Why do all vets i have visited insist on me getting my dog castrated?

Question

the dog is not aggressive, he does not pee on the furnature, he has a lovely temprement. I'm afraid that this would change him as i have been told that it will make him lazy and fat. None of my relatives have females and i do not allow my dog to roam the streets. Apart from the cancer thing i don't know another sensible reason for getting it done.

Every man over the age of 45 is at risk for prostate cancer how many men here have had theres removed?

Answer 1

I don't know where Tigger learned fuzzy math but was likely from PETA freaks or HSUS or maybe George Bush?? .. Please break down mathmatically how one birth can result in 300,000 puppies. LMAO!
I know it can be a lot but NOT 300,000
Anyway back to the question.. If you simply want to leave him intact and are not an irresponsible owner there is nothing wrong with it and it is not unhealthy for the dog to keep his balls nor will he become aggressive over it. That has to do with training, not testosterone! If you are leaving them on for the sole purpose of breeding him then rethink it because there are indeed to many unwanted pets that are killed in shelters everyday.
Here is an article about the pro's and cons of neutering.
http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

You sound responsible to me and the cancer thing... it happens but is rare. It is mostly used as a scare tactic to talk owners into neutering. There are more cancers that can be caused by neutering! Just leave him intact as you wish. And although people will jump on to say it doesn't cause obesity... Oh yes it does! Nuetering and grain diets in combination are the leading cause of obesity in dogs.

Answer 2

It doesn't really change their temperament dramatically,

They are less likely to be overly dominant if they're neutered.
They are more likely to get along better with other dogs, particularly other males.
They are less likely to mark.
They are no longer prone to certain kinds of cancer..

But, no, neutering will not make a hyper dog lazy. The only reason it would change his activity level would be if he was always active because he was constantly trying to get with a female in heat.
That whole 'fat and lazy' thing is an old wives tale. It got started because people used to get their dogs neutered when they were 9 months to a year old. The dog was already calming down as it was growing out of puppyhood and becoming an adult about the same time they got him neutered. The dog got calmer cause it grew up, not because it got neutered.

Answer 3

the main reason is because of the risk of your dog getting cancer, the hormones put your dog at a higher risk, i would recommend it if you are not using your dog for breeding, i know you may not see the point, neither did my hubby he said it was cruel to put a dog through it for no reason, now we are responsible dog owners and we never let our dogs roam, but we made the mistake of not getting a dog done and lost one to cancer which could have been avoided if we had just listened to the vet, it was a harsh lesson to learn and could so easily been avoided, my boy has been castrated and it hasn't changed who he is, he is still the outgoing lovable boy he was before, i just know now i have done the best for my much loved animal and have decreased his chances of getting cancer, you also have the added fact that when a dog smells a b1tch in heat he will do anything to get to her and mate, even the most placid dog can become aggressive just so they can mate, you may be responsible but there are a lot of dog owners out there who are not and if there is a wondering girl out there then your dog will be out before you know it, how would you feel if a child got hurt trying to stop your dog and another male fighting, all this needs to be taken into consideration, i hope this helps best of luck.

Answer 4

while I understand the thoughts of others, and reasons for getting your dog castrated, what about the unnecessary risk of putting him through a general anesthetic. Only last week on another forum someone had taken their dog in for just the same operation and he died under anesthetic. Ok the risk is small, but still there is a risk, and you have to weigh up that together with the chances of him getting cancer.

I lost my old boy last year at 14, partly to old age and other problems, but he had not been neutered, he did not have cancer, and lived with two other girls, both un speyed. Ok, he did 'follow' them around when they were in season, and we separated them when we were not around, but it was no big deal, and unless they are used at stud, not all dogs will go to the end of the earth to get to a female in heat.

Answer 5

It's healthier for your dog.
Both my dogs are spayed/neutered but they aren't lazy and fat. It's a myth that a neutered animal gets fat. If you think about it, neutering is actually a horrific thing to do, but it's also a good thing health-wise. I know male dogs which are un-neutered and they're aggressive with other males, they pee everywhere, and do their best to get to female dogs in heat. But my male dog is also sometimes aggressive with some other males, he pees a lot, and he's also interested in females in heat, but he's been neutered. The only difference is there's absolutely no possibility that any unwanted pups will be created because of my dog, and he never wants to wander off in search of a female.

Answer 6

Castration of pet male dogs is recommended mainly for population control. If your male dog is outside unsupervised, there's no real way of guaranteeing that he won't jump a fence or dig out to get to a b*tch in season- hormones and instinct are powerful things.Testosterone can also play a role in behavioural problems that relate to sexual behaviours, such as aggression, roaming, marking of territory and mounting (although this can also be a simple dominance issue).

