Neutering my working cocker

[Helen]

Yesterday Jarvis was castrated - he's 11 years old, and has prostate problems.  That's one thing that you're not usually told about.  Approximately 92% of entire males have some form of prostate growth in old age and in Jarv's case it was affecting his bowel as it was growing and pressing on it.  Would I have neutered him earlier?  No - and if we had his time again I would still do the same.  And for the record his testicles were absolutely healthy with no sign of any tumours.  I knew that though...I'd checked them for 11 years 

It enabled him to grow and mature and age as he should.  Yes, it's a pain when there are bitches in season but to be frank some of his castrated friends are more amorous than he ever was so that wasn't a good enough reason for me.

Yesterday Jago also went under the knife - thankfully we have a progressive vet who poo-poohed the idea that a dog with an undescended testicle should be fully castrated and just key-holed the retained one out.  So he has one healthy testicle and he'll remain entire. His was not hereditary, it was developmental - neither his dam or his sire has ever thrown a cryptorchid pup.  If he has prostate issues in old age we'll take that as it comes. 

I have seen quite a few early neutered dogs with fear aggression (and who are flighty and difficult to train) and as cockers are usually not the bravest dogs in the world this also has influenced my decision.  I had no wish to remove the little bit of testosterone that gives mine a little bit of confidence and maturity.

I think if you are armed with all the information and make an informed decision neither decisions are wrong   For me a very wrong reason would be to neuter a fearful insecure dog - it just manifests itself in more fear   As for bitches, I'm all for neutering them.  So many more problems including pyometra and mammary tumours 

[bizzylizzy]

Thanks for that Helen - I'd been worrying about Humphrey's one undescended testicle and as his yearly check up is due in a couple of weeks and I know the subject will come up with my vet, I've been trying to gather as much information as I can beforehand. Has Jago had any problems or have you had the testicle removed as a precaution? How old  is he? Did you have it monitored? ( sorry to fire questions, I'm just trying to decided what to do!!) Thanks!

[Helen]

Thanks for that Helen - I'd been worrying about Humphrey's one undescended testicle and as his yearly check up is due in a couple of weeks and I know the subject will come up with my vet, I've been trying to gather as much information as I can beforehand. Has Jago had any problems or have you had the testicle removed as a precaution? How old  is he? Did you have it monitored? ( sorry to fire questions, I'm just trying to decided what to do!!) Thanks!

No he has had no issues at all,  it's a precautionary measure.  He's 22 months old now and the testicle is not ever going to drop. 

He is also insured via PetPlan and they cover retained testicles if it's precautionary not elective surgery.

The op was very straightforward, it was keyholed out yesterday and there is no swelling, a couple of stitches and a tiny bit of redness....and a very pee'ed off working cocker who wants to go for a proper walk 

When we discussed the procedure when Jago was tiny my vet was the one who suggested not castrating him entirely.  A refreshing attitude 

[bizzylizzy]

Super, thankyou! I'm seeing someone next week who says she's had success dealing with the condition with homeopathy and massage, I'm not terribly optimistic now at his age but its worth a try, I'm open to anything. If it doesn't work, I'll discuss the keyhole surgery with the vet. Thanks for the info!

[Murphys Law]

We got Murphy castrated at 9 months on advice from our vet. He was a very confident dog who wanted to play with every dog he met.
Now we have a very anxious dog who is scared of several different breeds of dog. His coat has turned into a wooly mess.
I can't be 100% certain that castration has caused his fear but if I had my time again I would not of had him castrated. I feel sad sometimes that I may have caused Murphys problems.

[JeffD]

I have had 5 dogs over the last 40 years none of them castrated never had any problems with any of them, All the bitches I have had have been spayed but not until  they have had 2 seasons.

[AlanT]

So sorry about your Murphy. That is exactly what I was afraid might happen.

Think there might be a case for doing this is later life. Reduces the cancer risk.

But they should come to full maturity. Judging by mine this will be at least 3-years.

[elaine.e]

So sorry about your Murphy. That is exactly what I was afraid might happen.

Think there might be a case for doing this is later life. Reduces the cancer risk.

But they should come to full maturity. Judging by mine this will be at least 3-years.

It prevents testicular cancer, but in entire dogs the risk of death from testicular cancer is believed to be less than 1%. It's true that older entire dogs are prone to developing it, but because it's easily diagnosed and treated it's rarely a cause of death.

Castration increases the risk of prostate cancer, hemangiosarcoma and bone cancer.

[tenaille]

Our French vets said that the cancer risks started to increase significantly later in life, 4 or 5 years old. They didn't consider neutering before then unless for a medical reason, and were somewhat surprised to hear that UK vets routinely recommend it.

[AlanT]

Thank you so much for a really helpful reply.

"My dog" is actually a kind of "dog share". My wife and I, my son and his wife, all have an interest.

He has two homes. Spends about half the time at each of them.
I trained him as a puppy and he spent the working week with me, going "home" every night.

We discuss this castration issue from time to time.

He is, by the way completely unbothered by his quirky life-style.

[Helen]

So sorry about your Murphy. That is exactly what I was afraid might happen.

Think there might be a case for doing this is later life. Reduces the cancer risk.

But they should come to full maturity. Judging by mine this will be at least 3-years.

it reduces the risk of age related prostate issues certainly, but testicular cancer is very rare. 

[Briggo09]

I've been thinking about this subject for a while now as I refused to get my boy done when the vet suggested it as I had seen no real reason for doing it. I'm a first time owner and always try and study everything before I make decisions. He is now 8months and the more I read the more I feel I wont get him done. Any issues I have with him I generally put down to his age at the minute- yes he sniffs like a dog possessed on a walk- and is fairly boystorous but I was exactly the same as a teenager 
He can be very challenging at times but again i can handle this. I believe it is all down to personal choice however and personal circumstance for both owner and dog. Good information on this thread from both sides of the fence.

[siam]

Alfie had an undescended testicle which was monitored in his 1st year. We had decided that if it was still undescended by the time he was a year and required surgery then we would only have the undescended one removed. As it turned out when he went for his 1 year check up it had descended much to our surprise. It's smaller than his other one and not very visible but the vet assures  us it's there and all is well with it!

[bizzylizzy]

Alfie had an undescended testicle which was monitored in his 1st year. We had decided that if it was still undescended by the time he was a year and required surgery then we would only have the undescended one removed. As it turned out when he went for his 1 year check up it had descended much to our surprise. It's smaller than his other one and not very visible but the vet assures  us it's there and all is well with it!

Thats great! After his appointment on the groomers on Tuesday, I'm hoping we'll be able to get a better view of whats going on "down under" with Humphrey, 

[siam]

Alfie had an undescended testicle which was monitored in his 1st year. We had decided that if it was still undescended by the time he was a year and required surgery then we would only have the undescended one removed. As it turned out when he went for his 1 year check up it had descended much to our surprise. It's smaller than his other one and not very visible but the vet assures  us it's there and all is well with it!

Thats great! After his appointment on the groomers on Tuesday, I'm hoping we'll be able to get a better view of whats going on "down under" with Humphrey, 

When we went for his 1 year check up we were resigned to discussing the operation for him around 14 months so it was a huge relief when the vet announced that it had in fact descended. So .....  fingers crossed for Humphrey!