Does anyone have any experience of chemical castration in dogs?

I have a client who is having a few problems and also her bitch is due into season.

She was thinking of trying an implant but her vet is reluctant and wants to neuter.

The vet was talking about some injection into the dog's testicles which sounds a bit brutal.

He is a large breed dog and she wants to make sure that she does the best by him.

Any help/info gratefully received.

The Suprelorin implant is placed underneath the skin of the dog's neck, like a microchip (just as easy to insert), and then gradually disappears over a period of roughly 6 months. It's definitely not injected into the testicles! It does however take 6 weeks to have an effect, so if the bitch is due in season soon, it won't help. But neither will castration as sperm will live for a few weeks after castration.

I used Suprelorin on one of mine as he is a very nervous dog, and I wanted to make sure that castrating him would not make him worse. It didn't, he was fine, so after 6 months we went ahead and had him neutered.

Thanks Goldmali

That is exactly what I thought.  The lady went back to her vet and he is still really keen to go ahead and neuter.

Personally I prefer to do what you did and see what effect it has before doing an irreversible operation.

Her bitch is not due in straight away she is trying to be prepared.

h

The injection into the testicles is a permanent method of birth control. 

It appears to have been developed for general population control, remember reading about it's use in Mexico, I think it's developed in the USA..

No idea if it is now available in the UK (if that is where you are).

It's called Neutersol http://www.peteducation.com/article_pdf.cfm?aid=2912

Thanks Brainless

That must be the one, I have never heard of it.

Yes I am in Scotland.  I will pass this onto my client

h

Just a word of warning about Suprelorin, it's not reversible, the effects may or may not wear off, but if it causes some sort of adverse reaction then you cannot remove it. 

I know this as a friend used it with her dog to stop him bitching, a few weeks after the implant was put in, the vet attempted to remove it, only to find it had turned into a gelatinous mass that could not be removed, no mention of this in their information at the time.  The dog, unfortunately, changed character completely following the implant, and following a nasty incident was put to sleep. 

I know this as a friend used it with her dog to stop him bitching, a few weeks after the implant was put in, the vet attempted to remove it, only to find it had turned into a gelatinous mass that could not be removed, no mention of this in their information at the time.  The dog, unfortunately, changed character completely following the implant, and following a nasty incident was put to sleep.

They often temporarily get worse before they get better, so it's important to be prepared for that and give it time to pass.

This wasn't temporary, the dog attached one of his owners, leaving him with severe injuries requiring reconstructive surgery.  Within six months, he went from a happy go lucky character that was a bit too attracted to the girls, to a completely unpredictable temperament.  They had no choice but to have him put to sleep. 

Thank you everyone for your input.  It is much appreciated.

h

I know this as a friend used it with her dog to stop him bitching, a few weeks after the implant was put in, the vet attempted to remove it, only to find it had turned into a gelatinous mass that could not be removed, no mention of this in their information at the time.  The dog, unfortunately, changed character completely following the implant, and following a nasty incident was put to sleep.

Was this adverse reaction reported to the manufacturer ? The vet obviously had not read the information that is available with the implant & also on NOAH & other sites, as change of behaviour is quite clearly mentioned & removal requires an ultrasound.

The effects DO wear off when all of the drug has been dispersed. Nowhere in the maunfacturers information does it state that it is 100% reversible

This wasn't temporary, the dog attached one of his owners, leaving him with severe injuries requiring reconstructive surgery.  Within six months, he went from a happy go lucky character that was a bit too attracted to the girls, to a completely unpredictable temperament.  They had no choice but to have him put to sleep. 

Very sad story but is there anything at all to say the exact same would not have happened had the dog been castrated instead? The effects of Suprelorin normally lasts for 6 months or a bit longer. After 6 months my dog had still got the shrunken testicles so the effects were clearly still there.

There's nothing to say that, but the owner never wanted to have him castrated, just to stop him from bitching quite so much.  There was no warning, and there is limited information out there about the possible side effects, and it was never listed on the information for the vets even that it is irreversible.  You cannot remove the implant, once it's in there, it turns into a gelatinous mass below the skin and cannot be taken out, so you just have to wait and see.  That was the only course of action left, and unfortunately, the change in character remained permanent ending up with the owner having to have him put to sleep. 

I am glad this topic has come up.  It has been suggested that I try it with my 10 month old dog who is a bit full of himself. I have been on here before and asked about marking - which I am keeping under control - nearly - we still get the odd sprinkle if I am not careful, and the fact that my dog gets over aroused very easily - which I am trying to cope with by teaching self control exercises.   I was advised that trying chemical castration may give me an idea of how he would be - but reading this I am not sure I want to take the risk.  My youngster has growled a couple of times at other youngsters - his brothers (they all growled at each other at the time) and another dog about the same age as himself.  I hope this is just something that will settle down as he matures.  His breeder doesn't like the idea of me castrating my dog - but then again I have no intention of breeding from him - even though he has a good pedigree.  I will see how he is as he goes about meeting other dogs before I make up my mind - but perhaps it will all be too late by then to make a difference??? 

I am glad this topic has come up.  It has been suggested that I try it with my 10 month old dog who is a bit full of himself.

Suprelorin must only be used with mature dogs, and I definitely would not describe a 10 month old as mature -even if some vets would. Maybe if he was a Chihuahua. :)

Apologies, missed your reply earlier, but yes, all the information available was referred to at the time the implant was used, this was not recently I might add, so recent information may have been updated for obvious reasons. 

