lefty's random dog thread.

[lefty]

That one veterinarian is very well respected within the canine community. She also linked to numerous studies that her opinion is based upon. Your behavior issues - marking territory and roaming in search of a mate - are not really problems in any way. First off, my male (intact or not) is going to hit every tree he possibly can. To be honest I want hm marking up the neighbourhood. Years ago, I had a spayed Boxer ***** that would back her ass up to a tree, hoist herself up onto her front legs and spray as high up as she could. No dogs screwed with her. If you're talking about marking inside you have bigger problems than the dog's balls. Roaming (and unwanted litters) are always brought up by the advocates of early spay/neuter, but long gone are the days when you would open your front door in the morning and kick your dog out for the day. I don't know about your town but I never see unattended dogs or packs anymore. The odds of your amorous dog escaping and finding a ***** in heat are pretty much nil. As to aggression, I just don't see it after a lot of hands-on experience with biting dogs. Aggression (and indiscriminate biting) in dogs is rarely understood correctly. My guess is that if you're noticed a difference in a pre and altered dogs it has more to do with maturity and training than testosterone. Lopping off a dog's testicles to prevent testicular cancer is an interesting approach to health care. lefty

 

[JLibourel]

^Agree with all the foregoing.

I might add I would never assent to one of these "rent-a-dog" contracts that gives the breeder substantial control over the dog after I buy it. When I get a dog, I want it to be my dog, and that's that!

 

[SpooPoker]

Just got a new camera, so screwing around with settings on my dachshund.

 

[Rambo]

Originally Posted by JLibourel

I might add I would never assent to one of these "rent-a-dog" contracts that gives the breeder substantial control over the dog after I buy it. When I get a dog, I want it to be my dog, and that's that!
+a million to this.

 

[gnatty8]

Originally Posted by lefty

That one veterinarian is very well respected within the canine community. She also linked to numerous studies that her opinion is based upon.

Your behavior issues - marking territory and roaming in search of a mate - are not really problems in any way. First off, my male (intact or not) is going to hit every tree he possibly can. To be honest I want hm marking up the neighbourhood. Years ago, I had a spayed Boxer ***** that would back her ass up to a tree, hoist herself up onto her front legs and spray as high up as she could. No dogs screwed with her.

If you're talking about marking inside you have bigger problems than the dog's balls.

Roaming (and unwanted litters) are always brought up by the advocates of early spay/neuter, but long gone are the days when you would open your front door in the morning and kick your dog out for the day. I don't know about your town but I never see unattended dogs or packs anymore. The odds of your amorous dog escaping and finding a ***** in heat are pretty much nil.

As to aggression, I just don't see it after a lot of hands-on experience with biting dogs. Aggression (and indiscriminate biting) in dogs is rarely understood correctly. My guess is that if you're noticed a difference in a pre and altered dogs it has more to do with maturity and training than testosterone.

Lopping off a dog's testicles to prevent testicular cancer is an interesting approach to health care.

lefty

OK, you're right, thank God for the internet, or I would have continued my evil ways. After a dozen dogs, I thought I'd known it all..

 

[lefty]

Jeez, don't go away mad.

I'm not sure what the advantages are to castration.
Population control? Be a responsible owner.
Curb aggression? Not proven to my satisfaction and easily controlled.
Health? The prospect for castration to create more problems is too great as well as the very serious concern of limiting the dog's genetic potential.

Zink isn't saying don't castrate your pets; he's saying wait until the animal is mature. As we've seen a drastic change in protocols regrading immunization over the last 10 years, I believe we are seeing a shift in castration/spaying conventions - Bob Barker be damned.

On a personal note, I'd rather live with a dog that has the potential to be what he has been bred to be rather than a castrato that is limited in both temperament and genotype.

lefty

 

[gnatty8]

Not mad at all, but this is a choice of weighting risks and benefits and then choosing the direction that best fits one's utility. I have had 4 Rotties since childhood, and there is no way in hell I would ever consider not neutering if I did not intend to show or breed. I have been bitten by a dog 3 times (most recently last spring) and I am convinced it is not a coincidence all 3 times, these were roaming dogs with their nuts intact. I have also spent hundreds of hours at dog parks with my dogs, and 80% of the time I would have a dog "attacked" by another, that attacking dog was not neutered. Coincidences? Maybe, but I have convinced myself there is causation there, and for that reason, I keep my dogs neutered. If you have convinced yourself otherwise, more power to you. The point I am trying to make is there are risks and benefits of either, and educated dog owners need to do their own homework, and not listen to rules set forth by internet experts.

