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Desexing My Pup


V-TeC.yo
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Hi I will be getting an English staffy puppy very soon as a house pet

Is it better to desex him or leave him as he is ? and what age is best to desex him if so ?

(I don't plan on using him to breed)

Just asking cause I heard there are some pros to leaving him intact and cons and also pros/cons in desexing him

Also heard if I don't want him to be too tall then I should leave him till he is older and mature then desex him cause if I desex at a young age he will grow bigger than usual .. that's what I heard on the internet can someone correct me if I'm wrong .. so confused

Many thanks guys!

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Hi I will be getting an English staffy puppy very soon as a house pet

Is it better to desex him or leave him as he is ? and what age is best to desex him if so ?

(I don't plan on using him to breed)

Just asking cause I heard there are some pros to leaving him intact and cons and also pros/cons in desexing him

Also heard if I don't want him to be too tall then I should leave him till he is older and mature then desex him cause if I desex at a young age he will grow bigger than usual .. that's what I heard on the internet can someone correct me if I'm wrong .. so confused

Many thanks guys!

would you have bought him if the breeder would have told you that there are some issues with this pup as he was born without balls?...or do you think this would be a defect compromising the value of the dog?

Do you also consider to crop his ears and dock his tail because there are 'some pros and cons' in it?

Why do you think de-sexing would improve the value of your dog?...if you want a de-sexed dog, why not getting one from the pounds?

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People are allowed to desex their pet Willem. Without knowing the dogs environment, temperament, and how much training he'll be given, it's a responsible decision to make.

Having not had an entire male dog before I searched on common behavioural problems. Maybe he/she wants to lessen the chance of inappropriate urination or marking, dominance aggression, fighting between dogs, territorial aggression, escaping, roaming and inappropriate sexual behaviour? There's also other bozo's wanting to breed from your dog if they notice he's entire and the worry of theft.

Unless an owner is prepared to input careful training to ensure an entire dog stays a pleasant pet, he may end up in the pound like other entire dogs which then get desexed??

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Roova, your last point about theft was why I got my westie pup desexed. I would have hated for him to be stolen by a puppy farmer. I did that at 9 months.

On the other hand, my staffy was entire until he got testicular cancer at 11. I never experienced any of the issues Roova has listed. He was an absolutely beautiful dog, loved everyone and everything. Never tried to get out of the yard.

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Many years ago at the park, there was a fellow who owned a french bulldog and entire all his life. His idiot owner not because he left the dog entire but for other reasons spouted that his dog came into the world with balls and that's how he's going to stay. The dog for him was only a 'chick magnet' in his own words. Getting back to the desexing subject, his dog was frequently being set upon by undesexed male dogs and at times, his boy would attempt to hump other dogs around him. Is this a 'normal thing with desexed dogs attacking an entire dog?

The question about getting him desexed at a later age because of growth was also told to me by my younger boy's breeder who I left entire until around 16 months.

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In making your decision you may also want to check with the laws in your particular state. For example in the ACT it is illegal to have an undesexed dog if it is 6 months or older unless you have a permit (although this law is never really enforced).

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All of the male dogs I've owned over the years have stayed entire... and I haven't had any of the "issues" that are attributed to undesexed male dogs. Probably because my boys have all been well socialised and obedience trained.

I will say that other undesexed male dogs occasionally would front up to my boys when at the park, but my boys always looked to me for guidance in those cases and never reacted negatively to the challenges.

My undesexed boys were both Rottweilers... *grin*... and as soft as teddy bears... hopeless as guard dogs really... lol! That's why I also had females (desexed)...

T.

Edited by tdierikx
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People are allowed to desex their pet Willem. Without knowing the dogs environment, temperament, and how much training he'll be given, it's a responsible decision to make.

Having not had an entire male dog before I searched on common behavioural problems. Maybe he/she wants to lessen the chance of inappropriate urination or marking, dominance aggression, fighting between dogs, territorial aggression, escaping, roaming and inappropriate sexual behaviour? There's also other bozo's wanting to breed from your dog if they notice he's entire and the worry of theft.

Unless an owner is prepared to input careful training to ensure an entire dog stays a pleasant pet, he may end up in the pound like other entire dogs which then get desexed??

someone who isn't willing to put careful training into a dog shouldn't embark on a dog ownership at all, especially not on a puppy ownership!...that is where all the dilemmas come from. Using surgical modifications or drugs as a convenient substitute for time consuming training is a pretty pathetic approach that heavily contradicts animal welfare.

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QUOTE :

would you have bought him if the breeder would have told you that there are some issues with this pup as he was born without balls?...or do you think this would be a defect compromising the value of the dog?

Do you also consider to crop his ears and dock his tail because there are 'some pros and cons' in it?

Why do you think de-sexing would improve the value of your dog?...if you want a de-sexed dog, why not getting one from the pounds?

------------------------------------------------

WOW Willem - interesting way to engage with a Newbee (6 posts) who is asking a question about how best look after their pet (otherwise known as responsible pet ownership).

I have owned both desexed and undesexed males, and thankfully have not had any issues either way, so not going to make a suggestion except that I always leave both males and females entire until they are around 12m minimum so they develop with natural hormones (never had giant breeds so 12m was reasonable)

OP - great that you are asking and researching, where possible try to get past the 'passion' (otherwise known as deriding those who dare to question) of both sides (pro and con desexing) and make the decision you think is best for your boy

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Many years ago at the park, there was a fellow who owned a french bulldog and entire all his life. His idiot owner not because he left the dog entire but for other reasons spouted that his dog came into the world with balls and that's how he's going to stay. The dog for him was only a 'chick magnet' in his own words. Getting back to the desexing subject, his dog was frequently being set upon by undesexed male dogs and at times, his boy would attempt to hump other dogs around him. Is this a 'normal thing with desexed dogs attacking an entire dog?

