Adopting a new pup but.....

   / Adopting a new pup but..... #1  

Alan L.

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Grayson County, TX
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We lost our beloved cocker Fudge a year ago to bone cancer. We decided we wanted to rescue a dog from a shelter, and my wife and 9-year old granddaughter found one today, an 8-week old rat terrior. My wife tells me we will get the dog in a few days AFTER it is neutered. I said "what???" thats too young. According to some forums I read most vets recommend one year old and many 18-24 months.

We waited until Fudge was 6 months old per the vet, and now read that we probably killed him because neutering prior to a year old makes dogs 4 times more likely to get bone cancer. It is a horrible death, trust me.

Now we are told this puppy is to be neutered at 8 weeks? We are just getting over the death of our dog, and we certainly do not wish shorten our new pet's life, it certainly would not be our judgment to neuter the dog this young, we would wait until a year old, as our vet says to do.

So, after this hard decision to adopt (the $100 fee has already been paid), we find that we as dog owners have no say in something as important as the timing of the neutering surgery. I will always wonder when its going to happen and what a bad decision it was to do premature surgery. I am still regretting not properly researching it before Fudge got fixed. The slight chance of getting testicular cancer pales in comparison to osteosarcoma.

I have done plenty of research over the last year and I am totally convinced that neutering a young dog is irresponsible, and we flat out aren't going to do it. Not only is there the risk of cancer, but also I am told the dog will never develop and mature properly, will stay a puppy forever.

Too, bad, because they said it would be a really nice dog.

We plan to call early Monday morning and tell them we aren't taking the dog if they are going to do the neutering this young. And 6 months old is also too young, because of the cancer risk.

I would gladly agree to get it done at one year, but that does not appear to be an option. Why do they want to get dogs adopted that have already been mishandled and mistreated from day one?

I posted this on another popular forum and quickly got 4 replies, all of which say I'm an idiot and that age of neutering is not connected to bone cancer. I know this to be false, I have found it all over the internet, various studies,etc. They can't all be wrong. And, if you have already experienced it, you don't want to go there again.

We' like to go ahead with it, but it seems unreasonable that the surgery has to be done this young.
 
   / Adopting a new pup but..... #2  
Alan
You are not being an idiot -- we lost our yellow lab in an accident last spring and got a new red lab pup in the summer. The breeder asked us rather firmly not to neuter him before 14-18 months if we were going to at all. When we asked the vet about this, he said there is more and more proof that early neutering (i.e. prior to one year) causes an number of problems and appears to add to bone and tissue problems especially in large breeds. Since we spent a small fortune on leg problems with our yellow lab and had to give him daily medication we are not willing to take the chance on this guy -- all his parts are staying on for a while yet:eek:
 
   / Adopting a new pup but..... #3  
Alan,
Adoption shelters believe in reducing the number accidental breedings resulting in more unwanted dogs. The real reason for doing it at time of adoption is the lack of compliance of people promising to do it at a later date.
 
   / Adopting a new pup but..... #4  
Alan,
Adoption shelters believe in reducing the number accidental breedings resulting in more unwanted dogs. The real reason for doing it at time of adoption is the lack of compliance of people promising to do it at a later date.

Yep, I suppose there may be some shelters that allow you to take an animal that hasn't been neutered, but I don't know of any. Regardless of age, they don't let an animal leave that isn't neutered.

We used to have a rat terrier that we got from the city animal shelter and of course, they took hiim to the vet to be neutered and we had to pick him up there. However, he was an estimated one year old at the time, and he was a great dog to have.
 
   / Adopting a new pup but..... #5  
and now read that we probably killed him because neutering prior to a year old makes dogs 4 times more likely to get bone cancer.

Could you please list the source of your information. I'm sincerely curious.

Six months is the average time to have an animal spayed or neutered (usually before the female goes into her first heat).

We deal with three vets for rabies clinics, our personal vet who I consider to be very well versed in reading up to date procedures and very skilled, and a low cost spay neuter clinic for low income families. None of the people I deal with have expressed your concearns.

The real reason for doing it at time of adoption is the lack of compliance of people promising to do it at a later date.

You hit the nail on the head. I think part of the issue is that most here on this forum are responsible adults and assumes that the rest of our society shares those same responsibilities.

Yep, I suppose there may be some shelters that allow you to take an animal that hasn't been neutered, but I don't know of any.

Our local county shelter, run by the county only, has you pay the fee for the animal, and you take the animal, no questions asked.

You are not being an idiot -- we lost our yellow lab in an accident last spring and got a new red lab pup in the summer.

What people don't realize is that a "full bred" dog is more apt to have medical issues than "mutts" (and the Heinz 57's usually have a longer life span than a full bred). Our English yellow lab is now 9 years old and cost someone a VERY decent penny as a pup (my wife got the dog when it was 3 months ol). We both love that dog, but will admit that out of all the dogs we've had, she's had the most medical issues by far (which wasn't cheap).

