spay/neuter
Hello all shiba owners,
I was wondering how old was your shiba when you had them spayed/neutered? I've been calling local animal hospitals to find out more information. So far, I've been hearing anywhere between 2 and 6 months. I am a tad bit concerned that Nobu is not fully developed to have the procedure done. Then again, I would like to have him neutered as soon as possible to stem any unwanted behavior (humping). I witnessed it last night and it was not pretty (somewhat funny, yet disturbing). Has your shiba exhibited the unwanted behavior after the procedure was done? Thanks in advanced from a concerned owner.
I was wondering how old was your shiba when you had them spayed/neutered? I've been calling local animal hospitals to find out more information. So far, I've been hearing anywhere between 2 and 6 months. I am a tad bit concerned that Nobu is not fully developed to have the procedure done. Then again, I would like to have him neutered as soon as possible to stem any unwanted behavior (humping). I witnessed it last night and it was not pretty (somewhat funny, yet disturbing). Has your shiba exhibited the unwanted behavior after the procedure was done? Thanks in advanced from a concerned owner.
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Comments
we speuter our dogs at 6 months (or whenever after that age they come to us). i've never had any issues with development or behavior having the procedure done at 6 months.
:death stare:
'I can't sit on my butt -.-'
Niko was spayed at 6 months, I would not go any earlier.
My vet has recomended 6 months for Guinness
But trust me, it does not stop the humping. Bella actually did not start to hump until after she was spayed. It is pretty funny to watch (especially since she does it when she gets excited). Nola, thankfully, has not yet displayed that behaviour.
Here's an article about early age spay/neuter. http://www.chai-online.org/en/companion/overpopulation_sn_early.htm
Actually, Toby was sniffing some Westie at the dog park the other day, and the owner said in the rudest tone 'Well, its a good thing my Westie is Spayed!' ... the nerve. >>;
If it helps, Remy was just neutered a month ago (he was 11 months). He isn't a humper, he doesn't mark really all that much (and not at all in the house) and he's not dominant, though he is definately NOT a wanna be leader kinda guy....definately more of a 'happy in the middle of the pack with the odd F-U' kinda guy....lol
Jesse
Jesse
Anyways, as far as mental development goes and hormones, I think by 6 months, the benefits of spaying outweigh the impact hormones play on canine brain development for most females (at 6 months, their brains have developed quite a bit already). There really is no evidence that allowing a bitch to have 1 season before spaying will mature her mentally in any great way (people swear up and down for both sides however.) The mental maturation people notice is simply from the dog getting older, spayed or unspayed. For male dogs, they can develop more "doggy" behaviors as they mature and the longer they get to practice them, the harder it is to correct. The earlier the better for neutering, 6 months is fine.
2 months seems really early, shelters and AC over this way are spay/neutering as long as the animal is over 4 lbs and/or 8 weeks.
Since shibas (and other nihon ken i assume) are active breeds, as long as you keep with their activities and appropriate food intake, they should keep their figure.
http://www.purina.com/dogs/health/AdultBodyCondChart.pdf (I am in NO WAY promoting Purina but the BCS chart on their website helps, I'm sure you can find other ones out there that have more pics)
When I brought Tetsu home, it was torture trying to keep him from playing with Tikaani the first few days out of fear of popping a stitch. Tetsu had gotten more frustrated at the fact that he couldn't bite back, since the cone restricted him.
Growing up, we've had a couple of cats, all of which my mother had made sure they were fixed. We still have three cats between me and the rest of my family, and none of them through out their lives have gotten fat. Even before the fixing, my sisters male had always had the "belly pouch" and he was pretty heavy at 15-17 lb, but that was more due to the fact that he's a pretty long cat. You can kind of compare him to the size of a medium Shiba Inu.
The Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association in 1997 studied 775 cats and 1213 dogs. Significant findings comparing neutering surgery on older and younger animals included:
* decreased surgical time for younger animals
* increased number of minor complications in older animals
* infectious diseases were comparable
* no difference in hypothermia (surgical time shorter for younger patients)
* after 3 years, there was an increased incidence of urinary problems in animals neutered after 24 weeks of age (note: results on this differ in other studies)
Information from various early neuter studies concluded:
* growth is not stunted by early neutering, usually the opposite is true
* urinary function was not affected; urethral pressure profiles showed no statistical difference; the diameter of the urethra in early vs. traditional sterilisations was the same.
* secondary sex characteristics were affected (infantile genitalia in males and females), but did not cause health issues.
* the immune system was not affected
Jesse
ETA: Wait..did you mean 19 weeks not months? In that case I would personally wait a little longer but I understand how scheduling might be hard later on. I had to spay my female cat earlier than I wanted to because of scheduling conflict.
Jesse
UPDATE: I just talked to my vet's assistant and we got Ichi a 5-month birthday/Christmas present by attending the Vet's rendition of the Christmas classic, "Nutcracker Suite" on December 22nd.
Thanks (as always) for all the helpful contributers to the info on this thread!
Jesse