10-23-2018, 05:44 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-23-2018, 05:47 AM by WinterGreenWolf.)
Quote:
7 hours ago, silverwolf1 said:
My own thoughts. Most of my dogs have been spayed or neutered, mostly to prevent unwanted breedings not longer lifespans. I've seen whole dogs live extremely long lives. Anyway, with Tippy and Shadow I admit to pure selfishness. I wanted the sex thus they remained unspayed. No more glorious or noble reasons than that.
Of course the discussion is limited to the dogs in my case. I've kept no cats and my horses and sheep are outside the discussion.
For me, it's sort of two-fold as to why I don't think the conventional spay / neuter are a good idea. A personal (selfish, to an extend I recon) and a logical one.
The personal reason first:
Being an exclusive, and having had, and know I enjoy it: I would like the -option- of sex to stay on the table (note I didn't say requirement..), I'm inexperienced with bitches but I find I'm attracted to both, though with a semi-heavy Male bias. That being said -some- (what I'd almost call hero-vets in their own right) vets are offering alternatives to the 'full stop' procedure: things like vasectomies for Males and Tubal Ligation or Ovary Sparing Spays for Females: keeping the sex drive and hormone structures in tact but preventing pet overpopulation in the process.
Now the logical one (in my mind anyways..):
Spaying and neutering do not increase lifespan: in a lot of canines it can actually -lower- lifespan and increase health problems, especially later in life. Like all mammals dogs go through a puberty stage, it's shorter because of reduced lifespan overall, but it does exist. Especially with an 'early' (four to six months) spay or neuter you basically have an ever-puppy: a dog who may very well have permanent emotional issues: aggression, fear urination and the like. Not to mention a perma-hyper state like the current German Shepherd I watch over (he's twelve, acts like a year and a half minus any masturbation, humping or sexual interest).
The physical side-effects are a no-go either for me: joints with always-open growth plates, skin cell tumors / mast cell tumors, lymphomas, osteosarcoma and Hemangeosarcoma (two virtually terminal cancers). Atypical Cushings Disease is a major cause foe these issues too. Canines will continue to produce sexual hormones without their gonads: though it's a huge strain and virtually none are produced: just enough to in a sense 'remind' of 'adult' behavior like dominance display and marking.
Atypical Cushings effects the Endocrine system: Pancreas, Adrenal Glands, Pituitary gland, etc... The glands that are responsible for hormone production like Insulin, Adrenaline, Cortisol, and compounds responsible for energy like ADP and ATP (Adenosine Diphosphate and Adenosine Triphosphate) are now in distress: taxed with producing Androgen, Testosterone, and Estrogen.
A lot of the above info was sourced from the more recent studies by Dr. Karen Becker (SP?) as well as the U.C. Davis school of veterinary Medicine, and the University of Perdue School of Veterinary Medicine. I can't remember the exact links or terms of the study.
It was found however that Rottweilers and Golden Retrievers had a much higher risk of Hip Dysplasia as well as cancers like Osteosarcoma (thoes two breeds are notorious for cancer anyways).
I know it was long, but I wanted to provide at least some evidence as to why I feel the way I do: and not just a simple sexual reason.
I really do wish the 'alternative' procedures would start to become more common place and vets would be trained to perform them better: guy can dream I guess. [img]<fileStore.core_Emoticons>/emoticons/wink.png[/img]/emoticons/[email protected] 2x" title=";)" width="20" />
EDIT: Well shit, Battlecrops beat me to a lot of it: I'll leave all my ramble in tact though.
