How many spay or neuter their dogs?

A

A&J's Crew

New member
I was wondering how many people spay or neuter their dogs. I have two female English pointers that I am debating on fixing. I think it would be nice to not worry about my male lab when they go into heat.
 
I neuter my GSP's around 5 years old...mainly to avoid testicular cancer in the breed. I don't have females; therefore, I don't have puppy issues.
 
Im a firm believer in waiting and seeing. My trainer tried to give me a 4 month old brittany they nicknamed "Midge" because she was so small. I think he was hoping I'd take her and leave my female with him year round on the trial circuit. I couldn't swing it at the time and even free was too expensive. So I called my dad and asked him if he wanted a pup. He took her home at 5 months with the idea she was a field trial reject because she was too small and had too much orange on her. He had her fixed. Fast forward to last summer when he took her back to the trainer to become his hunting dog. Problem is Midge grew up and decided she liked to RUN, and RUN HUGE! Add in she is stunning looking on point and had no problem pointing pheasants at 30+ yards away at camp, and we all realized we made a HUGE mistake. The trainer for selling her to a hunting home, me for not taking her, and my dad for having her fixed. But we didn't know, and nobody honestly thought she would turn out to be the dog she is. She has the ability to easily be one of the best All Age Brittany's in the country, but she will most likely never run a single trial...... In other words, if you want to fix a dog by all means, do it. But I would wait until the dog matures to see what you have before you do it. I would KILL to have a pup out of my dads dog. And that's saying something considering me dog is no slouch and goes head to head with the best All Age brittanys in the country.
 
Ditto the "always." Their "dates" have always been cancelled.
 
I have with two out of my five GSP's done right now.
I have two more females that I will do this summer.
I normally wait until the dog is 4-5 years of age.
I think if a female is not going to be breed that it needs to be done.
 
I've Neutered 2 males, both because of health risks. Both dogs developed Prostatitis caused by a nasty infection. Nearly killed one of them.

Testicular cancer is certainly not a death sentence as I understand it and in most cases the tumor is usually localized to the affected testicle(s), which can easily be removed.
 
Both my female Brittanys a spayed. I'm a firm believer in leaving the breeding up to the experts. The people who know what they are doing and are breeding to enhance the breed. Not a fan of "backyard breeders".
 
Dakotazeb said:
Both my female Brittanys a spayed. I'm a firm believer in leaving the breeding up to the experts. The people who know what they are doing and are breeding to enhance the breed. Not a fan of "backyard breeders".
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In the Brittany world most dogs come from "backyard" breeders. We dont have "lines" like many of the breeds. Yes, there are many "breeders" in the Brit world, but most produce very few litters and are really no different then anyone else, especially when it comes to "field" dogs.... My dog came from a "backyard" breeder. So far, based on the results, it's probably one of the better litters produced in the last several years.
 
Always have, probably always will. I have no desire to take on the stresses and expenses of becoming a proper dog breeder, and I don't want any surprises! Plenty of great dogs out there being bred by responsible breeders. When the time comes for a new pup, the choices of great dogs are virtually endless.

Heck, after fathering two beautiful, healthy children, I'm thinking of having myself done...:eek: Like I said, I don't want any surprises...:D
 
jetjockey said:
In the Brittany world most dogs come from "backyard" breeders. We dont have "lines" like many of the breeds. Yes, there are many "breeders" in the Brit world, but most produce very few litters and are really no different then anyone else, especially when it comes to "field" dogs.... My dog came from a "backyard" breeder. So far, based on the results, it's probably one of the better litters produced in the last several years.
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I really can't agree with your statements about most Brittanys coming from "backyard breeders" and the fact that we don't have "lines" like many breeds. I've been studying lines of Brittanys for quite a few years and there are many good breeding lines of Britts out there.
 
It's America, we get to disagree. But there really are not many "lines" of dogs in the Brittany world. There are a lot of dogs who have been bred a lot like Nolan's Last Bullet, but as far as "lines" go, there are very few. Look at the Pointer world, now they have "lines" of breeding. Lines such as the Miller dogs. Dogs who have been line bred for a very specific purpose. We just don't have that in the Brittany world. Sure we have breeders, but 90% of them are people just like you and I who have a couple good titled dogs that they have bred. The few people who have tried to somewhat line breed to get certain traits in Brits get chastized if the dogs don't fit the standard to a tee. Buddy was a great dog and probably the most famous Brit, but you see very little Buddy blood in the AKC/AF trial world, and you see very little line breeding to him since he's not what the AKC/AF people are looking for in most dogs. "Lines" is a word that is thrown around a lot, but there are very few actual "lines" in the Brit world.
 
jetjockey said:
It's America, we get to disagree. But there really are not many "lines" of dogs in the Brittany world. There are a lot of dogs who have been bred a lot like Nolan's Last Bullet, but as far as "lines" go, there are very few. Look at the Pointer world, now they have "lines" of breeding. Lines such as the Miller dogs. Dogs who have been line bred for a very specific purpose. We just don't have that in the Brittany world. Sure we have breeders, but 90% of them are people just like you and I who have a couple good titled dogs that they have bred. The few people who have tried to somewhat line breed to get certain traits in Brits get chastized if the dogs don't fit the standard to a tee. Buddy was a great dog and probably the most famous Brit, but you see very little Buddy blood in the AKC/AF trial world, and you see very little line breeding to him since he's not what the AKC/AF people are looking for in most dogs. "Lines" is a word that is thrown around a lot, but there are very few actual "lines" in the Brit world.
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I would agree when you compare them to the English Pointers. But there are 2 breeds that just saturate the internet and they are Labs and GSP's. Lots of "backyard" breeders in that bunch. Now I"m not knocking the Labs and GSP's, just stating a fact based on teh number of pups for sale nationwide.

