Comments on: The Debate Over Neutering

By: christine randolph

christine randolph — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:38:06 +0000

would it be better for the female doggie to be spayed if she is in heat every 3 months or even more often ? my aunt’s Cavalier King Charles seems to be getting into a rythm when she is in heat even before she has recovered from being in heat last time.

she is still very young..what do you all recommend ? could she be seriously sick and this is not a heat cycle but some internal bleeding that is super serious ?

By: kbehan

kbehan — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:13:34 +0000

Good questions however the article is primarily focused on behavioral issues, and since neutering is primarily focused on male dogs for behavioral benefits I didn’t broaden it to include females. With female dogs most owners will be overwhelmed with the convenience factor rather than the behavioral issue so it’s a different article. I encourage people to allow their female dogs at least two “heats” (or more if their vet will let them get away with it) so that they can mature properly. Since I don’t think male dogs need to or should be allowed to roam the neighborhood, and since the vast majority of all female dogs are already spayed, I don’t see the need for vasectomies or any unnecessary medical intervention. However on the other hand, if someone is not going to assume responsibility for where there dog is at all times, then those kinds of approaches could be a good option but then a little pointless because the dog could be causing car accidents, getting hit by car itself, chasing horses, killing sheep/chickens, ripping up neighbors garbage and dragging the dog warden all over town on wild goose chases. (As has happened to me as local dog warden.) Thus I hesitate to advocate an approach that gives someone license in that regard. At any rate, the article isn’t pro-male versus con-female because it focuses on the male dog part of the dynamic.

By: Edna

Edna — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:11:37 +0000

Why is only neutering males talked about? Did I miss the other half, the article is long, and so many comments. Females are also seriously affected by de-sexing. In large breed dogs early de-sexing means the adult horomones don’t kick on “telling” the bones to stop growing and other body changes. While more pronounced in males, females can end up taller than normal, bodies improperly proportioned from the juvenilization. Some believe this has caused a rise in osteosarcomas and other cancers in both males and females.

Another point I didn’t see addressed, I’m sorry if it was covered already: vasectomies and tubal ligation- still get the adult hormones in the system and no worry about unwanted pregnancy.

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:23:40 +0000

Thank you so much Sang and Kevin for the replies.

I need redirecting too when I get focused on the little stuff. One thing that I do know for sure, is that Happy is a good dog. As an owner I feel I may have fallen short in some areas, but I guess it is the same with kids, not good to get bogged down in guilt, they are always watching and learning.

It is funny that you used the term penance, we are preparing our son for a first reconciliation (I’m learning, it is new to me too).

Luckily with working from home and 2 young kids that need lots of attention, Happy does get a good dose of benign neglect every day (and at least 18 hours a day of sleep.) It is a relief to know that this is a good thing!

By: kbehan

kbehan — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:55:40 +0000

One thing that stands out for me is that you may be trying to keep him occupied at all times, entertained and engaged in constructive activities. This is too much dog management and will keep a dog overly stimulated. So you can give yourself and the dog needed down time by relaxing with the family without the dog because he’s fast asleep in his crate. Remember, a dog needs 18 hours of sleep a day, a young dog even more. So if he’s getting a good workout each day, then don’t feel guilty about letting him get back into dream time.

By: Heather

Heather — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 03:23:14 +0000

The yelping or “ouch” does work most of the time. Maybe not at that moment, but the next time he modulates his bite. It never worked when he was a young puppy, but it works much better now.

By: christine randolph

christine randolph — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:26:42 +0000

haha ! yes Happy is one for wrestling and biting a bit…that is very cute, normally those big dogs are too slow for all this mano a mano…

definitely offer a toy as a re-direct each time the sleeves and pony tail become under attack. eventually he will become interested. oven mitt is a good start if you can spare it. eventually you will find out which types of toys he likes best.

if he bites down harder, Kevin says that makes him more of a leader.
He has DRIVE !
a lot of people dream of such a dog. they want drive and the breeders just give them looks.
if he bites you even a little bit, you should yelp to make sure he knows this hurts you. also if he grabs the sleeve you can yelp in pretense that it hurts, pony tail the same.

this is how puppies who play among each other get the message, because the other puppy yelps.

another exercise is, you could say Gentle and let him try to get food from your closed fist without biting, just using his tongue. if he uses his teeth, even a little bit, you could yelp. so Gentle would end up meaning No Teeth

If no one yelps, the fight gets more and more intense.

this is why a dog fight never starts if one of the parties makes calming signals and yelps when the other dogs uses its teeth.

my little female yelps even when the other dog is not even near.

just a little preventative yelp to make sure the other guy keeps his teeth to himself.
the other dog owners hear that yelp and they get all scared, thinking that their dog has already bitten Josie, but she just is such a profilactic yelper.

it surprises me how many adult dogs DO NOT yelp even if they are clearly inferior in a fight. too much heart, fight to the end..

I think we should all make video of our roughhousing and put on youtube, how fabulously embarrassing that would be.

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:16:53 +0000

I had an item for him to bite on instead of my pony tail and coat, but he wasn’t interested in it.

Last night he did go get an oven mitt on his own (this is what I started using as something soft to mouth in the house, he doesn’t rip it or play with it and I think it smells good to him) – he brought it over to where I was sitting watching TV and laid down next to me for a long time – in the past he’s been more interested in chewing my sleeve at that time than the oven mitt so I usually put him in his pen to chill out.

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:03:33 +0000

Christine and Christine

I suspected that my dog, who is just about 8 months, might be “too” into the one-on-one roughhousing. I might’ve waited for Kevin to check in, but I was too curious, and I found out that my suspicion was correct – he likes to sumo wrestle. He seemed to want to get my pony tail and sleeves and bite down harder than I was comfortable with, so it was a short experiment.

By: christine randolph

christine randolph — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:08:06 +0000

i find the more i roughhouse with my dogs, the more they get into it. i guess in the wild, wolf parents would do this with their pups, develop their habits thusly. so, they have to learn how to play. they also seem to know that they cannot play in the same way with each and every dog they encounter, so they suss each other out a lot before they start really playing.

I was watching them playing together, there is usually a moment when they are still, then one of the makes a bow and shows excitement, this gets them started again.

so if there is a break and they are on the verge of maybe losing interest, if i imitate a play bow myself or some such invitation to start play again, that is a trigger for them to start more all out roughhousing.