The question about getting him desexed at a later age because of growth was also told to me by my younger boy's breeder who I left entire until around 16 months.

yes, it is normal, even bitches can hump other dogs; de-sexed bitches are actually more attractive than entire bitches so it is even more likely that they get humped and respond with aggression. Humping is not always - actually in most cases - a sexual driven behaviour, but more a game or dominance behavior. To believe that de-sexing a male dog will achieve that this dog will stop humping other dogs is a myth. It might work occasionally, but it is definitely not predictable.

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QUOTE :

would you have bought him if the breeder would have told you that there are some issues with this pup as he was born without balls?...or do you think this would be a defect compromising the value of the dog?

Do you also consider to crop his ears and dock his tail because there are 'some pros and cons' in it?

Why do you think de-sexing would improve the value of your dog?...if you want a de-sexed dog, why not getting one from the pounds?

------------------------------------------------

WOW Willem - interesting way to engage with a Newbee (6 posts) who is asking a question about how best look after their pet (otherwise known as responsible pet ownership).

I have owned both desexed and undesexed males, and thankfully have not had any issues either way, so not going to make a suggestion except that I always leave both males and females entire until they are around 12m minimum so they develop with natural hormones (never had giant breeds so 12m was reasonable)

OP - great that you are asking and researching, where possible try to get past the 'passion' (otherwise known as deriding those who dare to question) of both sides (pro and con desexing) and make the decision you think is best for your boy

I don't blame the OP - but I criticise the culture reflected by the way this topic is approached. If we only want dogs, and buy dogs, because they are soooo cute etc., but ignore that they can come with a lot of work associated with education and training, IMO such an approach is borderline animal cruelty. If de-sexing is used as an easy way out to minimize time required for training, or as a ticket to let the dog stray, than something is wrong. The focus should always be on training and education, and measures like de-sexing should never be the first choice. And if an owner puts enough effort wrt training and education into a dog, and doesn't let the dog stray, in most cases there is no need to de-sex a dog.

There can be good reasons for de-sexing a dog, no doubt, but the matter of course we display when thinking about getting a new puppy de-sexed can be disturbing.

@the OP: if you really come to the conclusion, that de-sexing is the best option, then do it as late as possible. Even 12 month can be too early (our dog is a smaller dog / BC, and she got here first heat after 12 month - so a small dog is not automatically matured when it is 12 month old. Early de-sexing is linked to a lot of serious diseases (cancer and ligament / joint problems), and also to behaviour issues, so there is no guarantee that it will be beneficial for you respectively your dog. The topic is discussed here on this forum in many threads with many links to studies - best you spend some time and go through it.

Edited to correct some spelling...

Edited by Willem
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My youngest dog is currently entire.

He is friendly with everyone but I have struggled immensely with focus, and everyone at training agrees that he is "a lot of dog". I do a LOT of training with him, but he is NOT easy lol. I am going to desex him during the summer training break. One person said another competitor recently desexed their dog (who they were also struggling with) and that there had been a large positive change for them. I will also continue to do lots of training (yet MORE foundation work lol), but hopefully desexing will help nudge things along a bit more so we can have more success and be less frustrated.

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My youngest dog is currently entire.

He is friendly with everyone but I have struggled immensely with focus, and everyone at training agrees that he is "a lot of dog". I do a LOT of training with him, but he is NOT easy lol. I am going to desex him during the summer training break. One person said another competitor recently desexed their dog (who they were also struggling with) and that there had been a large positive change for them. I will also continue to do lots of training (yet MORE foundation work lol), but hopefully desexing will help nudge things along a bit more so we can have more success and be less frustrated.

does this mean you would also dock a dog's tail if this would make him more successful in a sporting competition?...or using steroids to increase muscle grow for a better jumping ability? ...why does this reminds me of the so heavily criticised Greyhound trainings culture ...????

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No, they are not the same :)

I will admit that he is probably a bit much dog for me, and a softer, more biddable dog would be more suitable, but I didn't know he would be like that, I did my best to research lines, but puppies are always a bit of an unknown quantity :laugh:

I am stuck with him now, and learning a lot, and I did want to see how I went with an entire dog, but everyone is saying it may make things a lot easier if he was desexed. If you say I haven't done enough training with him, I will get angry :laugh: I have done tons. He is just a bugger :laugh: . I am struggling with him at the moment, everyone else is in Masters, we haven't even set foot in Novice, not due to lack of ability or training, just some frustrating behaviours which make competing impossible.

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No, they are not the same :)

I will admit that he is probably a bit much dog for me, and a softer, more biddable dog would be more suitable, but I didn't know he would be like that, I did my best to research lines, but puppies are always a bit of an unknown quantity :laugh:

I am stuck with him now, and learning a lot, and I did want to see how I went with an entire dog, but everyone is saying it may make things a lot easier if he was desexed. If you say I haven't done enough training with him, I will get angry :laugh: I have done tons. He is just a bugger :laugh: . I am struggling with him at the moment, everyone else is in Masters, we haven't even set foot in Novice, not due to lack of ability or training, just some frustrating behaviours which make competing impossible.

not the same?...you envisage to manipulate your dogs hormone system with the intention to get some advantage in a sporting competition - others do this by giving injections. I fail to see how one of these measures is justified and the other not.

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