Pet Parent be Like
Fat Cats Cost Fat Stacks
I’m not good at estimating things, but I’d say about 90% of the pets I see are overweight to obese. Owners don’t like to hear this, though. If they could just have a big eyed, furry thing to pet and feed forever, that would be their ideal life. The animal wants the food, it makes them “happy” and if baby is happy, owner is happy, but the animal doesn’t seem to really ENJOY the food typically and just wolfs it down and looks for more like “I can’t believe that’s all you’re going to give me” and the big eyes instill guilt, we feed, feel happy, then guilt for not giving more, and so the cycle continues. Unfortunately as they get older, or even some at a much younger age, the extra weight can cause so many more problems.
People tend to judge how much their pet should weigh based on their breed (or perceived breed) and their parents’ sizes. I often hear “well, how big should he be for his breed?” or “well, his daddy was HUGE – with a head *THIS* big and was 195lb!!” There are a few problems with this theory. 1: every breed has a wide range of what can be normal (height, thickness, etc) , 2: every individual gets different genetics and may not end up as large as their parents (or could be larger) – My parents were both 5’11” and I ended up 5’8″. 3: just because the parent was 195lb, that doesn’t tell me if that parent was an ideal body condition and not also obese.
In general, you should be able to feel your pet’s ribs, but not see them. So, especially with those super fluffy critters, you’ll have to put your hands on them to decide if they’re too fat/skinny. Have them stand up, then run your fingers down their ribs. You should be able to easily feel the ribs without pressing, but not feel any depressions between them, like the back of your hand. If you have to push through flesh to feel the bones like you would on your wrist, your pet needs to lose weight. If you can feel spaces between their ribs like your fingers, your pet needs to gain weight.
Here’s an equation to figure out how much your pet needs to eat in a day (not just their pet food, but you have to include EVERY calorie that goes in their mouths – food dropped, just a little snack while cooking, kids feeding them, treats every time they go outside and use the bathroom, the cat’s food when you leave it out for them to steal, etc, etc). Remember, a 100 calorie snack for an adult human could be 50% of a small animal’s daily needs. So, even just a little bite for you could be enormous for our pets. And don’t be fooled by the pet who is ALWAYS hungry. Unlike us, they have no concept of “being healthy” other than “EAT WHEN YOU CAN BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN THERE WILL BE FOOD AGAIN!!!!” Remember, a dog/cat has about the intelligence of a three year old child, so we have to be their brains and think of their health for them.
Daily calorie needs for your pet = 70 x (Ideal body weight in kg)^0.75
*********DOG FOOD BAGS LIE!!!!! DON’T FOLLOW THOSE INSTRUCTIONS!!!!!**************
** weight in lb/2.2 = weight in kg
** Ideal weight = body weight – (body weight x %overweight)
- with % overweight = anywhere from 10-40% overweight (ask your vet)
- So, 42lb beagle that is OBESE is about 40% over weight, so ideal body weight = 42 – (42×0.4) = 25.2lb
- So, a 42lb beagle that should only weight 25lbs, 25/2.2 = 11.4kg
- calories = 70 x (11.4kg)^0.75 = 70(6.2) = 434 calories per day
- To make it a little easier for you, here’s a chart (This is for ADULT animals, not growing/lactating/pregnant – Also, this is IDEAL weight, not their current weight if they’re obese)
- Talk to your vet to get your pet’s ideal weight
Our pets do not live very long (10-15 years for most dogs; 15-20 years for most cats), so giving them the healthiest lifestyle keeps them happier for those years. Arthritis and diabetes are common sequelae to being overweight as well and breathing difficulty in the short squat dogs like French and English bulldogs. Osteoarthritis leads to many many euthanasias and dogs that are overweight are GOING to have more mobility issues and will start getting them much earlier in their lives. Mobility issue leads to being unable to get up from laying down, walk over hard floors, navigate stairs – making owners have to carry dogs to go outside to the bathroom (think apartment living), bed sores, other injuries from slipping and falling, infections around skin folds around rectum, penis, vulva. Diabetes treatment requires twice daily insulin injections, multiple vet visits to get insulin regulated, regimented note taking and nursing care, and, of course, more money. (Just think of all the money you could have saved by NOT feeding your dog all those extra treats AND diabetes/arthritis therapy!)
Cats that are overweight will start with arthritis, but you may not see it (see my last blog on pet pain) until you start noticing your cat urinating or defecating outside the litterbox. Inappropriate urinating and defecating is one of the leading causes of cat euthanasia – and it all could just be because it hurts to walk into the litterbox or get into position to poop. Obese cats will also develop diabetes ($$$$), stop being able to groom themselves, leading to mats in the hair, grumpy cats, and infections around their rear from feces and urine sitting on their skin.