Prostate cancer is actually not influenced by whether or not a dog is castrated or not. The main prostate problem mediated by testosterone is benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), which is very common in older entire male dogs- basically the prostate becomes greatly enlarged and can interfere with defaecation & urination by obstructing (sometimes completely) the rectum and urethra. BPH greatly increases the dog's chances of getting prostatitis, prostatic cysts or prostatic abscess. Prostatitis and abscessation can be serious health problems and when they occur, the best way to resolve them is via castration. There is no evidence to suggest that castration increases the risk of prostate cancer! It is just that prostate problems in castrated males (when they do occur- rarely) are more likely to be cancerous than benign. Castration obviously does prevent testicular cancer.

Castration doesn't make dogs fat and lazy- and as I've indicated above, the only behavioural changes it causes are those related to sexual behaviours.

If you're a responsible owner and your dog is well trained and confined to your property, great. But many people with dogs (desexed or not) are not- this is why vets want you to get your dog castrated.

ADD: I've just had a read through the link posted by Freedom and anwen55, and the articles that they cite as references. This is as much scaremongering as anything else: the studies relating to hypothyroidism and haemangiosarcoma have far too small a sample size to be able to draw a conclusion either way. As far as osteosarcoma goes- Rotties are at far greater risk whether desexed or not. The article does state that they observed an increased risk of osteosarcoma in desexed dogs, but also observe that there may be statistical bias in this finding. And osteosarcs are uncommon enough in most breeds that even if the finding is accurate, it's not of significance in the real world.

And blimey...there are a few daft answers in this thread that deserve the thumbs down, but given the rabid 'SPAY/NEUTER OR ELSE' contingent on this site, I'm surprised that every sensible answer in favour of castration has been given multiple thumbs down.

Answer 7

i have 2 greys..one male and one female and a yorkie, only my yorkie been castrated when he was a pup, i refuse to get my greys done for a number of reasons, my male grey is 9 yers old and they said he may not come round due to his age and also coz they are inclined to put weight on after they have been castrated and neuterd and i dont want fat greys, its down to the individual whether they spay/neuter and they should not be made out to be bad owners if they dont get the dog fixed, my 2 are entire and im proud of that, they are happy and healthy so why change that, i got moaned at from the vet when i went to enqiure she insisted they were done, the male more so coz of the risk of testicular cancer , BUT how many blokes do u no that have there knackers cut off coz they might get cancer... dont be ashamed to say you own an unspayed/unneuterd dog...im not xxxxx

Answer 8

Because it is the sensible thing to do if he is not a stud to be used to pass on some phenomenal trait.
Spaying or neutering your pet does not/will not make them fat or lazy.Overfeeding and lack of exercise will do that whether they are"fixed"or not.
He's not aggressive now but he could become that way once he gets the scent of some irresponsible owners female they have not had spayed.
Let your conscience be your guide,I say.
Good luck

Answer 9

Dogs can NOT be compared to humans..it is comparing apples to oranges. Listen to the vets, believe me they know exactly waht they are talking about.
Testicular cancer isn't as common in dogs as other issues but with that said I've seen enough of it to say that alone is good enough reason to neuter. As for prostrate issues..that is VERY common ....cancers, enlargement, infections, incontinence caused by prostrate issues and then there are anal fistulas/tumors which are very painful and very hard to heal. If you think these are only issues of older dogs..think again I've personally seen some of these issues in dogs as young as 9 months.

The risk of anesthesia is very, very minimal compared to the risk of getting one of the above issues. Also neutering is a whole lot cheaper and a whole lot easier on your dog then treatment for any of the above.
In 35 years in the vet field I've seen many many surgeries and many dogs/cats under anesthesia and I've seen very few that had a problem with anesthesia and I can count on one hand the number of pets who I've seen die under anesthesia in that time.Of the ones that did it was not from anesthesia (except for one case and that was over 20 years ago before anesthesia was a safe as it is now) but from an underlying health issue. If a person gets pre-anesthetic bloodwork done before hand it is a pretty safe surgery.

******to all those people who say that vets make money from spay/neuter that's why they push it..hog wash..if that was the case vet would NOT spay/neuter!! They would be having peopel leave them intact..there is far more money to be made treating pyometria, mammary caner, prostrate issues, wounds from dog fights, anal fistulas/tumors, etc...A vet can make 3 -4 times as much if not more by not spay/neutering.******

Answer 10

I believe neutering is more of an American thing than a British or European priority. I have a friend who brought an unneutered older dog to America from the U.K. Every time she took the dog to the vet he'd nag her, one time he offered to do it free while the dog was in for a teeth cleaning. If you're happy with your dog the way he is, and he isn't running off impregnating every b**** in the neighborhood, your dog, your choice.