neutering funding help/options?

Hi all been away of late around the forums but would like some help or advice. We are looking at getting Milo neutered and wondered if there were any schemes/reductions that were available to help with the finances. I can remember a thread here some weeks ago re vouchers but can't remember the details-sorry. I have called round several vets in our area including our own and the prices of course vary. I am pleased our actual small family run practice are the cheapest at £128 (Milo is a big boy and comes under the larger category!) We have alot of respect for this practice as they are very respectfull of you and your animals too. We have lots of friends and family use them even though they are quite out of area but only a 15 minute drive still. Anyway I am asking about funding as we have had a bad year and have been left in a very bad position financially and just can't do it with everything else but do wish to get our boy neutered before reaching full maturity. I wont go into details but my husband lost his business=mounting debts.....blahh blahh. Our other option we though of was to ask the practice if we could do installments is this possible do you think? I feel really embarrassed asking here let alone speaking to our vet who knows us and our animals fairly well, I don't really want to divulge our situation tbh Of course it's not essential and we could do nothing! x

Hi Caryll, I am ready to be shot down here as I will be contradictory because I confess I am confused! I read alot more about things than my husband on EVERYTHING why? I want to make the best decision...an informed one, yet I remain confused on this subject! We are a pro-natural as possible kind of family and try and treat our pets the same way, yet is unnatural to have a lone dog or have one NOT entire etc which makes our views clouded!

We have a beautiful, very well socialised and playfull boy who will be turning one soon. He can be persistent with playfullness with other dogs but if a dog politely but FIRMLY says 'no back off' he respects this which is good. His general training is going brilliantly and he can now almost walk past another dog at heel off of the lead which is great! He is quite 'nose down' and terrier like in that respect which our other staff. wasn't, our entire JRT was! And a roamer AND a dog with 'little dog syndrome' on occasions but not outwardly aggressive or anything. KNowing more about their psychology now I can ses it may have not been instigated from him at all but hey. Those 2 dogs were the very bestof friends too btw So we had the other staff aged 14 months previously from rescue who came already neutered he was a gent. in every way.

Our biggest concern for Milo is a) that he will be a 'challenge' dominance wise to other dogs as he will be entire (I think this happened recently with another staff of 18 months and that b) that his maturity may cause him to become dominant both possibly making him aggressive c) that his 'nose down chase the smell' terrier behavior will cause him to roam or not be under our full control. I know, I know we don't have it now but we are so working on it, we keep his attention etc almost all of the time including recall.

I suppose in answer to your original Q is that my thoughts were that if we did it before he became mature it would nip any possible (yes, yes, I hear you possible!) unwanted mature behaviour in the bud!

Help me make sense of myself and no-one shout silly moo at me please lol!

Welcome back

First of all, please don't feel embarassed to ask advice here. Alot of us, myself included, are feeling the pinch at the mo financially, and there's nothing shameful in that. And of course, none of us would expect you to tell us your personal situation.

Re the funding, I'm afraid I have no idea, but I hope someone is along soon to give you some positive news.

And about the neutering, I'm with Caryll in the 'not before maturity' camp, but it's a personal decision, and as we've seen on this board, everyone has their own ideas and opinions about if and when it should be done. Good luck

I am also in the if it ain't broke don't fix it camp,
Just another view,I have an entire male nearly 6 yrs old,he has never shown any dominant behaviour with other dogs,including other entire males,never been a nuisance when local bitches have been in heat,his recall is excellent.

Alot of the behaviour problems we tend to hear about is through lack of training and neutering is not always the answer.

thanks girls Caryll I never said it was 'essential' lol!! Please preach and advice the confused! Like I say we'd rather not interfere with nature but not to the *possible detriment of him and unfourtunately the pros and cons go both ways. IF we left it until after maturity (he has recently begun cocking his leg 1/2 heartedly but consistently) he is also becoming very interested in girls and their girly bits he's also filling out we've noticed. He was born around last x-mas new year time as when we got him at 4 months the vet aged him at 16 weeks due to onlyhaving lost 2 front upper puppy teeth. He does seem on the large for an sbt but they do seem to vary and who knows if he is full sbt with an unknown history.

