perhaps a man can answer this for me...

This is an interesting question, so I do want to respond sincerely to it. I really don't think that you can group male dogs and male humans together. First, as others have commented, we are capable of understanding that copulation can produce offspring. I don't care how smart the dog is, no male dog thinks, "Hmm, I want to have babies, so I think I'll meet up with that girl over there." Secondly, dogs are domesticated and completely dependent on us and our decisions. We didn't intentionally "design" them to need to be neutered to have a happy life, but we have brought them into a living situation where breeding often contributes to pet overpopulation. I was the one who decided to live in an area where there are many people and dogs (and possibly bitches in heat), so rather than 'encouraging' him to have urges that he doesn't understand, I decided to have a simple surgical procedure done that could potentially make his life less stressful. No agony over the bitch down the street, intact males are much less likely to bug him, and no chance of a "whoospie" breeding. Considering the overabundance of perfectly lovely pets languishing in shelters, that's just fine with me.

Well, that's my reasoning, but of course everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion.

 

What I find interesting is the fact that the same males who have such a problem neutering the family dog wouldn't blink at the suggestion that the horse should be gelded. They don't have too much of a problem about castrating pigs, lambs or calves. Most of them don't even put up a fuss about neutering the cat. It's just the dog.

 

I have a former coworker whose father grew up on a farm. It was a way of life for him, growing up, to simply place a rubber band around the testicles of a goat, cow or whatever farm animal they were castrating. He even did this about 10 years ago with a goat he got. BUT when it came to his beloved Sheltie he would not get him neutered. Finally his wife got tired of dealing with the dog running off at every possible opportunity and she got him neutered. He was FURIOUS with her for that.

 

Must be some strange man-dog-balls bond sort of thing. :shock:

 

Tell you what, When I get home I'll be sure to ask my rescued male dogs if they were happeier with their nuts or with out...

Oh by the way, just incase anyone's wondering.... I always made Char (RIP) keep a fresh diaphram in her purse whenever she went out on dates, and Smokey ( RIP) new pack of Condoms to put in his wallet....
Hmph......
:wink:

They do make birth control for animals. They also make fertility drugs...I know... I've used both.
Just..uh....not on me....

 

LOL, I think that's the only explanation! Though if cars were 'born' with testicles, I think the same issues would come up. :lol:

 

LOL...I agree...
though I did see a truck drive by the other day with a set of balls hanging from his reciever hitch!!!! It was HILARIOUS.... though I though it to be very untasteful.... little kids don't need to see that.....

 

I think that you could also link spaying/neutering to other types of care for animals, such as vaccinations, flea control, heartworm meds, etc. Dogs weren't born with these things, but we give it to them to help them lead happier, longer lives. It's like preventative medicine. It does prevent them from getting those specific cancers, and it does mellow them out.

 

just a thought on the human/dog comparison, in USA over 60% of the men are circumcised and worlwide it is about 40% so are those men not real men because they don't have all their parts?

 

OMG! That just reminded me that a few weeks ago, I saw a Jeep with a set of testicles, too! Wow, I can't believe I forgot about that. Interestingly, it was a woman who was behind the wheel. :shock:

 

:lol: My daughteres MIL has them on her truck...she said they were her ex-hubby's...she took them along with the house, the truck, the kids and everything else he had :shock:

 

OMG!! thats too funny, she took his (manhood) along with everything else!!! Ha ha ha....

 

I would laugh at anyone who was proud of their dogs balls.
However, cutting off testicles is an unpleasant thought for even (especially!) the toughest guys.
It's easy for a man to associate it with their own nutz.
Why? They look the same (kinda) and we know what they are.
Imagine if you had to take your female dog into the vet to have it's teets removed? I would wager a few women (at least) just cringed a tick.
It is just gross to think about and, I believe, that is that.
I say, if it is supposed to make my dog live healthier and longer, it's worth it.
Personally, I'm more freaked out by the people that shape their dogs ears. I saw a gorgeous boxer pup at the pet store with his daddy, and his ears were freshly trimmed and shaped. It was not only disgusting, but painful and cosmetic - purely for the enjoyment of the dog owner.
It is considerably easier to argue and discuss neutering/spaying and masculinity than it is to attempt to come up with a good argument for slicing a dog so that he has pointy ears.
How's THAT for stirring the pot?
I would be interested to read some reasons people chop up their dog so that they look more "cute".

 

Since moving to Germany its been soooo nice to see Boxers not only with all their ears but guess what....they have these long tails that look really cute when they wag :shock: As do Dobermans, Rottwielers....in fact I havent seen a cropped ear or docked tail since I moved here. Mostly its down to the vets and the laws, its illegal (at least in this part of Germany) for breeders to cut anything off and most vets, at least the ones I know about wont do it...unless theres a medical reason for it.