The most loving and money saving thing you can do for your pets is to stay ahead of the problems – flea/tick/heartworm preventative, vaccines, and keeping them at a healthy weight are the absolute minimum for giving your pet the healthiest and longest life you can. You may feel like they love you more if you feed them, but they don’t really associate food with love. Over feeding them can border on cruelty and abuse. You are their caretaker. You control what they eat – 100% – you can show your love more than anything in the world by keeping them at a healthy weight. You can do this!
Is this an Emergency?! Common Over- and Under Reactions
Veterinary offices everywhere are struggling to keep up with the demand of the needs of pets lately and some folks are having to wait a couple of weeks to months to get things addressed. This is causing excessive spill over into the Emergency Clinic world. Suddenly, a place that was designed for the super severe, complicated, or tragic cases that happen in the middle of the night are now clogged up with ear infections and dogs that have been limping for 2 hours. Then, they are getting horrible reviews and dragged through the mud on social media for owners having to wait 8 hours and having to pay hundreds of dollars more than they would at their regular vet (if they have one). People sometimes forget how much money it costs to keep a top tier facility like that open 24 hours a day and fully staffed to be able to drop everything and take your dog to surgery for a bleeding abdominal mass. They also forget that a non-emergency is going to continue to get bumped by the actual emergencies that may not live through the night. So, I decided to come up with a list of things that are absolutely not an emergency to save numerous angry owners from the long waits and heavy fees of going to a place that is currently doing CPR on a dying dog. Then, I will have a list of things that are absolute emergencies that some owners might wait a little too long to address which could lead to more money spent, but more importantly, a poorer outcome for your pet. Also, please read my previous post “5 ridiculously easy ways to avoid pet emergencies and BIG bills that your vet doesn’t want you to know… oh, wait.”
Things that often present as emergency, but are not.
- Ear infections. Yes, these can be painful and itchy, but save your trip to the ER. It can wait until regular business hours. Ear infections in dogs and (lesser) cats are not like infant/child ear infections in that they typically don’t cause fever and significant internal pain. The vast majority of ear infections in dogs and cats are external to the ear drum and therefore, not as serious. Most ear infections can be prevented with diligent observation of the dog’s ears every now and then – are they red? Do they smell bad? Is your dog shaking/scratching ears more often? Your vet has some amazing ear cleaners that can prevent the infections to begin with if your dog produces excessive ear wax. Most infections are caused by breed (Here’s looking at you, Cockers) and allergies. Dogs can be kept on allergy meds (talk to your vet for recommendations) to prevent the excessive wax production that the little buggers (bacteria and yeast) love to thrive on. Your dog suddenly have fire-red ears on a Saturday night and won’t stop digging/shaking? Give 1mg/lb benadryl (So, 50lb dog will get 50mg benadryl – DON’T Give children’s liquid if it has xylitol in it) every 8 hours and wait for Monday morning to call your vet.
- Limping. Ugh, so many. Unless you feel like the leg is broken ie. dangling, bent in unnatural way, bleeding, largely swollen, or dog screams if you touch the leg (30min after injury) it can probably wait until normal business hours or may even resolve by that time. Yes, occasionally we will get a broken leg, more often, a torn cruciate (ACL tear) – big dog playing hard, screams, holding back leg up – but more often than not, it’s a sprain or strain and will not show up on an x-ray and will get better with rest.
- Bleeding toe nail. There’s a saying in medicine “the farther from the heart, the more likely to live”. Your dog is MORE than likely not going to exsanguinate from a bleeding toenail. If your dog will let you, elevate the leg, apply pressure with your fingers to either side of the toe involved, apply cornstarch or flour (all purpose, cake, self rising, I don’t care) until you get the bleeding to stop. If he won’t let you, send him out in the yard and forget about him for an hour.
- Vomiting…. once. We see it all the time. Client rushes into the clinic on emergency for vomiting dog. We’re all geared up for the next train wreck foreign body surgery, blocking off appointments to make sure we have enough time, and when we get into the room, we find out the dog vomited once last night – but ate breakfast this morning. Or vomiting three times 10 days ago. Or had diarrhea once. Would you rush yourself to the ER if you had diarrhea last night, but felt fine today? Or if you vomited three times last week, but have been fine since? Now, if a patient has been vomiting several times in a day, absolutely it could be an emergency, especially if they can’t keep anything, including water, down.
- Any skin issues. When I was working shifts at the ER, we would get someone waiting 8 hours to be seen for skin issues and end up paying 10x the amount they would at their regular vet due to increased costs of running a 24/7 clinic. Flea prevention goes a REALLY long way in preventing these, but even then, likely it can wait until normal business hours. Hot, inflamed skin that pops up all of the sudden and is oozing and terribly itchy? Trim the hair away from it, clean it with mild soap (Dog oatmeal shampoo if you have it, baby shampoo if not), give 1mg/lb benadryl every 8 hours until you can get to your regular vet.