Correct me if I'm wrong but would there be any benefits other than he'd be fertile and able to father some pups (which we are dead against btw) to neutering him when he is fully mature, I'm not getting why neutering after then would be beneficial behaviour wise but I assume stopping unwanted breeding and health probs are a big plus x

I am another with Caryll and I would never neuter a dog until he was fully mature, i however choose not to neuter at all. Have a look at this link it gives the pros and cons of neutering.

http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/longtermhealtheffectsofspayneuterindogs.pdf

sorry i just liked the wee cartoon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UlcnaDOj1Hc

i think the dogs trust help with neutering in some areas if you are on benifits

I have re-read quite a bit of stuff on this subject lately and admittedly been disturbed by the very young neutering going on and I don't think it's right and believe it does damage their psychy iykwim? But that said it's not a recipe for disaster all dogs.

After reading these posts and the link from ella (thanks for that) I am stearing back to the 'back off' corner!

What I am mainly worried about I know is other dogs and the small potential of a fight breaking out, but that's just what I say it is...small! The health benefits are real but again the tiny % does not cause me concern and make me feel it necessary - there are risks to neutering after all! Unwanted pregnancies caused - highly, highly unlikely, I'd say he's got more chance of getting testicular cancer! And to his credit he is (like I said before) very well socialised and has doggy respect/etiquete lol! Some areas we walk in are very used alot by dog walkers and there is lots of space to play. Just last saturday he played together with a puppy husky and her older husky friend, a boxer and a boxer cross bbrilliantly. The boxer looked like it was crossed with a mastiff (had a huge apple head with a big boxer coloured body) and when I saw it charging over I thought omfg! then I saw it's huge balls and though OMFG even more lol!! I wasn't judgmental on the breed just it's sheer size and the potential damage he can inflict, clearly I don't panic and actively encourage him to meet, greet and play I always have done. I feel because Milo is so friendly and submissive he wouldn't protect himself, we've had 2 incidents where he hasn't he's pooped himself and run! I also have seen first hand how quickly a dog can change in a second and just how much a dog can damage with just one bite - it was a staff too

Sorry for waffle and thanks for your reassurance although not direct

Sorry forgot to say we are not in receipt of any benefits no and my hubby is now working 4 days a week but we have a big hole to dig out of. Made me realise how people's circumstances can change and their pets get caught up in it all. Milo's thankfully healthy touch wood but when people are forced into situations beyond their control and can't do the vets bills etc they are crititcised and told that they should not have their pet if they can't afford it etc

im pro nutering when fully mature as my dog was 18 i thought he was
controled good recall never bothered with bitches so i thought
he was fine but he was 18 and half when vet diagnosed cancer
i lost him within 6 months so once mature i advocate castration.
PDSA have waiting list for people on benefit friend of mine waited 4 months but only paid £30 rather than £120

I have an intact male and haven't had any issues. He loves playing with other poeple and dogs of all sorts. I do watch him carefully though as he doesn't go submissive if he is challenged. If you learn your dog's body language you will have more confidence. I have had both fixed and natural boys and can assure you that I don't buy the fact that fixing a dog solves the problems. My most aggressive dog that also had humping issues was indeed fixed but it didn't fix the problem. Sorry to hear you are struggling a bit. This economy is frightful! I hope next year is better. Despite everything else, I really believe having pets lifts the spirits when things are tough. They always love us the same, even if they get fewer extras.

When i decided to take my two as pups i was told by the vet and other people to get them neutered at about 6 months. I wish i hadn't now as i think they were still babies and should have been allowed to grow up first. My vet allows you to pay into an account which saves up for your vet bills but i suppose they would expect you to have enough saved before the op.

Hi Minty, thanks for your reply. I am really sorry to hear about your beloved dog, how awfull, however what an amazing age to get to.

We too lost our old boy He was almost 13 when he was diagnosed with a bladder tumour. We looked after him at home in nappies as he became incontinent. He went within months too I had not long had my 3rd child and had 3 in nappies in the house!

You aren't going to like this I think, but as I've been reading around this subject again I have come across research indicating that neutering increases prostate and bladder cancers quite considerably. Another plus for me not going ahead having seen what it did to our beautiful old gent. it took us both 2 1/2 years to make the big decision of getting another dog after losing him, it was the most awful thing I've ever experienced with any of my/our animals.