 

[gnatty8]

Originally Posted by lefty

Jeez, don't go away mad.

I'm not sure what the advantages are to castration.
Population control? Be a responsible owner.
Curb aggression? Not proven to my satisfaction and easily controlled.
Health? The prospect for castration to create more problems is too great as well as the very serious concern of limiting the dog's genetic potential.

Zink isn't saying don't castrate your pets; he's saying wait until the animal is mature. As we've seen a drastic change in protocols regrading immunization over the last 10 years, I believe we are seeing a shift in castration/spaying conventions - Bob Barker be damned.

On a personal note, I'd rather live with a dog that has the potential to be what he has been bred to be rather than a castrato that is limited in both temperament and genotype.

lefty

Originally Posted by gnatty8

I do agree with you though that one should be careful not to have a dog neutered too early though for a number of other reasons, potential increase in other risks being the main one.


Note, we do agree on this point, even if I disagree with some of the other things you've written; but hey, the internet woudln't be the internet without bickering and black/white points of view now would it..

 

[lefty]

You'll get no rules from me and I am not an expert. I haven't spent hundreds of hours in dog parks, but I have been bitten by hundreds of dogs - albeit willingly. You were bitten by those dogs because they were roaming (an easy fix) and I'm not a fan of dog parks unless you're trying to up your social life. It does little for the dog other than exercise him.

But you keep talking about behavior modification. If you don't mind me asking, why choose a breed with a rough, masculine and powerful demeanor and then potentially take away the very traits that make him a Rottweiler? Are you after a dog that looks like a Rott but acts like a Lab?

I agree that people should do their homework.

lefty

 

[dcg]

Wish I'd read all this back when I got my dog and she was spayed at 4 months; though having adopted I don't know that I had much of a choice. SPCA isn't letting you out of there with an intact animal.

I'm trying to decide whether I should get her a rabies shot this year. Was living in TN when she got one last year, and down there they require yearly shots. Up in PA where I am now, they require once every three years. Both vets told me it's the same shot, but in the event I have an issue I'd rather not have paperwork indicating that she got a one year shot and was past her due date.

 

[lefty]

How would you have an issue?

"Is there any chance of getting my testicles back?"

lefty

 

[dcg]

I'm just thinking of a scenario where I have to show proof of vaccination and I have a document that says "effective 2/1/10-2/1/11." Not sure how the lay person would feel about me saying "well yeah, but that was in TN...up here it's actually good until 2013!"

 

[lefty]

You might be overthinking this. If you're that concerned get a note from your current vet or do blood titers.

More info.

lefty

 

[gnatty8]

Originally Posted by dcg

I'm just thinking of a scenario where I have to show proof of vaccination and I have a document that says "effective 2/1/10-2/1/11." Not sure how the lay person would feel about me saying "well yeah, but that was in TN...up here it's actually good until 2013!"

This would have come in very handy for me when I was bitten last spring. Guy couldn't produce a vaccination certificate, and I had to sweat while the dog was observed. Likely never gonna happen, but then again, my house is very unlikely to burn down either, but I still insure it.

 

[gnatty8]

Originally Posted by lefty

You'll get no rules from me and I am not an expert. I haven't spent hundreds of hours in dog parks, but I have been bitten by hundreds of dogs - albeit willingly. You were bitten by those dogs because they were roaming (an easy fix) and I'm not a fan of dog parks unless you're trying to up your social life. It does little for the dog other than exercise him.

But you keep talking about behavior modification. If you don't mind me asking, why choose a breed with a rough, masculine and powerful demeanor and then potentially take away the very traits that make him a Rottweiler? Are you after a dog that looks like a Rott but acts like a Lab?

I agree that people should do their homework.

lefty

We obviously keep dogs very vastly different reasons. I take my dogs to the dog park because they have clearly enjoyed the interaction with other dogs, and it's great exercise. Also, if you thinking neutering a Rottweiler takes away the very traits that make them a Rottweiler, you don't know very much about the breed, or its traits. I grew up with Rottweilers, and have had 3 of my own in my adulthood. I wouldn't trade them for anything, and they were each, in their own way, the best companions a guy could have. I didn't choose Rottweilers because of their "rough, masculine and powerful demeanor", I chose them despite this. I don't tend to view dogs merely as animals with specific, bred traits like the desire to ferret out rats from holes, herd cattle, or protect my person. The traits that I have fouind in the many Rottweilers I've owned include loyalty, keen intelligence, grace, playfullness and calm.