neutering

[rocky]

is it really neccessary to neuter your dog i have been talking to different people and they say if it's a girl then yes but not necessary for a boy they can change and also gain weight my sister has had 3 boys throughout her married life and didn't neuter any of them and years ago when people had dogs they did'nt get neutered my daughters friend has a king charles the same as mine and he is 2 years and they have not neutered him please don't go mad at me i'm just not sure and need a bit more information i know i could look it up but i would like your personal appinion there must be someone on this forum that has not got their boy neutered i just feel vegas is going through so much just now i am a little scared

[Ashley]

Well in my opinion I would get any male or female neutered or spayed.
Often many people get males neutered because of behavioural issues... but I also think of it from the other side... if someone was not responsible enough to have their girl spayed, and my wee boy (with his wee boy ) happened to do the deed... then I wouldnt want this poor dog to go through a pregnancy and birth.

Getting a dog neutered does help to curb sexual drives, and also minimise aggressive male behaviour in some cases. I think it does also help to curb 'humping'... of not just female dogs, but males as well! Male dogs will probably seek to fulfil their sexual drive by any means possible! Men eh?! haha.

I was also told that neutering can help reduce testicular tumors in males... but Im sure others will know best. Murphy is my first wee boy and he came neutered! Had he not, we would have got him done right away.

Hope that helped a bit!

[Mom of Jato]

I also believe it is important to get them fixed. If you are not going to breed them, then there is no reason not to do it. Any vet will tell you it's the responsible thing to do- also it is much more healthy for them. Jato is going in to be neutered tomorrow morning- he will be 6 months old on Wednesday. He also has to have some baby teeth removed at the same time. Poor little guy. I'll be glad when it's all over.

[PennyLane]

The only "changes" I know of when it comes to neutering are positive ones!!!

[Karlin]

http://board.cavaliertalk.com/showthread.php?t=21755

There are many discussions on this topic as well, if you use the search function and want to read earlier threads.

Some questions: Are you willing to keep your dog on the lead all the time? Because an intact male can be off like a shot and travel up to two miles if he scents a female in heat. Right now a female is in heat somewhere about 4 blocks away from em and every male in the area is hanging out down there, near a busy road. My neighbour's intact JRT leapt out of her moving car and tore down the road and was gone for over 24 hours on Saturday).

Over 70% of the dogs in the pounds where I do rescue are intact males. They die at a much higher rate. Intact males are more likely to roam, more likely to try and escape, more likely therefore to be hit by a car, lost or stolen, more likely to roam so far that they don;t end up in a shelter where you go searching for them. Intact males are also the top of the list for young dogs handed in as too difficult to manage/having behaviour problems to the pound and shelters and rescues. Most of my rescues are intact males -- probably 70%. There has to be a reason. I've only had about 2 neutered males, ever, in rescue.

Dogs gain weight after neutering only because their owners feed them too much. Simply feed a bit less -- and save yourself some money on food! -- and this will not be a problem. Generally neutered dogs need about 10-20% fewer calories.

Remember, you are still 50% responsible for unwanted litters if you are the owner of a roving intact male! All it takes is mere seconds. The argument I find most deplorable is 'don't bother to neuter because you don't have to deal with litters anyway with a male'. Please don't fall for that horribly irresponsible argument.

I've had to neuter, for health reasons, and at a bad time to put a dog through this operation, nearly every elderly male dog I've had in because the vets says they are showing signs of prostate problems. Neutering prevents this entirely.

Most people neuter because they do not want to manage the behaviours of intact males.

Unneutered cavaliers are much higher risk of being stolen and ending up in horrendous breeding situations. They are often stolen to order.

Finally: usually cavaliers or any purebred dog from a good breeder is homed with the requirement he or she be neutered -- it isn't actually an option and will be stated in your homing contract.

[WoodHaven]

We review this issue about every three months.
I have two neutered males and two intact males-- my dogs CAN'T get out (so straying isn't an issue), behavior issues are none, cancers are a toss up (some cancers are more common in neutered dogs/others higher in intact). So I have always felt that if someone KNEW they could keep their dog under control-- neutering was totally at the owners discretion. No medical procedure is without risks.

[Karlin]

Sandy, true, but as I see it:

1) many pet homes especially with children opening doors, are not secure enough and totally underestimate what management means. I constantly encounter roving intact males in parks, on the street, etc

2) I have seen too many straying males hanging outside homes with intact females, dogs that are definitely not even from my area and who have clearly come a good distance

3) I have seen too many traumatised in heat females arrive at the pound along with about half a dozen or more males of all sizes, and all end up in the slammer. Very few are ever reclaimed. Most subsequently die though they are all obviously someone's dogs.

4) this is precisely where home breeding begins and breeding stock enters the system. The dogs I have rescued out of puppy farm situations were all obviously once someone's pets. All the rescues I know that work with SPCAs on farm raids have stories of finding dogs from good breeders that were never neutered and somehow, ended up living in a small cage and being bred. One prominent Northern Irish cavalier breeder has such a story on her website of finding a dog of her own breeding after an RSPCA puppy farm raid (and she went on to show her). The dog was certainly sold on intact or went straying and ended up in this horrific situation.

If there's no neuter clause in the contract, some dogs are definitely going to be bred and will end up as part of the BYB/puppy mill chain. I neuter all my rescues so that they can never end up in such a situation.

5) I think the only way this breed can now be salvaged, healthwise, is to close off every avenue of potential irresponsible breeding. I think this is going to become very clear within the next 12 months.

[WoodHaven]

It may all be a moot point... the way spay/neuter fanatics are running the laws around here-- there won't be choice in what to do with our own dogs.

With the number of predators around here (not to mention the traffic) a cavalier wouldn't likely last a few days, let alone be out long enough to sire litters. They shot a cougar not too far from me. The people around here don't tie out dogs anymore due to the problem with coyotes. We don't have loose dogs here.

I have a spay/neuter clause in my 4 page contract. I only have two dogs of my breeding co-owned with others that are intact-- no, I co-own an intact male with my daughter. All three are males and I trust all three owners implicitly(two of them have children).

[Caraline]

Well I have always been a bit anti-surgery, though these days my boys are neutered. Personally I think it depends upon your environment, how secure your property is and whether or not your boy is behaving himself. Our place is very dog secure, we are on acres, quite a distance from neighbouring properties. We had intended not to get Beau & Sonny done as we had not had problems in the past with other males, but when they started marking in the house, I decided to get them done.

I am vigilant with what & how much I feed and my boys are trim. I expect them to stay that way. It is the old equasion of energy in = energy out. Dogs don't get fat because they are neutered, they get fat because they are over fed. If you weigh your dog weekly & find he is gaining then you just cut back on his food a bit.

[PennyLane]

Yes, my breeder has a spay/neuter clause - and actually requires proof sent to her from a vet that we have it done!