Sonny & Beau getting the snip on Tuesday

Sonny & Beau getting the snip on Tuesday - Home Safe & Sound

Well I never thought I would do it. I've always been anti unnecessary surgery and I love the boy in the dog. I've had many male dogs in the past and not had peeing in the house problems with any of them, so anybody who's heard me on my band waggon would know that I'd never seen having an intact male around the house as a problem.

Unfortunately with Sonny & Beau, those feelings have been gradually dwindling away. We had adopted Sonny at aged 2 & he was pretty well house broken & a nice clean boy in the house. Beau too was very easy to house train & he too never peed in the house, though they both liked to mark every tree outside. The problem started a few months ago, I guess at about the time that Beau's big boy hormones cut in. The truth is that I don't think Beau is the main problem. I think it is primarily Sonny. It started with a couple of squirts here & there but has become increasingly more common. The crunch came this morning, when I picked up a urine soaked doona & pillow (that my husband had left laying on the floor).

As Sonny is an x-stud dog, we were under an agreement with his breeders not to have him neutered until after they were sure they would not like to use him as stud again. Thankfully, they have given us their consent to go ahead with the neutering.

I don't really know why it is that with these two little fellows their behaviour has been different to our past dogs. Perhaps it is that our previous dogs, though intact, were all virgin dogs. Whereas Sonny, have been used for stud before, maybe he is more territorial & inclined to mark. I guess I will never really know.

Anyway, Tuesday is their big day. I do feel sad about it and I hope that the surgery does not change their personalities. They both also have lovely silky coats & I am dreading the big boofy curly coats that I have heard resulting from neutering. Still, I think it is for the best.

AS I said in another thread both of mine are neutered but they both still have good coats and one of them still marks outdoors!

I know how long and hard you will have agonised over this decision Caraline, it must have been a tough one to make, but as you say things have been building up over several months now and something has to be done. Sonny having been used at Stud will certainly be wanting to assert his dominance and this is his way of doing it, hopefully the snip will stop this, or lessen it to some degree. I had a pair of lads who were just 6 months apart in age and were both stud dogs when I started out, they had a dominance issue and in the end one of them went to live with my in-laws, I asked certain vets about having him "done" and they all said that given his age (he was 5) it would not make much difference as he was "too set in his ways", he too marked around the house but only occassionnally so it was a situation my in-laws could live with.

All dogs will mark outside anyway, it's their way of marking their territory but marking in the house is to be strongly discouraged indeed, not nice when your dog pee's up a visitors coat, handbag or horror of horrors, their leg!

Will be thinking of you come Tuesday Caraline, and am sure that Sonny and Beau will be both just fine, you might want to get some homeopathic Arnica tablets in to give them when they come home too, helps with the bruising no end!! :hug: :hug:

Caraline said:

Anyway, Tuesday is their big day. I do feel sad about it and I hope that the surgery does not change their personalities. They both also have lovely silky coats & I am dreading the big boofy curly coats that I have heard resulting from neutering. Still, I think it is for the best.

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This is just based on my own observations, but I usually see 'boofy' coats on overweight cavs, not the slim ones - unless the cav already had the genetics for that type of coat to begin with!

Good luck Caraline; we'll be thinking of your little boys and you on Tuesday. :xfngr::xfngr::flwr::flwr:

Best wishes and good luck to the boys for tuesday,I'm sure they be fine.I had my two done together and it was good that they were company for each other at the vets.I think it helped recovery too.

I have two neutered males and neither of them have curly or wooly coats.So your two maybe ok like mine ... hope so anyway.

Thanks for the words of support guys. Well it is going to be interesting to see what I think about neutering in 12 months down the track. I'm going to be like the athiest being sent to investigate miracles. I'm either going to become a convert, or be kicking myself very hard.

I'll be a bundle of nerves on Tuesday. I hate them having to have a GA but at least it is a day-only procedure & I will be able to bring them home in the afternoon.

Will keep you all posted.

Am sure all will be just fine, the biggest problem you will have is keeping them quiet!! :hug: :hug:

Good luck Caraline! I am sure your boys will be fine!! :flwr: I am interested to see what happens. Kosmo was neutered when he was very young (roughly 6 months) and I've recently had a problem with him where he pees on EVERY SINGLE TREE he sees

Good luck, Caraline! Sonny & Beau will be just fine. Easy to say when I'm also dreading the big day somewhere in the next few months.

We'll keep our fingers and paws :xfngr: here, but I'm sure it'll be fine. I hope it gives you the results your hoping for

arasara said:

I've recently had a problem with him where he pees on EVERY SINGLE TREE he sees

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Oh they are welcome to pee on every tree. Honestly I don't even mind if they pee on the front steps outside. I just don't need them peeing all over my husbands pillow & doona :lol: They never pee on my things, but then I don't leave them laying around all ove the floor

My boys and Lily, all neutered, are all outdoor markers -- yes, some girls do it too! I have never had any problems with any of them doing this inside though. But I have walked plenty of intact male rescues and I tell you the volume and frequency of pee and leg lifting is totally different. The intact males will just constantly do that forward, then back again, kind of marking on every upright object.

Separate from liking the word 'boofy' :lol: I don't think you will have noticeable coat issues unless the boys were predisposed to them. I have seen lots of plump *intact* males and females with flyaway coats and curly coats -- overall, it really seems to be 1) due to cutting the coat 2) genetics, 3) weight, though I am sure for some dogs, neutering triggers a slight change. Lily is my only one with a fluffy coat and I am the only one that really notices it. Most people think 'it's a feature, not a bug', as they say -- especially children, who think she is the loveliest, softest dog ever. I've literally had people gush over her coat, the little scruffball, and say they'd love to get a cavalier as she's the softest, friendliest dog they've ever touched! That really put things in perspective.

I always hate GA too even though problems are so rare. I didn't like it when I had it either! I'll be thinking of your boys and you on Tuesday. I know how frustrating inside weeing can be -- my cat Quincy is prone at times to doing this right next to the litter box on the tiles, rather than in the litter, and sometimes I want to use HIM as a sponge to clean it up. It can be very hard to manage all right. :neutral:

Good luck on Tuesday!

Good luck tomorrow Sonny and Beau! Caraline! we'll be keeping our :xfngr: that everything goes well for the boys. I know it's easier said than done but try not to worry too much. I'm sure they'll both be fine :hug:

Sonny & Beau are home safe & sound and are snoring their little hearts out. I've taken the liberty of inspecting their... errr... little deflated bits, and there is just the tiniest incision, looking all neat. Hope it stays that way. Sutures out in 10 days time.

I am glad it is over. I was almost throwing up with anxiety all day and I looked at the clock every 10 minutes thinking an hour had passed.

Thanks for all the well wishes guys.

Glad to hear it went well! :xfngr: for a speedy recovery.

Good news - you'll probably be surprised at how quickly they recover! :flwr::flwr:

Glad it all went well Caraline :flwr: It must have been a really long day for you :hug:you poor thing, it's not very nice to feel so anxious that you almost throw up.

I remember when our Rudee was spayed at six months and I had planned to go into town for the day and do some shopping. I got the bus into town and I went into two, maybe three shops and then I got the bus straight back home again and just sat waiting for the phone to ring so I could go and get her.

I'm sure your boys will be fine after a good long snooze.

Glad it all went well! Best wishes to them both for a speedy recovery.