Neutering

[Quercus]

Personally, I don't think dogs notice whether dogs have testicles or not. They may be able to *smell whether or not a dog still has his or her reproductive organs, but visually, I doubt it matters at all to them.

[Andrew]

@mauigirl:

Riley got neutered recently (I forgot to mention it, haha) and all the guys (40+) at the office joked that he's no longer a boy…..They said I'd have to give him a new name.

I think this product might tie into some men having a difficult time with the idea of castrating their dog....which is something I have tuned into on several occasions. And it comes down to gender and...parts really. I don't want to generalize or make a blanket statement because I hate it when people do that, but, for me, my womanhood is not tied to my reproductive organs and I make sense of that by recognizing that at this time in my life I have zero maternal instincts. So to me a female dog being spayed does not mean that she's no longer a female dog. But to some women maybe the ability to have children is very central to what it means to be female. I concede that having one's breasts removed would be a different story...as far as womanhood goes. No one can tell that you don't have ovaries.

Trying to pinpoint the difference:
Do you think that reproductive organs are central to a woman's understanding of her own gender apart from them equaling the ability to have children and be a mother?
And, are having testicles central to a man's gender identity beyond them equalling the ability to reproduce?

I don't think the guys at work were bemoaning Riley's inability to have puppies. I think it's a case of projecting....imagining that the boy dog has the same attachment to...them....as the human male does.

I really hope that wasn't incendiary....interested in what you all think.

Andrew says this is exactly what he expected from you. His response is "I like my balls; that's the reason Booger isn't neutered." BTW, I've edited his response & he says he's going to edit it to what he really wanted to say once I leave the house so warning to all….

I do think his response is a typical testosterone-laden male response as are the responses from the guys at the office. I think its an issue of being insecure with your own masculinity as a male.

No offense to all you males

[snorky998]

Hey Dom!! Good to hear from you on these forums. I missed your input.

What you decide is totally up to you. My ppov question would be…What are the long term effects. Have these been around long enough to have any long term study?

I guess I remember those first (and some consequent) breast implants that leaked and caused some toxic side effects. I am for sure mixing apples with oranges as I have no idea what the Neuticles are made of.

{Mauigirl, we'll have to agree to disagree on your statement posted...". I concede that having one's breasts removed would be a different story.." IMHO, my breasts don't define me as a woman. With them or without them, I'm just as much a female as the next woman. I may have had them, enjoyed them sexually, nursed from them to help raise a formidable young woman, and lost them to the most common of reasons, cancer. But they never defined who I was, or am. A wife, a mother, a woman. My own woman. Mauigirl, no 'dis' intended. I just wanted to add my perspective to the mix. Dawn.}

[mauigirl]

Snorky:

I'm SO sorry I didn't phrase that very well at all. I don't believe that you have to have breasts to be a woman. I know it sounds like that's what I said.
I was thinking about the experiences of women who have their breasts removed versus the experiences of women who have a hysterectomy. The former have the option to get breast implants and many of them do. I was just pointing to that difference with the "different story".

Liz's mom past away from metastatised breast cancer a year and a half ago. Liz has worked with many cancer patients as a volunteer for many years and she found that many of them had mental anguish following a mastectomy. I'm happy for you that you are so self-actualized as to feel that what makes you a woman is what's on the inside. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[Kananga]

Yea, I'm on the fence with having my B neutered. His 1-year bday will be in March. It's either going to happen when he's 1 or never. Honestly he hasn't developed any bad habits (marking territory, humping, etc). He's very well behaved. I don't leave him off-leash anywhere and if he's at a dog park, I still keep him near me. I just don't see a strong reason to do so when he's an only dog and in good shape. I fully understand the risks with leaving him intact (pet population) but he's not an outdoor off-leash dog and shows very little interest in female dogs. I think it greatly depends on the dog and the environment. I don't believe all dogs should be neutered. But, that could all change with my B if he has issues. So far though he hasn't given me any reason to neuter him.

[lvoss]

Most male basenjis show minimal interest in girls except during rut. During rut, whether you have a female or not basenji males can have a dramatic change in behavior.

[bellabasenji]

Why are you considering this… only to keep him looking "male"...?

