Neutering, I am uneasy about it

[Posey]

Ellen, you know that I am emotional and very, attached to Nicky. And

when I would look into his brown eyes and think of anesthesia and him being cut on, I would just hate the thought of it. But the worse part is over in 24 hours.

Being sympathetic kind of weakened when he took to peeing on the furniture. But it still pained us to have him go through neutering.

All in all our emotions were the worst of it.

Thanks, Posey

[Min D]

For those of you who were of two minds about neutering your male cairn, and your cairn was already "marking"  - has the marking stopped or not? How long after the neutering did it take.

Our male is 9 months old and has "marked"in the house 2 times in the past month. So we're looking for evidence that it would change this behavior.

 

thanks, appreciate all input.

[bradl]

I don't think the "if neuter, then no-mark" correlation is perfect, particularly if marking develops into a habit; at least it is entirely possible for neutered males to continue to mark and I occasionally hear of unneutered males who don't mark (although I still suspect those may be unicorns).

I *do*  think that neutering reduces the drive for marking compared to a male who believes he is "on the dating scene" so to speak, due to hormone levels or whatever. 

Our old boy was never neutered and had to wear "pants" indoors most of his life. He was an inveterate marker, however he had also been bred.

Our two current males are 11 and 6, both neutered and both are absolute dreams about asking to go out and not marking in the house (fingers crossed, salt thrown over shoulder, etc.).  However neither one had marked much *before* neutering so I have no way of knowing if it's down to their personalities or if the neutering prevented it. 

I guess my guess would be it might not cure every marking problem, but it might help prevent one from developing. For what it's worth these days we spay/neuter at about one year. But we are fanatical about controlling access and preventing freelance breeding  

[bradl]

Also, wow — a thirteen year old topic but still relevant  

[pkcrossley]

just catching up with this. i sympathize completely --I absolutely hate for my pets to have anesthesia for any reason. I know it is irrational --the chances of any kind of mishap are microscopic. but it is very terrifying. I have had all my pets neutered any way because pets are all truly hurt by the overpopulation problem and it does substantially cut their risk of several cancers. my experience with cairns is not that it produces huge behavioral differences. there must be something other than testosterone producing cairn vigor and the occasional frenzy. and there is nothing that will change their worldview that everything would go better if they were in charge. glad everything came out well with Nicky. that was my experience too --everybody comes out of it fine.  but that does not make it less scary. 

[Lupinegirl]

Hehe. It is still a relevant topic.  My boy, Nikki, was a major marker. Nothing was sacred to him. He drew pee circles around every piece of furniture that belonged to me (my bed, my recliner, my shower). He marked on a Christmas present, on a visitor's suitcase, on my bed... Argh. Still we had gone through such a tough time with our previous dog's unpleasant vet stay and failure to diagnose his health probelm, that we were reluctant to take Nikki to that same vet.  So we dealt with living with an intact dog for six years. He was always on a leash outside, and never spent any alone time with an intact female. He was not agressive with other male dogs. He mainly wanted to sniff other dogs and lick inappropriate parts. He still does.  Ick. 

Housetraining was very hard. "Blocking" him off in the kitchen did not work since he figured out how to get over any obstacle we put in his way, and he was a ravenous chewer so leashing him did not work.  He'd chew the table leg or recipe books or anything in reach. Putting him in a smaller room like a bathroom led to screams, musk, and shower curtain marking. The room was so small we decided we might as well buy a crate to use as his den when we leave the house. He was not trustworthy for any length of time.  If I went out to get the mail without him, he'd go mark somewhere.  The person who used to babysit Nikki for me when we went on vacation said he ruined their wood floor and carpet and that they would no longer watch him.  The only places we could board him at would keep him in a small metal cage instead of letting him play with other dogs because he was intact.  We had to have him fixed just for peace of mind after that, since we felt like we were trapped by our dog's bad habits. 

Neutering, even after six years of marking, made a huge difference.  Nikki was mostly alert when we brought him home and going potty like normal. The breathing tube made him thirsty and a little hoarse but no worse for wear.  He was really sore and swollen around the incision two days after his surgery but on day three it was like nothing had happened.  He was back to playing and barking and marking outside. Amazingly, he was no longer interested in marking the house, even though we still have stains in spots. I've been able to leave him with free range of the house when we're away and he is just fine.  He does not chew or mark on anything, and he's been a gentleman these past six years. 

The only major difference I saw aside from change in marking was his activity levels.  He wasn't as interested in zoomies or playing fetch beyond five throws.  He also changed physically. He went from being a lean mean muscle machine to being a plump submarine, and nothing has changed his waistline.  He's not interested in playing with other dogs either but he's been a single pet his whole life. He never really learned how to play like a dog, even though he has had opportunities throughout his life. 

[Bridget]

My opinion is if you're not a breeder, or you're not showing the dog, then it should be neutered.  It only takes one time for a male to get out and impregnate a female, and then imagine the generations of possibly unwanted and uncared-for puppies that could come from it. Leave breeding to the responsible breeders. Maybe it's all those years of watching The Price is Right with Bob Barker saying at the end of each show, "Help control the pet population, have your pet spayed or neutered."

[kjwarnold]

Yep, here we are, back at the neutering point again now that we have another puppy.  Phinney is too young right now at 4 1/2 months, but we will eventually neuter him.  Our breeder wants me to enter him in the 2017 National Show at Purina Farms next May, but after that we'll be neutering him.  While I always worry, I believe in it.

[Min D]

I have spoken to several people and have been reading lots about the subject. There seems to be soooo many opinions on if you would and when you should. Our dog trainer appears to be pretty adamant that dogs should not be neutered before 18 months of age ( he says they need to mature physically and mentally) - earlier than that can lead to serious health issues.

Has anyone heard of this - what are your thoughts?

 

We continue to watch Tewcsby like a hawk, he hasn't marked in the house for the past 3 weeks- he did mark once when we had him out to a school.

It's starting to sound like neutering might be the thing to do - but when?

thanks

Tewcsby's mom.

 

 

 

[Sam I Am]

I know some vets like to keep larger breed dogs intact longer before neutering  as they say it helps decrease the chance of bone cancer. 

[Hillscreek]

I would talk with your vet and see what his advicemight be. Ans see the other thread on this subject.

[kieiras mom]

Know this is old topic, but just wanted to say that when I took Keira back to have her staples removed from her spay, Dr Billy Wayne laughed and informed me that she had one of the staples standing  straight up. Can never keep a cairn down or quiet!