The breeder asked us rather firmly not to neuter him before 14-18 months if we were going to at all.

Most responsible breeders will actually have you sign paperwork that does not allow you to breed the dog (for various reasons, one which is the blood line of the animal). That said, you'd be surprised of the amount of people that go into breeding dogs as a business because they think they will make a lot of money.
 
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   / Adopting a new pup but.....
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Sigarms, I'm not sure if putting links are allowed (only been on this board 10 years). But if you google "neutering osteosarcoma" you will see plenty. The risk seems to be more for large dogs, but small dogs get the disease too. Fudge was a cocker, not a likely candidate, but he got it.

I just don't see the point on insisting on starting a pups life with a health risk that could be avoided. If they don't trust me to do get it done at the PROPER age, then they shouldn't let me adopt anyway. I have nothing against neutering, but one should use knowledge that is available to do it at the right time to help avoid future problems.
 
   / Adopting a new pup but..... #7  
But if you google "neutering osteosarcoma" you will see plenty

Interesting reading. I'll have to ask my vet what she thinks.

If they don't trust me to do get it done at the PROPER age, then they shouldn't let me adopt anyway

I thought exactly like you some years ago before we decided to volunteer our time to an animal organization. You would be amazed at the general population as a whole, who will outright lie to your face (I can tell you some doozie stories).

As I've mentioned, I have no doubt that most who frequent this site have principles, however I sincerely think that overal, those people are in the minority living in our society. That said, we've met some great people/families and future friends while doing volunteer work.

What I do know from personal experience is that most dogs/cats get spayed or neuterd by six months. Personally, I've taken about 100 animals myself for people to the low cost spay neuter clinic, and at least in the four years since I've been donating my time, not once has there been a problem.

My personal opinon is that in no way did you contribute to your dogs death. Life is never certain, and as mentioned before, full bred dogs usually have a higher percentage rate of health issues than mutts, as well as larger dogs (and the same can be said for humans).

My suggestion would be that if you really like this dog, let the shelter neuter the animal, and give it a great, loving life.

Personally, I think 8 weeks is too young, however, I know some vets who are spaying/neutering at earlier ages.

I have nothing against neutering, but one should use knowledge that is available to do it at the right time

Do you know what's wrong with your reasoning? You're assuming that most people use knowledge.
 
   / Adopting a new pup but..... #8  
This is a new ailment to me. I don't know why I'd never heard of it before. But anyway, our current dog is a female chihuahua and she was spayed about 10 days before being 7 months old, so hopefully she'll be OK.
 
   / Adopting a new pup but..... #9  
The rescue groups have seen so many good animals put to sleep because of overcrowding that they don't want any of them going out unaltered to produce more unwanted animals. Depending on the size of your local shelter, the numbers of animals put to sleep could number in the hundreds or thousands annually. They probably don't know you personally, and they may be operating under policies that are set by the local government if they are a government shelter. If they are a private shelter, they may be more flexible.

Because of your own personal experience and research, it is apparent that you don't believe that altering this dog is in the dog's best interest. I say, go ahead and discuss your reasoning and research with them and see where it ends up. Be patient, but persistent, and see what happens. You would be asking them to make an exception to their general rule for this dog. If it's a government sponsored shelter, they may not be willing to make an exception.

If it becomes obvious that they will not make any exception, then the dog is either going to not be adopted (then what--does this shelter put animals to sleep if they are not adopted within a specific time frame) or he is going to be adopted by someone else who probably doesn't know what you have researched and is going to be altered per the policy of the shelter.

But if altering him at this time is out of the question for you, then there are other dogs who would love to live with you if only given the chance.
 
   / Adopting a new pup but..... #10  
The rescue groups have seen so many good animals put to sleep because of overcrowding that they don't want any of them going out unaltered to produce more unwanted animals. Depending on the size of your local shelter, the numbers of animals put to sleep could number in the hundreds or thousands annually. They probably don't know you personally, and they may be operating under policies that are set by the local government if they are a government shelter. If they are a private shelter, they may be more flexible.

Because of your own personal experience and research, it is apparent that you don't believe that altering this dog is in the dog's best interest. I say, go ahead and discuss your reasoning and research with them and see where it ends up. Be patient, but persistent, and see what happens. You would be asking them to make an exception to their general rule for this dog. If it's a government sponsored shelter, they may not be willing to make an exception.

If it becomes obvious that they will not make any exception, then the dog is either going to not be adopted (then what--does this shelter put animals to sleep if they are not adopted within a specific time frame) or he is going to be adopted by someone else who probably doesn't know what you have researched and is going to be altered per the policy of the shelter.

But if altering him at this time is out of the question for you, then there are other dogs who would love to live with you if only given the chance.
Excellent post. You summed it up very well.
I can certainly understand Alan L.'s hesitation, based on his experience, though. Losing a friend really hurts (we just did, 2 weeks ago), but when it is due to disease that strikes and takes them before their time, it is something you don't forget.
I wish you well with your decision.
 
 
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