Dog Contraception

[Cindy]

Have you heard about this? http://inthecapital.streetwise.co/2014/ ... 2014_11_25

It's been all over our news since the award went to some students at the University of Virginia.

[adele]

Well, I'd wait to see what the side effects are before buying in. Years ago when I was a girl "they" came up with some pill that prevented females from going into heat - the vet recommended it to us rather than an early spaying... our dog got very sick with an infection in her uterus and nearly died from it, the same thing happened to another dog who wasn't as lucky and died. That's not to say this won't be great... could be much easier on the boys.

Haven't "they" have always sold people on fixing their males by saying that neutering also comes with behavioral changes. Is that true? It does seem to me that my friends with intact males seem to have a harder time.

[janet909]

I personally believe that there are benefits to a male dog being neutered that these dogs with the injection wouldn't have. I remember when Moby formed a tumor on his anus. I was worried sick but the vet said that they are benign 95% of the time in neutered dogs. His was benign. If neutering prevented a malignancy in this growth of cancer, it was well worth it. I also think that having a sterile dog who is un-neutered would bring a lot of the common hormonal issues that intact dogs frequently have. I've NEVER had an intact male though so I don't pretend to be an expert !!!!