Worried About My Little Boy

Hello

I was hoping you mabe able to give me some advice as my little boy is going for his operation tommorrow to be neutered and i am worried as he is so small and delicate. I have cancelled this 3 times already but the time has come and he needs the op. How have your whippets coped and did they make a speedy recovery?

thanks

Both my bitches were fine and recovered well, its not as big an op for the boys but its natural to worry. I am sure he will be fine, plenty of tlc when you get him home. Good luck :luck:

I'm sure he will be absolutely fine, it's a very straightforward operation. As a rescue all our male dogs of all breeds and sizes - many of them quite elderly dogs - are neutered and we've never yet had a problem either with the operation or recovery.

Good luck for tomorrow - he'll be back home being spoilt before you know it :luck:

I've had two of mine castrated when they were 4 years old. No problems and they were fine. How old is your boy?

Please don't fret about your little lad :huggles:

He will be fine! Only the right amount of anaesthetic for his size and weight will be administered and, apart from probably being very quiet and dozey tonight, he will be back to normal by tomorrow :thumbsup:

I had my boy neutered when he was 9 months old and he has never looked back and is the most amazing dog

Havnt had a male castrated yet, but had a few minor ops...and all my dogs have been fine.

Dont worry...it will all be over soon. :luck: and he will be tearing around like a loonie in next to no time.

The fact that you have cancelled 3 times seems to indicate that the reasons for his castration are not based on health problems. I have never been a fan of castration as a means to solve behaviour problems and have never had a male castrated myself. However my OH had her Shitzhu male castrated 2 years ago and he came through that with no problems at all. I would just add however - and it certainly surprised me as I didn't think it was possible - but he can, and does, still have sex with his soft toys. And he also manages to ejaculate.

Something to consider perhaps?

my boy Chance was castrated 9 days ago, Ive just taken his 2 stitches out :thumbsup: he was sleep as to be expected the day he came home, but by the next morning he was back to usual, and has not even worried about his stitches

i actually did Spay one of my girls before Xmas due to her behaviour, she was aggressive to my other dogs and thought nothing of growling at my young daughter :angry: since her spay she is a different dog and (almost if could stop the yapping) a pleasure to live with now.. i think maybe she had a hormone overload :lol:

My Mojo was done when he was about a year old and was fine and my little IG Maya has been spayed today and is currently sleeping it off, she has been out for a wee and is now asleep with big bro on a heat pad.

They really do get over it v quickly espeically as the op for the boys is less invasive than for the wee girls.

He will be fine, honest.

I am sure he will be fine. I had my boy done a year and a half ago for several behavioural reasons and it DID do the trick with him as I now have a laid back contented lovely boy. On the day of his operation he was in the vets for 9am and he actually got kicked out of the vets at 12:30 as he was winding the other dogs up by barking and howling to be out :clown: We brought him home and he never even bothered with his wound but he did sleep for 2 days. I don't think he has even noticed he is missing anything!

Good luck

IanGerman said:

The fact that you have cancelled 3 times seems to indicate that the reasons for his castration are not based on health problems. I have never been a fan of castration as a means to solve behaviour problems and have never had a male castrated myself. However my OH had her Shitzhu male castrated 2 years ago and he came through that with no problems at all. I would just add however - and it certainly surprised me as I didn't think it was possible - but he can, and does, still have sex with his soft toys. And he also manages to ejaculate.Something to consider perhaps?

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Castrated males are capable of having sex, they are just infertile. I have heard that in past people who kept large kennels, and did not want to breed from all bitches every time they came in season, kept castrated male to mate with them. that kept them happy And I have seen my friend's castrated male tied to their entire bitches.

Castrato opera singers were very much thought out lovers of wealthy ladies married to old useless husbands.

Castration does lower the production of testosterone, but that declines after puberty naturally anyway and so does the annoying sexual behavior of young males like mounting anything that moves (and some things that do not move) and urinating every 3 minutes. There is a spike in testosterone production that bring on the puberty in males, and from there it is down the hill all the way

Anyway, castration is a relatively minor operation, i am sure your boy will be just fine.

if your not happy dont bother getting done, what is the point?

masta said:

if your not happy dont bother getting done, what is the point?

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As well as some improvement in behavior in some dogs, it is well documented that castrated dogs generally live longer than entire dogs for a number of reasons including being less likely to roam, get into aggressive situations etc. It also negates any chance of testicular tumours, dramatically reduces prostate problems, perianal tumours/ hernias etc. It is natural to feel hesitation before putting your dog through what might be considered non-essential surgery but sometimes you have to look at the long term picture )

All hormones can be casuative to cancers and if you want a 100% guarantee your dog doesn't get testicular cancer then you don't get any better guarantee than removing them.

However, leaving your dog intact doesn't neccesarily mean your dog will get testicular cancer. Cancer is common in dogs and having their testicles removed as a preventative is not justifiable to me.