The effects DO NOT necessarily wear off once the drug has been dispersed. Otherwise why would an entirely normal dog, who was simply bitching too much, turn into such an unpredictable character after the implant?  There are many witnesses to the character of the dog, I know the owner and had met this dog on a number of occasions, although not so much following the implant. 

The information may not state that the effects are 100% irreversible now, but at the time of the implant for this dog, it was not suggested that it wasn't irreversible, and so they went looking to remove the implant.  Does that tell you how little information there was from the manufacturers? 

The effects DO NOT necessarily wear off once the drug has been dispersed

The way I read your earlier post was that a figure of 6 months was given until the dog was PTS, and as I mentioned it can be effective for longer, up to a year I believe is not unheard of, but the effects will NOT be indefinite.

I'm sorry, but would you put up with a dog that had previously been of good all round temperament, that then attacked and badly injured one of the owners, out of the blue?  I never gave any figure of when the Suprelorin was administered, and when the dog was put to sleep, the honest answer is without looking it up, I wouldn't know but from memory, it was a number of months.  But to be fair, the product information never gave the information that it is irreversible, and it also never warned of the possible side effects, ie complete change in temperament.  It was supposed to be 100% *safe*. 

Personally, the only reason I'd ever mess with the hormones of a *dog* is if I ever had an unwanted pregnancy, and needed to use alizin, otherwise I would leave well alone. 

It was supposed to be 100% *safe*.

Can you point out where in the information on Suprerlorin it states this ?

The information sheet has always warned about the possibility of temperament changes.

In very rare cases (<0.01%), a transient behavioural change has been reported with the development of aggression (see section on "Special Warnings for Each Target Species")

As for being irreversible, you mean that the effects are for life ? Odd that as I know of a dog who had several implants of this & successfully sired litters afterwards & you haven't said what answer the vet got from the manufacturer when he notified them of the problem.

If the dog had been castrated the effects could have been exactly the same of course

It's not my dog, so I haven't saved any of the pertinent information, but the information at the time that the implant was used, led the user, to believe there were *no* adverse side effects. 

There may well now be a warning, amazing isn't it, because there are adverse effects. 

How would you know the effects would be the same if the dog had been castrated?  Unfortunately, the owner was left with the heart breaking decision of killing their dog because of an implant that they were told was safe. 

I'm sorry, but would you put up with a dog that had previously been of good all round temperament, that then attacked and badly injured one of the owners, out of the blue? 

But the point is still, they could have had the EXACT same reaction from neutering. After all, that is one of the main reasons for using Suprelorin  -to find out what the dog would act like if neutered. And you cannot claim that the effect of a drug are irreversible when they eventually do wear off. The fact the dog had to be PTS before it was possible to wait long enough (i.e. a year or so) is neither here nor there.

That's quite apart from the fact that there could have been a number of other reasons for the dog's change in behaviour, and the implant use was just coincidental. There is no way of knowing for sure. For instance I once had a puppy who had an epileptic fit the day BEFORE she was due to be vaccinated for the first time. Had she had it the day AFTER instead, it would have been so very easy to blame it on the vaccine.

Odd that as I know of a dog who had several implants of this & successfully sired litters afterwards

I personally know of one dog as well who went on to sire pups a year after the implant.

but the information at the time that the implant was used, led the user, to believe there were *no* adverse side effects. 

If you book an appointment to have a dog castrated or a bitch spayed, does your vet tell you of the possible problems that can lead to? I must admit I have NEVER heard a vet explain that a bitch can become incontinent, a nervous dog may become more nervous or aggressive, an already aggressive bitch can become a lot worse, a young dog neutered early can end up growing taller than otherwise, etc etc. I also have never known any vet to warn of all possible side effects before any kind of drug is administered. That doesn't mean it cannot happen. Surely there is no such thing as any drug that have NO known possible side effects? What year was this, anyway?

Their complaint should be with their vet a he/she obviously hadn't either bothered to read the information available or chose not to inform the owners. All the information on drugs licensed for use on animals is available on NOAH & it is really up to owners to check before opting for elective treatment with drugs

Ok, fine, if people are willing to endorse products that alter the hormonal balance of your dogs, and say, 'they're great'.  I know people who recommend them because they compete with entire males, and want to ensure their dogs aren't bitching, and aren't *challenged* by other dogs.  So let me ask this question, if you have  a dog, with such a temperament where you cannot train them not to bitch, and cannot ensure they don't react in an adverse way to other dogs, but you use Suprelorin, to ensure they are *ok* and then breed, does that seem like sense to you? 

It was not my decision with the dog that changed character, netuering may or may not have had the same effect, but given that many advocate this course of action as being *the same* it does not seem that there would have been much difference in the outcome.  Either Suprelorin has a different effect than neutering, or it doesn't?  Which is it? 

>Either Suprelorin has a different effect than neutering, or it doesn't?  Which is it?

I think the reason people consider it, for a temporary/reversible measure, whereas castration is permanent.

No castrated dog (unless already a winner and in veteran) is likely to enjoy a competitive show career.

But the problem is, until you use it, you don't know this, so it's a gamble.  If you are *that* unsure about your dog, why not allow them to mature normally and castrate? 

Because you may own an immature entire bitch, or entire breeding bitches, and not wish to board one sex elsewhere, or be certain to be able to keep them apart in a domestic environment/family home.

For those reasons I choose not to own males, even though I have been tempted.

I have recently sold a bitch pup to a home with an entire male of my breeding, and suggested this as an option rather than having him castrated, so they can wait a season or two, to have her spayed, as they have no intention of breeding, and it would be better overall to leave the boy entire, as they are more than happy with him as he is.