I don't understand it. I don't understand your position, besides... we are NOT talking castration here!!! I personally think a male dog is just as cute neutered as un-neutered. And I hope I don't offend anyone here, but sometimes IMO they actually look cuter… I sure as heck don't think my Bella girl would be any less impressed if a handsome male Basenji did not have his gonads!;)

In closing, I would like to comment that to most "non-dog-type" people... well they wouldn't even notice they are missing. And most dog lovers, breeders, and "dog-type" people would still know you have a male because of the look of the dog is bigger and blockier. In other words... testicles or not… your dog will still look male to those of us that matter!!!

[JazzysMom]

Personally,I think they're cuter "without". LOL I think they look a little silly "with", but then I never have quite gotten the appeal of Playgirl mags, etc. because I think nude men look a little silly, ha ha {No need to tell the hubby that}.

The dogs don't care one way or another -their egos aren't tied up in their genitals! They just want a cookie!

Bellabasenji - I think the dog will still look male to anyone looking - he will still, after all, have a penis! And on these short haired dogs, it's still pretty visible.

ha ha what a conversation!

[ComicDom1]

@Quercus:

Absolutely no offense intended, but why bother?

No offense taken, in the same light as the question you asked, I ask why not?

It appears there has been some really good discussion based on even considering our possibility of having this done. Most likely we will not, but this is something we investigated just so we would know about the option.

I do beg to differ in reference to whether a dog knows or reacts to being neutered. Since we do not talk dog, we really do not have any way of knowing and all we can do is speculate and assume. We have absolutely no idea how this type of surgery impacts an animal psychologically. We only really know how it impacts us as owners and observers.

I certainly would be interested in reading any studies that have been done as far as neutered animal pack and social behaviors once the have the surgery and are introduced back into the pack.

Personally, I suspect, that the only reason anyone would do this is to preserve the natural look of their pet if it is important to them. There may be other reasons but I am not aware of them as this time. As we found out, these neuticles exist for other animals as well. There must be a market or this company would not still be in business. Of course there are ( what I would call extremists ) who would view this type of replacement as very important.

There are other products that have evolved from this. For example this company also offers Eye replacements. Is that type of replacement more purposeful? I guess it all depends on how you look at it (no pun intended).

I really specifically put this post on this board more for the purpose of others who might be interested to have an opportunity of viewing the surgical video and to share information in regard to the existence, costs, and complications that may be involved when considering replacing the testicles of a dog with neuticles during the neutering process.

Jason and Miranda

[seko]

I laught at first, some people had to think about it.
I understand people worrying about their dogs looks but what I am more worried about is the dishonnest people who would use it to hidde a diffect in their dogs. I know in France a dog won't be registered and able to be officially used as stud, to go to racing or agility if only one testicle is down so a way to pass the test would be to add a neuricle and some vet won't mind cheating I am sure, and that for me is as dishonnest as to add missing teeth and doing esthtic surgery .

[JazzysMom]

I haven't done nor seen any studies on this, but I do know that when we've had dogs neutered in the past our other animals do not react any differently to them once they return home.

I am sure that some would replace eyes because of the aesthetics of the eyeless face – tends to creep people out more than a testicle-less backside. I mean, the face is immediately visible, while you have to pay a little more attention to notice the testicles. I don't think the average dog admirer pays much attention to a dog's balls when they see them on the street {see the dogs on the street, not the balls, LOL}

[Janneke]

Tillo wouldn't mind missing his balls.. When we're out walking and it's cold, they are never visible anyway.. People always think he's neutered.. You should see him when he just woke up! :eek:
Other (intact) males always know he's still intact.. that's not because they can see his balls or not.. that's more because of specific behaviour, maybe smell.

The question about dogs knowing another dog is neutered or not and reacting different to it, I have to say yes. Tillo knows exactly wether he's 'talking' to an intact male, neutered male or female..

[renaultf1]

@JazzysMom:

The dogs don't care one way or another -their egos aren't tied up in their genitals! They just want a cookie!

Ha, ha, ha…BEST 2 sentences in this entire thread! I knew there would be some priceless replies to this thread...You guys didn't let me down!!! :D:D

BTW, I had to forward the original link to my male friends with neutered dogs...as something for them to consider.

[Andrew]

@JazzysMom:

I am sure that some would replace eyes because of the aesthetics of the eyeless face – tends to creep people out more than a testicle-less backside.

I saw my first one-eyed dog recently. I wasn't expecting it & it really spooked me for a second. Turns out, he's a local minor celebrity (for awful reasons)

http://www.dogguide.net/blog/2008/12/dog-news-german-shepherd-survives-sledgehammer-attack/

He has recovered quite well, and frequents our dog park. He doesn't seem aggressive or shy in any way… just a normal dog that wants to play. But the eye caught me off guard & I can see the justification for a fake eye a little more than the Neuticles.