There is some evidence that retained testicles are more pre-disposed to malignant changes (the allegation being that if they remain close to the body the 'raised' temperature of the testicle can make it susceptible) However, I've seen evidence posted on here in the past opposing this theory too.

Not so much an issue with descended testicles but certainly retained ones can be difficult to remove and result in post op complications like incontinence. (Of which we own such a dog) I do not know the statistics for normal castration procedures but I certainly would ask.

I think aggresion with males in whippets is not an issue. we have 9 intact males of which some are stud dogs and we do not have any aggresion issues. I will not deny though this is definately an issue with some breeds as the dobermanns my parents owned would near kill each other given the chance of meeting. The males I mention are both pedigree and non-pedigree racing whippets which I consider to be 2 entirely different breeds but they all live together, eat together and exercise together.

Any operation carries risks. The gains should outweigh the risks or at the least feel that the operation was justified even if the worse case scenario should happen.

If it's to prevent your dog breeding with another dog on your premises and it is the only reasonable option then I think you could be justified. Especially as speying a bitch is a riskier procedure in comparison.

If it's because you've got dominance issues and you've exhausted all options, especially your own abilities as a dog owner then you may be justified but I would consider it a last resort and would not put have much expectations of a radical character change.

If it's for health reasons - well I think you've got to ask is their a high likelihood of your dog getting an illness by not having the surgery and if so would this be at a particularly young age?

Additionally is it really an issue to have an elderly dog with what's likely to be a slow growing testicular cancer bearing in mind it may have tumours elsewhere, be suffering from arthritis, heart problems, senility, deafness and /or blindess that may be far bigger issues to your dog on a day to day basis?

Certainly in our OAP's testicular cancer is not an issue but the latter problems are.

I would hope your vet can answer these questions and help you come to a decision. It's important that your happy before you agree and these days they get you to sign a consent form to say you are. If your not or have doubts, cancel the op and discuss it further with the vet and/ or get a second opinion if this helps you.

Whatever you decide, it won't be wrong so long as it was your own informed decision. :thumbsup:

Esty said:

masta said:

if your not happy dont bother getting done, what is the point?

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As well as some improvement in behavior in some dogs, it is well documented that castrated dogs generally live longer than entire dogs for a number of reasons including being less likely to roam, get into aggressive situations etc. It also negates any chance of testicular tumours, dramatically reduces prostate problems, perianal tumours/ hernias etc. It is natural to feel hesitation before putting your dog through what might be considered non-essential surgery but sometimes you have to look at the long term picture )

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if the owner has canx 3 times and is coming on a forum to ask for reassurance, reading between the lines they are not 100% happy with their decsion, and im sure you honestly believe the rhyme and verse papped out by the animal health trade but as wild whippies has so deftly pointed out its not actually true

Castration has 1 proven value it stops unwanted puppies!! if that is not the reason for surgery i would allow the lad to be entire, as you quite righty point out its non - essential surgery

I am sure everything will go well and fingers and paws crossed for your chap :luck: :luck: :luck:

Testicular cancer rates in dogs are less than 1%. The majority of which are benign/non malignant and occur in the twilight years of the dogs life and are non life threatening. A significant proportion of reported testicular cancers in dogs relates to undecended testicles. I would suggest the mortality rates for testicular cancer in dogs excluding those in old age is more than 1:10000.

Reported mortality rates for anaesesthesia in dogs is in the order of 1:800 to 1:1000.

You might also want to consider the potential adverse effects of the surgery; enuresis is widely reported as are hernias.

Tony Taylor said:

Testicular cancer rates in dogs are less than 1%. The majority of which are benign/non malignant and occur in the twilight years of the dogs life and are non life threatening. A significant proportion of reported testicular cancers in dogs relates to undecended testicles. I would suggest the mortality rates for testicular cancer in dogs excluding those in old age is more than 1:10000.
Reported mortality rates for anaesesthesia in dogs is in the order of 1:800 to 1:1000.

You might also want to consider the potential adverse effects of the surgery; enuresis is widely reported as are hernias.

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Interesting statistics, do you have a reference for them please? )

FeeFee said:

Tony Taylor said:

Testicular cancer rates in dogs are less than 1%. The majority of which are benign/non malignant and occur in the twilight years of the dogs life and are non life threatening. A significant proportion of reported testicular cancers in dogs relates to undecended testicles. I would suggest the mortality rates for testicular cancer in dogs excluding those in old age is more than 1:10000.
Reported mortality rates for anaesesthesia in dogs is in the order of 1:800 to 1:1000.

You might also want to consider the potential adverse effects of the surgery; enuresis is widely reported as are hernias.

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Interesting statistics, do you have a reference for them please? )

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I did some research when I had Timmys undecended testicle removed which is about 12yrs ago now. However google reveals this http://cairnsattheburrow.com/neutering.html

Google is your friend Always worth investigating risks.

Anaesthetic risks in people is something that has been a profesional issue for me and vetinary practices have a far higher mortality rate than dental or hospital ones have.

http://www.jaaha.org/cgi/content/abstract/35/1/13