my border collie is due to be castrated in june due to some cancerous lumps
in his annal gland to help reduce them. the vet has refused to give him his yearly jags aswell as he says its not worth the money. is this safe. apart from being selectively deaf he is fit and healthy
emma

Hello,

As long as he is fit and healthy and you have all his vital organs tested (this can be done with a blood test) then I would sau go for it if your vet thinks it will help. You could give him homeopathic Arnica when he comes home, this will help to reduce the bruising around the operation site.

Strange question..... :) but how will castration help with cancer in the anal glands??

manda
X

manda
its all to do with hormones. has been on the injections which reduce testosterone, and this has reduced them.
but is it safe for him not to have his annual jabs, when ive got a puppy to come home

I think you must mean Prostate cancer not Anal glands. If there was a problem with anal glands, then these would be removed not his testes. The hormone injection you mention is normally give to dogs with an enlarged prostate.

I think he's got both. one was diagnosed after the other. one he can't do anything about but the othe will help him go to number twos.

I know with prostate trouble their poo becomes flat and ribbon-like when it's deposited....does your boy have this symptom? Castration certainly helps in this circumstance. Hope he does well. :)

Emma,

It is not safe for your dog to skip his jabs, in particular if you have other dogs. Most vaccines last longer than the recommended intervals between boosters, but they do lose their effectiveness eventually. Why would you vet advise you to "save the money" on the jabs, but recommend that he has surgery. Did you ask why, if he has cancer, he is waiting until June to do the op?

Stacey

now this is the question. he is only charging 1/3 of his consultation fee
but is insistant that we would be wasting our money to get his booster
done.
the reason why hes waiting for june is to allow the last batch of hormones
to go.

Emma,

If your BC has been boostered regularly throughout his life, then the vet probably considers that he has more than enough immunity in his system already, to not warrant another booster right now. If he is going to perform surgery soon, then he will probably prefer not to give the boosters, as the dog will already have quite a lot to contend with, due to the surgery. He more than likely does not want to burden your dog's system further, especially if it cancer is suspected. I would take his advice on this one.

HTH

Monty's Mum :)

My GSD Oscar was castrated last year at the age of nearly 10 due to rapidly worsening prostrate problems. He recovered very quickly from the op which was a complete success and he has had no further problems since.

Lisa
xx