I hope my post doesn't cause you any upset bringing back bad memories x

THeres been some great discussion going on here, been really interesting reading on a saturday afternoon!

i was going to suggest PDSA too! My vets do a monthly payment thing where you get money off neutering, keenel cough vax and it covers the cost of ur boosters, but they also allow you to spread the cost of other treatments.

Buddy has settled down after his op, he still gets worked up but he calms down quicker, but i do know that part of that is to do with him listening to me more!

He was really bad for leg humping, which (touch wood) he hasn't done since! On a couple of occasions tho hes put his legs around my mates leg like he going to hump, but then stops and looks around as if to say " i've got no idea what i was gonna do there....." and just wonders off to get a toy! Its hilarous!

But i think its a completely personal opinion!

If you are living on a low income the dogs trust do a scheme.

dogs trust scheme


Personally i think if you are not going to breed neutering is the responsible thing to do. It means no unwanted puppies if your dog gets loose (which he will try his darnedest to if he smells a bitch in heat) and also he is less of a target for thieves wishing to fight and breed staffs.

Hi all thanks so much for tking the time to reply We are not in receipt of benefits just child tax credits.

Caryll, re link, I've seen before and re read recently and it disturbs me, some pups are neutered ridiculously young, it seems insane to me. The only, ONLY benefit I can think of is the certainty of an animal getting the op. as in taking the responsibility from a new owner as they themselves may prove to be irrisponsible on the back yard breeding front sort of thing. But in mho this still isn't justified at such a young age-not sure of the answer though!

Can someone clarify for me...our dog is getting to that age and entering his teenage years I guess, he has humped the children recently but only momentarily he has begun cocking his leg and peeing little and often marking (not a problem to us) he seems so intent on smells now and following his nose, he's very interested in girls' dog bits and to some degree boys' willies too! He's also really begun 'filling out'.

Is he becoming mature at almost 1 year? When will he be deemed mature-when his head 'splits' or what? In your opinion everyone will neutering help curb this behavior. The behavior I mean is the permenant sniffing the ground and pee spots and leg humping, clearly the latter is a rarety is there a chance it will remain that way or will the children become a target?!

Here he is at 9 months which was 6 weeks ago and he's already filled out more especially accross the chest

He is a stunning looking boy! He is turning out nicely!

Thankyou he is a well exercised, fed and cared for boy who is of course much loved by all of us! Can you believe he was found stray and subsequently picked up by the dog warden (and left unclaimed) in the very woods these pics. were taken....opposite out house btw....fate or what? It was meant to be *gush

Thankyou Janey

the post was meant to read *our house not *out house!!

janey wrote:

Now there's me thinking you live in a shed! Xx

cheaper option though lol!

Sniffing constantly, scent marking etc, I don't think neutering will have much effect. I could be wrong, but I think that is all part of having a male dog, neutered or not. As you say, it's not a problem, so I wouldn't worry about it. As for the humping, training will stop that, not neutering. Just make him understand that it's unacceptable each and every time he tries it, he'll get the message soon enough. My boy is 11 months old and has recently 'filled out'. His head looks huge now and he is very broad and muscly across the chest. they all develop at their own pace though and it all evens out in the end

shontelle wrote:Sniffing constantly, scent marking etc, I don't think neutering will have much effect. I could be wrong, but I think that is all part of having a male dog, neutered or not. As you say, it's not a problem, so I wouldn't worry about it. As for the humping, training will stop that, not neutering. Just make him understand that it's unacceptable each and every time he tries it, he'll get the message soon enough. My boy is 11 months old and has recently 'filled out'. His head looks huge now and he is very broad and muscly across the chest. they all develop at their own pace though and it all evens out in the end

Agree with this,

We had a neutered rescue dog (springer) and because he was neutered early he was a target for all entire males to hump him,even though he was castrated he still scent marked and he also showed aggression towards other dogs.
He used to constantly pick fights between my two staffords,Tyler my entire male wasn't too bothered by it but my girl stood her ground and we had numerous spats between the two of them,now you wouldn't have a thought an entire bitch of 6 months and a castrated male would fight,but they did.

Tyler was around 18 months to two yrs when he was fully mature.

I got Saxon neutered at 6 months at a clinic for 'pit bull type dogs' for only $110. He got all of his shots, as well. He is a great dog and has suffered no ill effects from being neutered at that age.