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Having cold feet about castration

2K views 17 replies 14 participants last post by  Ali79 
#1 ·
I have booked Dexter in to be castrated on Friday week due to his humping other dogs and peeing on the beds. The vet was pretty persuasive when I took him for a pre-examination. I'm now having cold feet and wonder if I should wait till he's a bit older. Am I being an 'over-anxious mother'? Why am I feeling so cruel?! I'm so tempted to cancel it!
 
#3 ·
Go with your gut.It's telling you, you are not totally happy with it.

My vet does them early. ( I use 2 vets at present) However we were like you and not sure as there are pros and cons to neutering full stop.

In the end we decided to hold out till he was older and got him done at 18 months.

My reasoning was that I wanted to ensure he was fully developed first.

If in doubt why not postpone till he is at least a year old? that way you are still getting him done but have that extra peace of mind as you obviously have doubts at doing him at this early age. :)

It's good to consider your choices hun - don't feel it's a bad thing.
 
#4 ·
My cousins cockapoo was done at 6mths I think alot of dogs are ,i suppose you know in yourself when the time is right (i thinking the weeing on the beds would get to me).

I know there are plus reasons for waiting till hes older but if things are getting too much for you id go with the vets advice.

Good luck dx
 
#7 ·
I have decided to wait until at least a month after Rocky has started cocking his leg. I hope to wait until he is 1 year old if I can hold out but will reconsider if I have related problems. I think the wet beds would get to me too...but we stop Rocky going upstairs freely with a stairgate. He comes up sometimes but only supervised. Maybe this could be something to try until Dexter is a bit older. :) x
If you stick by your original decision, hope all goes smoothly on Friday (tomorrow). Do post and update as I, for one, would like to know what to expect when the time comes for Rocky x
 
#8 ·
It's actually a week on Friday. He is already cocking his leg and his 'pepparami' is coming out when he gets excited! (sorry but it was my daughter's name for my last dog's a cav when she was 4!):eek: As you can imagine Dexter is now banned from the bedrooms which he is very mournful about!
 
#9 ·
I do understand that some people like to wait until they are a little older or until they cause problems so that they need to be castrated but i deal with soooooo many people who expect castration to fix these behaviours and often they won't as the dog has learned to do it and in some cases that they get pleasure/ attention from doing it. We routinely castrate from 5 months and i find that these dogs bounce back much quicker than a dog of even 1yr. Speak to your vet, you can always get extra pain relief to take home for hime for the first few days.
Also bear in mind that often they will come home sleepy and a little vocal and clingy. Owners often see this as pain, when often it is purely the anaesthetic wearing off. Most practices give a morphine based painkiller and sedative as a pre-med before the full anaesthetic and then an anti-inflammatory pain killer before or during the op. Even dogs that have the same combo of drugs but no surgery (maybe have xrays or something non-painful) will have the same reaction and will cry etc the night of the GA. Try not to worry if he is a little whingy it doesn't always mean pain. :)
 
#11 ·
Let us know what you decide to do Tess... its a tricky one ..

I have heard the same as Lola24 said regarding the bad behaviour, but I also know what it is like to have a male dog scenting in the house ... 3 times Oakley has done it ...

Does it calm them down at all??
 
#12 ·
Just a reassurance if you go a head, we had Wilf done at 5 months and he was a fine, alot smaller op than the girls and bounced back much quicker. The first evening I had to carry him out to wee then the first full day he just lay on a blanket playing with toys not wanting to move around much but fine in himself, no crying. The wound was only small and healed really quickly. Just a chore with not able to go for proper walks but understandable. Good luck with your decision x x
 
#13 ·
I never had any male behaviour problems with Dylan, but I had him castrated at 8 months. He was fully grown at 7 months and also cocking his leg.
The op was no problem at all. He was his normal manic self when I picked him up from the vet and he never tried to lick or bother the wound, so it can't have been too painful for him. The only bad things were the buster collar, which he hated and I left that off as much as possible, and not being able to walk him properly for 10 days, which was horrid, but you get through it.
My personal opinion is to definitely get it done at some point, but the timing is up to you. Vets usually advise 6 months onwards, but if you are more comfortable waiting a couple more months or so, then wait. Will it help his behaviour? I doubt that anyone can conclusively know. All you can do is read up on people's opinions and experiences. Good luck with your decision.
 
#15 ·
I know how you feel - Poppy goes in tomorrow for spaying, but I am fretting whether it is the right time. I have changed the appointment 5 times now (receptionist not happy with me), and was going to leave it until 7-8 months, but then heard a couple of bitches coming into season at 6 months (Simon's Poppy just has).

Think I will go for the pre-exam and see how that goes, but will trust what my vet says. Good luck whatever you decide.
 
#17 ·
i have the same problem with olly, he got on my bed today and had a wee.he will wee on it any chance he gets my vet said to have him castrated when he is 6 month i feel aprehensive about getting him done so young as well also he is bonking a lot so maybe its the right thing to do.i have a month to get my head round it.
 
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