I am seriously thinking about not neutering my dog

[hatredisnotavalue]

I am a huge advocate of spaying and neutering animals. We live up the street from the animal shelter and you can't believe the number of animals that people throw out of their cars near the shelter, so they don't have to pay the $5 fee to place them in the shelter. We have had an incredible number of cats come to us because of this, we either take them in or place them in homes.Our neighbors so the same.

Our old dog died in April, one of the greatest dogs ever. We shopped around for a replacement and got this little seven-week Golden Retriever from a breeder nearby. The little guy was housetrained in a day, he only had two mistakes. He now isn't even seven months old and has a vocabulary of at least 30 words. He can hi-5, beg, knows the name of every family member and can do every trick in the book. Today we taught him to put his toys away in his toy box, which he did. He has never been tied up outside, we have 50 acres, and he has never run away.

Should I breed him for animals that assist the handicapped? His vet said he is very bright and he would be a great breeder. The dog is truly brilliant. He can learn a trick in about five minutes.

sorry, spelling error

[Lorien]

1. As long as you're certain you can control him

and that he won't get loose at any time to breed with one of the animals that's been dumped at the shelter. A friend of mine is raising a lab puppy for the blind, and she says their programs really need more dogs. Not all puppies are suitable, of course, so you'll have to find an equally bright and well behaved bitch, which may be a bit of a search.

[hatredisnotavalue]

10. Actually my friend just got a white golden

who is equally bright, and she asked me if my little guy would be available. This breeding business goes against everything i feel for the state of domestic animals, I am a HUGE avocate of fixing the animals, but yet, my little guy is just so darn smart
Here is a pic of him playing with our other "dog" Izzy:

[Left Is Write]

12. Oh, pleeeeeeeeeease don't show me pictures like that.

It will make me want to run right out and get a dog. And a cat.

[hatredisnotavalue]

16. Isn't he just too darn cute!

He and that cat are together 24/7. They have now started the greatest game. Izzy, the cat, hides in a left over box from Christmas, and the dog shuts the lid to it and puts a shoe against the lid. The cat then cries and the dog removes the shoe and rescues her. They do this over and over and it is just a riot.

[Ladyhawk]

32. That is too cute. It must be nice to have pets that get along.

My two birds hate each other.

[Ladyhawk]

18. That's my favorite color of Golden, too. Sigh.

Have you read Watchers by Dean Koontz? I'm not a big Koontz fan, but Watchers is one of my favorite books. It features a genetically-engineered Golden retriever who is as smart as a human being. It's definitely Koontz's best (at least of the books I've read). I saw part of the movie and said, "This is supposed to be Watchers?" Man, it doesn't follow the book at all!

[hatredisnotavalue]

20. Yes, I did indeed read the book

And you are so right, I have never had a dog, and I have had many, that were this bright. It is very creepy. Today, I told him to get a cookie from Daddy, my husband, and he put the two words together and went upstairs to find my husband and then barked continually until my husband gave him the cookie. It was almost like he was teaching my husband to give him the cookie, so weird.

and yes, the movie was terrible...:)

[Ladyhawk]

31. The book was very good, though.

I read it every year or so. For some reason, Koontz was really good at capturing the soul of a dog. I even felt sorry for the Outsider.

[smbolisnch]

2. No.

Unless there is a need for handicap trained dogs nearby, I say neuter him. Don't most reputable breeders these days make you sign a spay/neuter contract when you adopt the dog? I am not attacking you, but you seem like you know enough about the overopulation of domestic pets that i don't need to tell you.

Like I said before, if there were some specific need, then it would be something to then only carefully consider, and even then.... I am sure there are plenty of people here that will offer advice, but I say neuter him. It is much better for his health an well being and there is always a chance that he will wander off and then someone will have a litter of puppies on their hands that will just end up at that shelter, or given away to people who will irresponsibly breed them.

My two cents! Good luck!

[Mr.Green93]

3. Sounds like a special dog.

We did not neuter our dog until he was ten. So wait and see.

[jody]

4. "advocate of spaying and neutering animals" including humans? n/t

[crispini]

5. Maybe you should contact animal training programs

and ask them? They would be able to tell you if he is the right breed and if there is a need, right?

[hatredisnotavalue]

6. excellent idea...thanks n/t

[Ladyhawk]

14. Goldens = the right breed for a lot of things...but the need?

If you could breed him with an intelligent bitch, a service dog training center might be interested. Of course, they may get their dogs from the humane society.