There have been some nice line breedings with some of the Brittanys like:
Bean's Blaze
Lobo's Cotton Candy
Renegade Kansas Kid
Cooper's Ozark Travler
Microdot
and many others like the Cast-A-Brit line

Nolan's Last Bullet made a name for himself and has produced some very good offspring. But Buddy was a quite small dog and like you said, not what AKC is looking for. I do see some of Buddy's line in the NSTRA trials.

So all this really means is that if you want a dog out of a certain line you have to do your homework. Whether it's a Brittany or any other breed. That's my issue with the "backyard breeders" They don't look at a dog's lines, hips and all the other important factors. They just say their dog is a good one and their buddy's dog is a good one and they are both AKC registered so, "Let's breed them!" That is why I advocate to leave the breeding to the people that really know what they are doing. It's the only way to better the breed.
 
I am not a breeder and never will be.

I will never alter a male again. Mine are both intact. If I get another female, I might have her spayed after 2-3 years of age, maybe. I haven't entirely made up my mind yet.

I get annoyed with the notion that "fixing" a dog is the "responsible" thing to do.
 
Dakotazeb said:
I would agree when you compare them to the English Pointers. But there are 2 breeds that just saturate the internet and they are Labs and GSP's. Lots of "backyard" breeders in that bunch. Now I"m not knocking the Labs and GSP's, just stating a fact based on teh number of pups for sale nationwide.

There have been some nice line breedings with some of the Brittanys like:
Bean's Blaze
Lobo's Cotton Candy
Renegade Kansas Kid
Cooper's Ozark Travler
Microdot
and many others like the Cast-A-Brit line

Nolan's Last Bullet made a name for himself and has produced some very good offspring. But Buddy was a quite small dog and like you said, not what AKC is looking for. I do see some of Buddy's line in the NSTRA trials.

So all this really means is that if you want a dog out of a certain line you have to do your homework. Whether it's a Brittany or any other breed. That's my issue with the "backyard breeders" They don't look at a dog's lines, hips and all the other important factors. They just say their dog is a good one and their buddy's dog is a good one and they are both AKC registered so, "Let's breed them!" That is why I advocate to leave the breeding to the people that really know what they are doing. It's the only way to better the breed.
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I don't think we are disagreeing that much. I completely agree with you when it comes to two guys with two dogs that don't offer anything to the breed. But if you "google" brittany breeders and then look at the ABC website, very few of those dogs from "breeders" show up anywhere in the Masked Man standings, or the Tri Tronica shooting dog standings, and especially in the Purina All Age standings. Those dogs typically don't come from "breeders"....... And you don't see Buddy blood in AKC not because of his size, but more because of run. Believe me when I tell you good things come in small packages.
 
GSP said:
I will never alter a male again.
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Never? I'm assuming you mean if no health risks are present or at risk. (See my post above).

I get annoyed with the notion that "fixing" a dog is the "responsible" thing to do.
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I tend to agree that neutering just for the sake of neutering is nonsense. If your going to go that route though then at least wait till the dog reaches 2 years of age and is fully developed. Accidental breeding's IMO are all about being responsible dog owners and that doesn't necessarily mean neutering or spaying.
 
jetjockey said:
Im a firm believer in waiting and seeing. My trainer tried to give me a 4 month old brittany they nicknamed "Midge" because she was so small. I think he was hoping I'd take her and leave my female with him year round on the trial circuit. I couldn't swing it at the time and even free was too expensive. So I called my dad and asked him if he wanted a pup. He took her home at 5 months with the idea she was a field trial reject because she was too small and had too much orange on her. He had her fixed. Fast forward to last summer when he took her back to the trainer to become his hunting dog. Problem is Midge grew up and decided she liked to RUN, and RUN HUGE! Add in she is stunning looking on point and had no problem pointing pheasants at 30+ yards away at camp, and we all realized we made a HUGE mistake. The trainer for selling her to a hunting home, me for not taking her, and my dad for having her fixed. But we didn't know, and nobody honestly thought she would turn out to be the dog she is. She has the ability to easily be one of the best All Age Brittany's in the country, but she will most likely never run a single trial...... In other words, if you want to fix a dog by all means, do it. But I would wait until the dog matures to see what you have before you do it. I would KILL to have a pup out of my dads dog. And that's saying something considering me dog is no slouch and goes head to head with the best All Age brittanys in the country.
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I believe I made the same mistake. My Lab Charlie is out of a Champion line from Ireland. I was young when I got her and didn't want to risk having a back yard litter with a random mut so I had her fixed. I had an idea of level of dog I was getting but really had no idea how great she was going to be. Now that Charlie is 5, I really wish that I would have the option to get a pup from her....
 
I've had all my dogs fixed.

The one female I had was after breeding her twice because I keep my dogs in the house and having some menstruating bitch in heat walking around the house isn't fun, and I'm not talking about the wife.

Got the two males fixed mostly because Momma and my two daughters couldn't take the dogs humping their legs or backs or whatever else they could rub that thing against. :eek:
 
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