _he_ was the grumpy, prone to overweight, not-bothered-for-much-of-life dog... despite living in the exact same situation and having the exact same care and attention as the other, unneutered dog. I never noticed that our full males were any more aggressive than the neutered ones.

Bitches, despite the risk of pyometra, etc... there are fundamental changes in the way a spayed bitch behaves. My mom's GSP was great before she was spayed - again, lively, active, wanting to work, and an overall happy dog, and still manageable as a house pet. After she was spayed, she got fat, didn't care about being a bird dog any more, and just didn't seem to have the same attitude.

It's just my personal experience that I prefer the attitude and behaviour of an entire dog to an altered one - and if it's possible to have that attitude and behaviour WITHOUT the risk of puppies if it's a dog I don't want under any circumstances to breed, then all the better.

My vet was more than willing to perform a vasectomy on my Boxer but I opted for full removal instead. Best ask you vet if they will do it, it is a simpler operation than full castration.
Bec

I must admit I have considered vasectomy on one of my dogs. He's a lovely dog, but too far from the breed standard to use at stud, and is a unilateral. But he is by nature on the timid side (another reason not to use him) and needs all the testosterone he can get, to stop him becoming aggressive.

I had my two dogs castrated on monday gone. Both went in the same day. I opted for castration because i have a friend who has an old GSD, who has CDRM. He has lately had an enlarged testicle. He wouldn't cope with an operation now. So it's just a waiting game with him.
I don't want to be in that situation with mine when they get older.
I've been thinking about it for quite some time and this has just been the push that i've needed.
Both have come through it fine, the only problem is the collars. Miniature dachshunds wearing lampshades!:D They can't see where they're going. I've got bruises all over my shins where they keep walking into me. I'll be glad when they can come off.
I must admit though, i was extremely worried the day they were in.

Hi Sa curd

I have 2 JRT's, a 21 month old female and a 12 month old male. Both were neutered/spayed at 10 months old. My vet advised waiting until after the first season for the female and his policy was 12 months for neutering larger male dogs, 10 months for small dogs like the JRT. He also said that he would concider neutering earlier if there were any particular problems (we didn't have any) but would have to examine the dog before he would say yes or no to see if it was mature enough.

In my opinion, if you are putting the dog through surgery you may has well have him castrated - testicular cancer can and does happen and you may as well get him that protection. Also you say that your dog has a tendancy to roam (I know that this is said to be a trait in JRT's but I must admit mine have never shown it so far). This tendancy will be increased geatly if he is intact and gets a whiff of a bitch in season! So hopefully, not only will it prevent him fathering puppies but may reduce his chances of trying to escape and its asociated dangers.

My male suffered very little after his operation. He had just 4 stitches which disolved in time and within 24 hours was completely back to his old self once he stopped being woozy from the anaesthetic - the main difficulty was keeping him calm so that he didn't pull the stiches! We bought a cone shaped collar to put on if he showed any interest in his wound but he ignored it totally (so it couldn't hav bothered him) and we took the collar back unused and got a refund!

Neither have mine have shown any increase in appetite or tendancy to put on weight. As you know this is a very lively breed so this may help with this. And neither have shown any obvious personality change - still loveable, affectionate, lively mischievous bundles of energy - just the way I like them :)

Karen :)

Thanks for the advice. It's great to now know a bit more about what we will be letting him in for and the differences between the operations.
Also thanks for the reassurances about his character hopefully remaining the same even after the operation.
We have worked out that the reason he occasionally likes to wander is that we have children living either side of us and when he hears them playing he can't help himself from wanting to join in!
He scales our fences even though he is more of a pudding JRT - short legs!
So, luckily the wetaher is nice and sitting in the garden to 'catch him in the act' isn't much of a chore!
Again, thnk you for the advice.