I believe people should spay and neuter their pets, but I see what you mean. I'd be tempted, too, were I in your shoes. And I'd love to have a puppy from that mating. :)

LH

[Vanje]

7. If you can absolutely keep him from unwanted breedings

then wait and see.
Dont plan on breeding your good boy until he's mature enough that you're sure that he is as physically sound as he is mentally sound.

As for myself, I have neutered and spayed my 5 canine geniuses because it just makes life MUCH easier.

[hatredisnotavalue]

8. I am almost 50

And I have had a ton of dogs in my life and never thought twice about having them neutered. This little guy is so different, I feel that I would be taking away from others if I had him fixed. He is that special a dog.

[bambo53]

11. Is it possible to reverse it?

It's too bad you can't have a valve installed for if you change your mind.
I was thinking about that last night about my teenage sons.

[hatredisnotavalue]

17. Oyvay

Mother of 16 year old son and 17 year old daughter. Both good kids, but....

[spotbird]

9. He'll live longer.

My dog got fixed when he fell in love with furniture and human legs. It was disgusting, he was still a puppy

[hatredisnotavalue]

13. But is that true?

Or is neutering something that the vets dreamed up to make more money? I honestly don't know. Are dogs happier being fixed?

[Ladyhawk]

15. Chemical castration? It reverses when you stop the meds.

I've only heard about it for human sex offenders, though. It must have been tested on animals, first.

[hatredisnotavalue]

19. WOW what a great idea n/t

[spotbird]

28. In Europe they castrated criminals for a while earlier in the century.

Don't remember the details, but there was a story on NPR that the castrated men lives something like 15 years longer than normal men. Testosterone reduces immunity is one theory.

But is true for dogs also.

[Dastard Stepchild]

21. Well, there has been a bigger push to use shelter pups as service dogs..

So, conceivably, breeding service pups could reduce the number of shelter pups rescued to serve as service dogs.

[hatredisnotavalue]

24. I totally agree

But shelter dogs are shelter dogs. The greatest dog in the world, my old Buffett, was a seriouly abused dog.



We got him when he was about 11-mos old. We had him for 14 years, but the dog had serious issues. He was deathly afraid of men, lightening, brooms, vacuums, newspapers, water, aerosol cans, (I can't thing of anything he wasn't afriad of) he was just a really neurotic dog. He was a great, wonderful dog, but not one I would give to a blind person. My new little guy is just the kind I would.

[HuskiesHowls]

22. Unless you know a lot about his genetics

you'd be better off not breeding him. If you know what possible physical complications are likely to show up, and are prepared to deal with those, then you may be alright.

Probably the best thing you can do is talk to the breeder. THey should be able to give you some good guidance on this.

[hatredisnotavalue]

25. I do know that he is AKC

And I have seen his dad and mom, which are incredibly beautiful AKC dogs.

[HuskiesHowls]

30. AKC is just a registry

it isn't a guarantee of any kind. I've seen some beautiful AKC dogs that had major health problems.

I'm not a breeder myself, but I did a lot of talking with breeders before I got my dogs. That, and doing a lot of research helped me make the decision not to try breeding dogs myself. I did get the pick of the litter each time, so I did get beautiful dogs!!



All three of them, the breeder really thought about keeping, but decided against it.

[miss_kitty]

23. Please, let a qualified vet do it

home neutering can be so messy! :D

[hunter]

26. Sadly, there is no shortage of brilliant dogs.

We got our own brilliant dog at the SPCA.

[hatredisnotavalue]

27. You're right

I will have him fixed. I was just so enamored with his guy I guess I just got carried away. :(

[Vanje]

29. Hey! One last idea!

Freeze and store some of his semen before getting him fixed.

[Ladyhawk]

33. If I were in your shoes, I'd think it over...

...and I'm an advocate of spaying and neutering and adopting from shelters. *shrug* It's just I've never heard of a dog this smart. I've seen a lot of smart dogs, but yours does sound extra-special. I'm sure the decision you reach will be the right one, of course.

If I ever get a dog or a cat, it will be a very young one from a shelter. There are too many unwanted pets. Locally, we have a feral cat problem. The humane society won't take them away. I suggested a fund-raiser to get them all spayed and neutered, but even that was shot down.

Lately, I've noticed there has been a decline in the cat population. Either someone is getting rid of them locally or the humane society finally decided to come get them. Few will be suitable for homes and will be euthanized immediately. :(

I get so angry with people who don't spay and neuter. Sometimes I wonder if breeders should still breed when so many unwanted animals end up in shelters. :shrug: It's hard, though, when you really want a certain breed because of breed characteristics. Goldens are at the top of my list, along with border collies and Aussie shepherds. Border collies and Aussie shepherds are probably too hyper for the likes of me, though.