[MacPack]

Topper was five when neutered due to increasing "macho" at the dog park. He seemed very sore and acted like he knew exactly what had happened to him, was very distant for about a month, we felt guilty! After a couple of months, he was back to normal but less macho with intact males. Eddie was almost 3 and honestly never seemed to notice. The vet used glue, it was hard to even find the incision and Ed never licked it or had any personality change.

[Quercus]

@ComicDom1:

No offense taken, in the same light as the question you asked, I ask why not?

I do beg to differ in reference to whether a dog knows or reacts to being neutered. Since we do not talk dog, we really do not have any way of knowing and all we can do is speculate and assume. We have absolutely no idea how this type of surgery impacts an animal psychologically. We only really know how it impacts us as owners and observers.

Jason and Miranda

Why not? Hmm….well, I guess I wouldn't do it because it costs extra, it is (IMO) an unnecessary foreign body in the body, and again IMO, it says to other people "I need my dog to look like he isn't neutered"

And FTR...I don't believe I said dogs don't know or react to being neutered. I don't know if they know about themselves...but I would bet money that other dogs know by smell (and possibly behavior) whether a dog is intact or not....but neuticals won't change that. If you had an artificial eye it would make you think that you could see out of it

[mauigirl]

I think it makes more difference to the human than to the dog.

[BasenjiDiva]

@Andrew:

I saw my first one-eyed dog recently. I wasn't expecting it & it really spooked me for a second. Turns out, he's a local minor celebrity (for awful reasons)

http://www.dogguide.net/blog/2008/12/dog-news-german-shepherd-survives-sledgehammer-attack/

He has recovered quite well, and frequents our dog park. He doesn't seem aggressive or shy in any way… just a normal dog that wants to play. But the eye caught me off guard & I can see the justification for a fake eye a little more than the Neuticles.

We had to have our basset hound's eye removed due to glaucoma. She had already lost her vision in that eye and the medications weren't controlling the pressure and she was in a lot of pain. The vet told me that for $600 more (and this was about 8 years ago) we could have a prosthesis put in. We decided that Mitzi wouldn't notice and just had her eye sewn shut. She seemed to be fine with it but our already crabby Lab became extra vicious toward her and stayed that way. We had to be very vigilant when the 2 dogs were in the same room. 2 years later - our then 19 year old son had to have his eye removed due to severe trauma. He was very sedated and confused and we had to work very hard to make him understand that he would get an artificial eye and we would NOT just have his eye sewn shut like the dog's eye. When he was discharged from the hospital, a local tv station did a profile on our son. When the reporter and the cameraman got to our house and discovered that the one-eyed teenager had a one-eyed dog, they insisted on ending the segment with the two of them together. (The dog is now deceased but our son does well with one eye and we did indeed spring for an artificial eye.:))

Pat

[sharronhurlbut]

I would hope you will neuter your basenji, Unless you have a show quality basenji there is really no reason to keep him intact.
I have to tell you fellows, if you think the balls are keeping a basenji from enjoying the "pleasure" of mating, my boy, even tho fixed, did have a tie with my spayed female.
So, really its the true safe sex act.

[Andrew]

@BasenjiDiva:

We had to have our basset hound's eye removed due to glaucoma. She had already lost her vision in that eye and the medications weren't controlling the pressure and she was in a lot of pain. The vet told me that for $600 more (and this was about 8 years ago) we could have a prosthesis put in. We decided that Mitzi wouldn't notice and just had her eye sewn shut. She seemed to be fine with it but our already crabby Lab became extra vicious toward her and stayed that way. We had to be very vigilant when the 2 dogs were in the same room. 2 years later - our then 19 year old son had to have his eye removed due to severe trauma. He was very sedated and confused and we had to work very hard to make him understand that he would get an artificial eye and we would NOT just have his eye sewn shut like the dog's eye. When he was discharged from the hospital, a local tv station did a profile on our son. When the reporter and the cameraman got to our house and discovered that the one-eyed teenager had a one-eyed dog, they insisted on ending the segment with the two of them together. (The dog is now deceased but our son does well with one eye and we did indeed spring for an artificial eye.:))

Pat

This is totally off-topic now, but further proof that dogs are brought into this world for special reasons. Seems like your dog's loss may have helped your son cope with his own. Your story tugs at the heart strings. Glad both dog & son survived after losing an eye.