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Fixing Your Dog

7K views 50 replies 36 participants last post by  twentythreeskeet 
#1 ·
I personally think fixing dogs isn't good for their hunting. It is proposed by vets that it will make them lazier, less aggressive and less willing. I think you shouldn't do this if you have a good hunting dog because it will maybe make it less willing to get ducks or make it less tough so it won't do stuff it used to do like swim farther for a duck or break through ice. Let them have their balls and male dogs will do amazing hunting. Also if you fix them they have a tendency to become fatter.

What do you all think about this ?
 
#3 ·
An ex coworker bought a Vizsla puppy to train for bird hunting. He took the pup to a vet to have neutered and a day after the surgery the dog died. They said it was a reaction to the anesthesia. I would not put myself, family, or pet through any unnessary surgery. I realize there are circumstances where folks chose to have their pets fixed, but some basic precautions and pet care can eliminate a lot of those reasons.
 
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#4 ·
I had to have a female wire hair spayed for health reasons. It worked so well I had the next wire hair spayed & my present lab was spayed at 6 months. All three of these dogs were/are great gundogs, that never got fat & had big motors. I'll do the same to the next one, eliminates a lot of problems.
 
#5 ·
I have a black lab that had a rupture of some kind show up behind his ball sack, kinda in the taint area. Ended up costing him his manhood. He was already as good as a lab that you could ask for in the hunting department. He was coming 3 years old when it happened and will be 7 next month. I live in the country on our ranch and this dog goes with me everywhere and is not penned or chained up at any time and gets lots of exercise and has not gotten fat ,so the weight factor would be hard figure in on him. As far as hunting he still has the heart and durability as he did before losing his nurtz.
 
#6 ·
The procedure in and of itself has zero effect on a dog's desire or ability to hunt. That's another one of those old-timers' beliefs that has no basis in reality.

My late father, God rest his soul, believed that a bird dog that spent any significant time in the house would be ruined forever. He got that from his own father, and on up the chain.

Pops was right about a lot of things, but not that one.
 
#33 ·
I finally after 6 years let my vet talk me into spaying my lab. On the same diet she's been on for years she started gaining weight. Never will I do that again.
Funny thing, my parents,a nd all my uncles and aunts, on the same diet, started gaining weigh in their middle aged years. That's what happens when people and animals get old, things like metabolism start to slow down.
 
#9 ·
My best ever hunting dog, a big headed lionheart of a lab was fixed at 2 years. Didnt affect him at all weght or hunting wise. It kept me from getting a pup from his lineage, which I regret.
My current dog, A female black lab was fixed at 6 months and immediately became urinary incontinent . Cant hold her pee. After some research I have found that her problem possibly could have been avoided by waiting on the spaying. Now its medicine for life but at least the pills work.

Bill
 
#10 ·
Females spayed if you don't intend to raise some pups. If you plan of having some pups then wait. Males don't think most benefit from it. Just my opinion.

But females tend to live a little longer according to my vet in-laws. I had a 12 yr. old Akita female that got really sick with uterus cancer/tumor and infection. Nearly died and she was miserable for weeks. Vet said it happens as they get old and can be avoided if they are spayed. It cost a lot of money to get her spayed and back on her feet. But she lived another 2 years of happy giant Akita and I was happy to have her alive for those 2 years.

I'd have the females spayed after this terrible experience, but that's just my opinion.
 
#15 ·
All my current dogs (male and female) are 'fixed'. None has any fat on them. If you watch what you feed them and exercise them appropriately there's no reason for them to gain weight. I can't speak so much to their hunting willingness or ability but, given by how my GSP points and brings me rabbits, I suspect it won't make much change to your dog.
 
#16 ·
I only get male dogs and have had a couple of them castrated due to swollen prostate glands. I couldn't tell any difference in their energy level or hunting interest. I probably will have this new black lab dog that I adopted cut because he is of unknown breeding and wouldn't be useful at stud. Not a big deal either way but more importantly, a dog's health and energy drive depend on how his owner takes care of him and how much work he gets - not really a gonad thing.
 
#17 ·
The best bird dog I ever had was a spayed female. Vets say spaying greatly reduces the chance of breast cancer. I never had a male neutered;never saw any reason to do so but I have ALWAYS spayed my female dogs and NONE of them got fat or lazy. My current bird dog is a Hell on wheels female pointer who looks and acts the part of a true champion bird dog but she still is not as good as the best one I ever had....I'm beginning to think that its true that a man is only allowed one really great hunting dog but I have loved them all.
 
#19 ·
If he has an aggression problem shoot a few volts to him. Calms them right down
Truly horrible advice here. Absolutely off-the-charts bad.

Electronic collars are communication tools used to enforce commands that are known to the dog. They are NOT an automatic cure for undesirable behavior. Many, many potentially excellent dogs have been completely ruined via the misuse of e-collars.

Anybody considering following Turkinator's advice should take a screen shot of post No. 17. Show it to any reputable trainer and ask his/her opinion of it. I'll almost guarantee that, upon reading it, the first thing the trainer will do is shake their head in disgust.
 
#20 ·
+1 on the ill advised use of Edison medicine. The shock is only of value when the dog knows what they are doing at the time of the shock and then just a tone followed by a minor nick will do the trick. After the first nick the tone function alone works just fine. Its not a remote control for your dog but a lot of guys use them that way and end up with a dog that won't hunt. The cure for aggression is to assert your dominance and get physical control of the animal.
 
#21 ·
I agree with some of the responses about fixing female dogs for fear of unwanted pups but nothing justifies unnecessarily castrating male dogs.

Also, spaying a perfect hunting dog puts you at a disadvantage if you ever want to reproduce other great dogs with the same genes; like cementman mentioned.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#22 ·
I agree with some of the responses about fixing female dogs for fear of unwanted pups but nothing justifies unnecessarily castrating male dogs.
Really? How about the possibility of that male dog siring unwanted pups for somebody's else's prized female? Or is that somebody else's problem? If the dog is not going to be bred – and only the best of the best should be bred – there's no issue with getting a male fixed.

Also, spaying a perfect hunting dog puts you at a disadvantage if you ever want to reproduce other great dogs with the same genes; like cementman mentioned.
There are superior breeding lines all over this country that have gone on continuously for more than 100 years. If you know a dog's ancestry, it's usually not difficult at all to tap into it again via a professional breeder who knows what they're doing when they put two dogs together to produce a litter.
 
#23 ·
I've had 2 Yellow labs and mainly duck hunt them,Sadie was my first lab, I had her put down when she 15 years 6 months old, she hunted until she was 12.5, still had the heart but her body was wore down,my last Yellow lab Shelby is 4.5 years old and a hunting machine, loves to fetch up the ducks , I never had either one fixed, they were kenneled dogs there whole life, out in the evenings and working with them, they were always alittle on the hyper side but Great hunters, I just never wanted to spade them , just have to keep a good eye what other dogs are around when there in heat......
 
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#27 ·
I personally won't get my dogs fixed before they are two years old they need the hormones to build muscles and to mentally mature.
As for the so call professionals that's load of crap their the reason the American Lab is so messed up they breed dogs on field trials and hunt tests. Most these dog are force broke to do their job. Rather than a dog that does it on pure natural ability. Labs come in three colors Black Chocolate and Yellow not Sliver and they don't point they flush take those cross breed mutts and get them fixed and throw those so called AKC papers in the trash.
 
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