I have a one yr old Tibetan Terrier and I was just wondering about whether or not to have him castrated. I have had some mied responses some advice would be appreciated. Thanks Melanie

Hi Melanie

In the end it is totally up to you.  If your dog is castrated he cannot reproduce (after a certain period) can will not get problems with the removed "bits".  Other than than that I do not believe that there are any guarantees. 

If he rapes everything he comes into contact with YES.  If he is sociable, well balanced and healthy, why on earth would you want an uneccessary aneasthetic and operation on your dog?
Dawn.

No he dosen't mount anything, and he is a well behaved boy but i was thinking more about problems he could get later on in life if he is not done. Thanks for the replys Melanie

What sort of problems were you thinking about?

i have been told that it can increase the chances of certain types of cancer. Not sure if this is correct or not but i wanted to enquire beford i made my decision. Thanks Melanie

Well I doubt if he could get testicular cancer ;) At the end of the day it is your decision :) I had my 3 year old dog castrated as we got a bitch and I didn't want any accidents . At 3 years old though, he is a mature chap and hasn't changed one iota since the op :)

I wondered if that was what you were concerned about.  Sadly there are figures (I think Jeangenie has the full SP) that indicate that a castrated dog is in fact more prone to prostrate cancers - so you pays your money and takes your choice :(

Melanie, I am no expert so can only give you an opinion based on my own experience.  If you have a dog with a nice temperament, well socialised, that is not likely to come into contact with females in an uncontrolled way then why would you want to change it in any way.   There are many views out there and at the end of the day you have to go with what you feel is right.  Don't be pushed into anything. 

Neither of my two have been done although I've been close to making the appointments several times !  They mount each other which is a pain but I've been told that the op won't necessarily stop this behaviour.

I have an entire 2 1/2 yr old male who has never had any problems and I have no intention of getting him done. I have a speyed older bitch and I will soon be the proud owner of another bitch, she will have a couple of segregated seasons and then be speyed. As someone said, if it ain't broke, don't fix it! ;)

I also have an entire male who is 11 months.  I have always felt bullied by vets, groomers etc trying to make me get him castrated.  They go on about cancer and try to frighten you into doing it.  It was only when i read the more balanced views on Champdogs that I made my own decision not to put him through an operation when he is well behaved, well socialised and has a fantastic temperament.  Also, I remember one person saying that if your dog is unfortunate to get testicular cancer, castration can then be a cure.

I have a one year old dobermann and I was wondering whether to have him castrated.  The reason for this is other people going on about it - the vet, the training class I go to and also people you meet in the park, and I was told about the cancer problem.  I don't have any problems with my boy with other dogs at all, and he has never mounted anything, but lately I have noticed he is rather more interested in the girls.

If there is no reason for doing it, then I wouldn't :)

If you have no problems with him being entire, then there's no point in having him castrated. Don't be pressurised into doing anything you don't want.
:)

As far as Cancer goes Testicular Cancer is quite rare and can be dealt with in the normal way if it should occur (part of ordinary care should be checking for any abnormal lumps and bumps on the body).  The more common |Prostate Cancer actually occurs more often in castrated dogs, so from a health point of view there is no benefit to castrating him.

I have 4 altered males and 1 unaltered male along with an altered female.  My altered males mount each other during play just as often as my unaltered male mounts.  It's a dominance issue and not necessarily a sexual issue so it's not guaranteed to stop your dog from mounting.  I wouldn't let that be part of your decision.  If you feel as though you're unable to ensure that he remains in the house, garden, etc. and he may eventually roam, get him castrated to prevent 'accidents'.  If you feel confident in your abilities as a pet owner to keep him under control then there's really no reason to have him altered.

One reason why Vets go on about this, apart from the fact that they make money for doing the job, is that they know full well that they see more fat dogs than thin ones in their surgeries and that if you have your dog castrated odds-on your dog will end up becoming fat (a factor of statistics, not an aspersion on your ability as a responsible owner). Castration of a young dog affects its physiology quite markedly and unless you are very careful and attentive with feeding you may end up with more problems in the dog's later life caused by obesity than those theoretical 'problems' solved by having the animal neutered.

Cancer in Dobermanns is one of the main causes of death in their middle-age (6-7 years+), its cause is genetic and castration will have no effect whatsosever unless your boy's line has a history of testicular cancer (ask your breeder about this).

Recently I met a lady walking a small pack of Bassetts, the males all castrated, who damned with faint praise any intact male dog yet admitted that it often took 'ages' to recall her own dogs. The moral is that an intact dog that returns to hand on command is worth five, or fifteen, or fifty neutered dogs in the bush.

Dobermanns are not a commonplace breed and many people do understand that it is a characteristic of the breed to run at great speed & play at a distance.

The Dobermann Breed Council are just starting a nationwide cardio-survey, you may wish to become involved.

Why would vets want more overweight dogs in there surgery?

As with humans, being overweight can lead to additional health problems - just think on how vets earn their money, and how they'd earn their money if all dogs were maintained at a healthy weight.....

Are you suggesting that vets would deliberating encourage overweight dogs to earn more money from their ailments?  I don't know what sort of vets you have met but in all my years of dealing with them I have not met one that I could imagine doing such a thing.  Besides they seem to earn a perfectly good income dealing with the routines and generally occuring problems :)

This is exactly the case. Just ask yourself why vets sell Hills 'Science' diet ? The only reason is that they make a great deal of money at it.

I have no objection to them making a profit, all businesses have to, but I doubt very much it is the only reason they sell it, I would expect they sell it because they feel it is an appropriate food.  If you know differently I think you should report it the BVA as it would undoubtably be regarded as unethical practice.

As far as I know making money has never been perceived as unethical.........

Yes but selling an inappropriate food would.

Yes, we all get taken in by vets. The younger ones are mostly genuinely concerned about their patients but over time the long hours, the isolation (especially for rural vets), the alcoholism, drug abuse, and suicide amongst their peers all take their toll. These days I am happy to use a choice of local vets for routine matters but for anything 'serious' I will always get a second opinion and I would strongly advocate that everyone else does the same. Vets operate in a free market just like builders, car mechanics and double glazing companies and I treat them all just the some. Very many vets only put their own interests first.

Blimey! I'm glad I have a vet I trust.

Strewth!!!! My vet always seems such a merry soul, must sniff her breath and ask her how she's feeling next time :D