I had a related-question to the topic. OOC, for those who have intact dogs, do you guys find yourselves getting "shunned" by other dog owners? Like, at the vet, do they pressure you to fix them? Do you get chased out of dog parks? Given dirty looks at events? LOL
-- We have never had a comment made to us, but we have had to pull our dogs out of daycare due to being intact and passed a certain age.
When we fixed each Akita, our vet thanked us, so I took that as a little "we prefer dogs be fixed here" comment (which I think is smart and I agree with)... but also, they know us so well now that I think they know we are responsible.
Keeping a dog intact is only dangerous in the hands of uneducated and/or irresponsible people. You know, one bad apple...
"Shoushuu is actually more at ease (less frustrated/stressed) when he is crated next to girls when either of them is in heat rather then being isolated and away from them while still in the same household. If I were to keep him isolated within the same household, I'd have to keep him in my room with me. He's not typically vocal, generally quiet and is more an activist and problem solver then he is a vocalist and whiner =]."
That's a great point Corina! Jen mentioned she noticed this with Kona too (I just asked).
So intact males are fine as long as no female in season is around- which is why all these events and competitions such as shows and trials can go along smoothly despite the fact that all the dogs are intact. Just no females in season allowed, and all is normal for everyone else?
For most performance competitions, females are not allowed, or run last. Females in season are allowed of course in conformation shows.
I've only had males who stay intact up to about age 4 or so, but I don't treat them or handle them any differently in the course of a normal day. Where we have problems is when we try to do performance events that take concentration. Yes, I know dogs are supposed to be focussed on their tasks, but at an all-breed conformation show where there are females in heat everywhere and the grass is saturated, it can be difficult for an intact male. My Swedish Vallhund wanted to fight other intact male dogs or go visit the bitches next to him on Stays. But if I wasn't doing trials with them, I could live with them intact forever.
That said, dogs are indeed different and I've seen a few whose "intactness" bothers them to the point that they are ALWAYS visiting another dog, running out of the ring to lick another dog, whining, sniffing, have no attention whatsoever. For those dogs, if they are not breeding animals, it seems almost a kindness to take the hormonal stresses away and let them live a calmer life if you want to take them out to public places.
To answer the question as to who collects the dog for future AI's: there are reproductive clinics where a vet will do the collection on the male sometimes using a teaser bitch, so you have to make an appt that will coincide with her heat cycle. The semen has to be prepared in a certain way, looked at under a scope for viability, mobility and quality; if frozen a portion is usually quick-frozen and looked at again under a scope to see whether freezing affects it, and then it has to be properly stored in nitrogen (possibly with an extender, I don't know for sure) or if just chilled, put in a special cooler for shipment across the country or even across the ocean for insemination the next day. In other words, it's a rather technical process. I suppose if you have the bitch to be bred right there with the male, you could collect it yourself and do a vaginal insemination in the event that the male doesn't get the job done, but nowadays they have more success with surgical inseminations, or TCI's which I think means transcervical inseminations (also surgical).
There are also organizations at dog shows that will collect and store for you. I guess they do the collection right then and there...
@Dave - Yes, that and he is still young. He is very attracted to JJ now, as is Kona, but Luytiy still show the most interest in Loa. I think they are all just confused now.
Comments
-- We have never had a comment made to us, but we have had to pull our dogs out of daycare due to being intact and passed a certain age.
When we fixed each Akita, our vet thanked us, so I took that as a little "we prefer dogs be fixed here" comment (which I think is smart and I agree with)... but also, they know us so well now that I think they know we are responsible.
Keeping a dog intact is only dangerous in the hands of uneducated and/or irresponsible people. You know, one bad apple...
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That's a great point Corina! Jen mentioned she noticed this with Kona too (I just asked).
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For most performance competitions, females are not allowed, or run last. Females in season are allowed of course in conformation shows.
I've only had males who stay intact up to about age 4 or so, but I don't treat them or handle them any differently in the course of a normal day. Where we have problems is when we try to do performance events that take concentration. Yes, I know dogs are supposed to be focussed on their tasks, but at an all-breed conformation show where there are females in heat everywhere and the grass is saturated, it can be difficult for an intact male. My Swedish Vallhund wanted to fight other intact male dogs or go visit the bitches next to him on Stays. But if I wasn't doing trials with them, I could live with them intact forever.
That said, dogs are indeed different and I've seen a few whose "intactness" bothers them to the point that they are ALWAYS visiting another dog, running out of the ring to lick another dog, whining, sniffing, have no attention whatsoever. For those dogs, if they are not breeding animals, it seems almost a kindness to take the hormonal stresses away and let them live a calmer life if you want to take them out to public places.
To answer the question as to who collects the dog for future AI's: there are reproductive clinics where a vet will do the collection on the male sometimes using a teaser bitch, so you have to make an appt that will coincide with her heat cycle. The semen has to be prepared in a certain way, looked at under a scope for viability, mobility and quality; if frozen a portion is usually quick-frozen and looked at again under a scope to see whether freezing affects it, and then it has to be properly stored in nitrogen (possibly with an extender, I don't know for sure) or if just chilled, put in a special cooler for shipment across the country or even across the ocean for insemination the next day. In other words, it's a rather technical process. I suppose if you have the bitch to be bred right there with the male, you could collect it yourself and do a vaginal insemination in the event that the male doesn't get the job done, but nowadays they have more success with surgical inseminations, or TCI's which I think means transcervical inseminations (also surgical).
There are also organizations at dog shows that will collect and store for you. I guess they do the collection right then and there...
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