Survey On Castration And Spaying

[wolf63]

Pete Wedderburn (aka Pete the Vet) is a vet based in Bray (I think that is near Dublin). He has a Q&A column in the Telegraph and is also on TV AM in Ireland each week.

He is forever trying to get across to people the importance of neutering pets. He has created a small survey about spaying - I will post a link to this survey below. If you are interested in contributing to his research the survey will take only a few minutes.

Thanks

http://www.petethevet.com/wp/30-seconds-please-help-us-completing-spayaware-survey-attitudes-spayneuter/

[Prudie]

I've done it wolf although it does seem to be only about ireland.

[Baldric]

Done,

(as indeed they have been ;o)

[TWR]

I don't known about Castration with pets, some of these dirty b@sds who mess about with children need this treatment.

[wolf63]

Prudie - it gives the option of 'outside Ireland' after the huge list of Irish counties. :-)

[kvalidir]

Done.

[boxtops]

done

[janbee]

I'd like to see castration applied to certain human beings though.

[ladybirder]

Done. I thought it was Bray in Berkshire, didn't know there was one near Dublin. Good, learnt something new today.

[woofgang]

done, although I am not in favour of blanket neutering.

[catswhiskas]

Done the survey, hope it helps

[wolf63]

Thanks folks.

[dave50]

Pity they cant neuter a few people while they are at it.

[lankeela]

I have just been writing out a contract for my latest puppy to go to his new home and one of the items was to not let your vet railroad you into booking in for spaying or castrating your puppy when you take it for vaccinations/health check. If the owner chooses to (preferably after at least one year old) then I would hope they would come to me for advice. Responsible owners should be able to decide for themselves whether their dog should undergo such invasive treatment especially at an early age, but I hear all too often of vets who try to frighten owners into having it done far too young.

[woofgang]

oh well said Lankeela! In places where there are populations of street dogs then catch neuter release is a good option, as it is for feral cats. Its not the only (or even always the best) option for responsible owners...and if owners are not going to be responsible then they shouldn't have the dog.

[anneasquith]

unless a cat/dog is to be bred I think it's unkind not to neuter them.

[wolf63]

I know more about cats than dogs. The majority of cats are moggies and, personally, I can't see any reasons not to neuter them, as my old vet used to say "Cats breed like Rabbits".

I know that there is no shortage of unwanted dogs in the dog shelters. Whether they are older, rejected dogs or pups I don't know.

Pedigree animals are different - but no more special than their non-pedigree brethren. If an owner might, at a later date, want to breed from their dog they should stand their ground at the vets.

People who fail to neuter their non-pedigree animals should be educated as to the pros and cons of neutering. I would hate to see anybody being forced to have their new friend neutered.

I think that there are problems with puppy farming etc in Southern Ireland as many of their laws are slightly different to ours.

My two moronic moggies are from a feral litter. They were found by the Cats Protection - I would love to know the full story but such is life.

[lankeela]

Why?

[lankeela]

For those calling for dog licensing to be brought back I would just point out that Ireland does indeed require dogs to be licensed! Hasn't stopped the problems of stray dogs or dog attacks has it?

[kvalidir]

It' very harmful to spay or neuter giant breeds early, it should be left until the are sexually mature and have finished growing if you must do it- 3 years old is optimal, as if you spay or neuter early their reproductive hormones which are the trigger for the slowing and ceasing of growth don't come into play properly and you get big tall whippety animals with dodgy joints. There are quite a few contraindications for giant breeds including unnecessary general anaesthesia, tripled risk of bone cancer, causes incontinence in about 25% of ladies who are spayed and so on. Personally we don't spay or neuter having weighed up the pros and cons and we've never had an unplanned pregnancy.

[woofgang]

why is it unkind anneasquith? I am asking about dogs because I know more about dogs.