 

Hmmm. Interesting. Of course, I don't use vaccinations, flea control, or heartworm medications because they are actually BAD for a dog and contribute to all sorts of health problems. However, since spaying and neutering seem to prevent more problems than they cause, I would still have to go with spay/neuter is good.

Sams, what sort of birth control do they have for animals? I know zoos use all sorts of different things depending on the species - pills, implants, shots, etc. Is there anything for dogs? Or more importantly, how about birds to make them stop laying eggs?

 

LOL
OMG! That just reminded me that a few weeks ago, I saw a Jeep with a set of testicles, too! Wow, I can't believe I forgot about that. Interestingly, it was a woman who was behind the wheel.


My daughteres MIL has them on her truck...she said they were her ex-hubby's...she took them along with the house, the truck, the kids and everything else he had

you are too much,

my brother refused to have his dog neutured, he just couldnt brng himself to take his dogs manhood away. he did live to 15 and he was a purebred golden.

he has changed, his latest, 2 golden pups a male and female, he did get the male fixed.

Delauk - you are in Germany, dont they have aban now on GSD, rotts and dobies?

 

Oh horses, I can't tell you the exact name, but they use a shot similar to the "after pill"(I think called Rhymidil). that will abort any unexpected ovums up to three weeks after the Suspected occurance.

they can also use Regimin I think is called to make the come into heat and cycle regularly and another to insure that the mare KEEPS the foal....doesn't always work.

On cattle they do similar to the diaphram. Its a plug ordeal inserted to prevent insemination in cattle. But once removed they will imdiately cycle.

I've honestly never used any birth control on Dogs, however I did look into it when I had Char to prevent her from accidents after she had her puppies. But decided against it. I'll do some research and find out all the diffrent things and start a new thread on it.

 

I've read stuff about it all being bad but what exactly is the alternative? I think it also has a lot to do with geographic location. I'm in the deep south so flea control is a MUST. I use the Frontline drops and have never had any problem with it. I don't like the idea of using the pills. But the fleas here are atrocious.

Same goes with heartworms. We have mosquitos everywhere here and heartworms are a major problem. I know there is natural flea remedy stuff but what is the alternative for heartworm meds?

The vaccination stuff does scare me but what do you do about kennels? They always require proof of everything. I don't really have any alternatives as to where to put my dogs. Also it is the law here to have a rabies vaccination every year. I guess I could do the titer thing. But then there would be the case if some freak thing happened and Indy accidentally(or intentionally) bit someone and they wanted proof of rabies and I couldn't give it and they chopped his head off???? That worries me.

 

No, they say Pit Bulls are banned but Ive seen them around, Im a little confused over this, still looking into it, from what I can tell its illegal to breed them, sell them or give them away personally, however they do come in as rescues to shelters (sometimes brought in from other countries too) and the shelters can adopt them out, I know someone who recently adopted a Pit Bull, absolutely beautiful dog.
They are strict on the Dangerous Dog Laws though, and the 'rules' change depending on what district your in. There are about 4 categories of dangerous dogs, Dobermans are a category 1, I think GSD's are category 2 as are Rotts (Ill see if I can find the lists and Ill post them), Im not exactly sure what the difference is with those 2 categories but I do know that for this area with some breeds or any dog weighing more than 45#, for the dog to be out in public it should be on a leash and muzzled unless its passed the line and muzzle tests, its basically tests done by the city to ensure you have control of the dog and a personality test to ensure the dog is not either outwardly aggresive or a fear biter...i.e. if your walking your dog down the street and a stranger gets a little close they want to make sure that the dog wont over-react and bite them....that said if there is a report of a dog biting someone they will take into account why and how....was the stranger tormenting the dog, that kind of thing, it also doesnt mean that the dog will be PTS, the owner will be in trouble if the dog has not passed the tests and has no muzzle or is loose. For Pit Bull owners and a few other breeds the owner also has to take a written test that questions his/her knowledge on the breed in general, which personally I think is a good idea, if a dog is taken away due to the owners not complying to testing, as long as the dog is not vicious (generally) it will be put into a shelter, the owner can then go to court and comply with everything and they may get the dog back or the dog will be put up for adoption.
I was told that Dobermans are only in Category 1 as the Germans are trying to 'protect' this breed from overpopulation, bad breeding etc, so by having it cat.1 its more expensive all round, the tests I believe are around €200-€300 each, and you have to have a lot of liability insurance...

 

Delauk, interesting how germany handles their BSL laws. If cities are going to put them in place, which I dont agree with, at least do it sensibly, not like Denver, yanking peoples dogs from them or automatticlly putting the breed down if it comes into a shelter.

Does Germany have the pittbull hysteria like the US? and do they have dog fight issues as well, just curious

honeybear