Things that ARE an emergency but people don’t always take seriously
- Eyes! Eyes are always an emergency. Even when they’re not, you should still treat them like one until proven otherwise. One eye squinty? Redness, swelling? Drainage with squinting? Bluish color or cloudiness to the eyes? Any wound involving eyelids? Take to the vet NOW. Could it be something simple like conjunctivitis? Sure! But it could also be an ulcer or scratch or hole in the cornea that causes your pet’s eye to rupture and have to have their eye removed. Lacerated eyelids need to be repaired ASAP to make sure they are aligned correctly without too much “shrinkage”. If the repaired lids do not line up pretty perfectly, it will lead to problems in the future – like increased risk of corneal ulcers. Sometimes animals get foreign bodies in their eye that need to be either flushed out, or the eye needs to be numbed and the vet will look behind the third eyelid for sticks, grass, bugs, etc that will continue to scratch the eye every time the animal blinks. Eyes will either heal up like nothing ever happened or can turn into a train wreck in just a matter of hours.
- A male cat (neutered or not) that is straining or vocalizing in the litterbox. Male cats, as you can imagine, have VERY tiny penises with even tinier urethras. Any amount of crystals can get caught in that very tiny urethra as it twists and turns around the pelvis to get to the end of the penis. Once the crystals get backed up to the point of blocking the flow of urine, the bladder starts to fill like a water balloon left on the spigot. Not only will this put extraordinary pressure on the kidneys, but if the bladder eventually pops, your kitty is pretty much done.
- Bloated dog that is not eating or is vomiting/retching or is really really sad looking. Especially deep chested dogs. You can even thump on the belly and if it sounds like an empty drum, it’s gas. Big belly, happy, wagging tail, jumping around? Likely just got into something and ate too much (food bloat) but still, take in for radiographs to just make sure. Gastric dilatation volvulus GDV is a condition where the stomach bloats with gas, then flips over, cutting off the blood supply to itself and the spleen. This means you have mere minutes to jump in the car and get to a facility capable of dealing with these. You will likely need to get to a 24 hour emergency clinic as the dog will need surgery, then intensive hospitalization care as the dog can literally just drop dead hours to days after the surgery due to toxins released when the stomach is righted and the effects of those toxins on the heart. It will be vital to have your dog at a facility that can constantly monitor electrolytes and the heart to prevent this. Most small clinics likely will not be able to handle this entire procedure correctly. Ask your regular veterinarian if they are capable of performing a GDV after hours before it ever happens so that you don’t have to waste time calling them only to have them tell you to get to the ER. Get your dog in the car, start driving, have someone call the ER to give them a heads up on the way. This way they will be set up and prepared to properly treat your dog in an expedited fashion.
- Vomiting and unable to keep anything down. Sure, dogs sometimes throw up and it’s no big deal. They go out, eat some grass, vomit, but later, will eat a whole bowl of food and never look back. But if the dog has vomited multiple times, seems lethargic, and/or anytime he eats or drinks anything, it comes back up – DO NOT wait to bring these in. These could be a multitude of issues, but all need to be taken care of ASAP. It could be a foreign body, intestinal blockage, intussusception, intestinal torsion, pancreatitis, etc. Some are surgical, some need intensive hospitalization, but one thing is for sure: the longer you wait, the much much worse it will be. Waiting could result in severe dehydration with multiple organ damage, intestines dying or rupturing, causing deadly infection of the abdomen and body, and a general rapid regression in the overall prognosis of your pet. Foreign body caught right away – simple incision into intestines, suture back up, go home that night. Foreign body after three days: possible inches to feet of intestines removed, infection, days in the hospital, possible death. You may expect to pay a bit more for an emergency visit, but the longer you wait, the more exponential the bill will increase.
- Intact female dog doing almost anything. Vomiting? Drinking and peeing a lot? Lethargic? Vaginal discharge? Swollen abdomen? Any or all of the above? Not currently in heat or knowingly pregnant? Intact female dog (and sometimes cat – but more rare) coming in sick for almost ANY reason is a pyometra until proven otherwise. I discussed this a little before on how to save big bucks on major vet bills (spay and neuter), but a pyometra is where the uterus gets an infection and because it’s just a huge sack of pus hanging out in your dog’s abdomen, it causes grave sickness and if it leaks or ruptures, likely death. It’s easy to diagnose and easy(ish) to treat. Notice your intact female sick and take her in right away, if she is diagnosed with a pyometra, they will take her straight to surgery, remove the entire sack of pus without leakage and she will be a new dog when she wakes up. Wait a few days or try to nurse her at home, she will quickly become septic (whole body infection) and require prolonged hospitalization and a much greater risk the sack of pus will leak or rupture during surgery (all that bacteria, inflammation, and stretching of the uterus makes it super weak and friable) and that will lead to an even poorer prognosis.
In the end, if you aren’t sure, try calling the ER and finding out how emergent your pet’s issue is.
What’s coming into the clinic?
I’ve decided to compile a collection of expected diagnosis based solely on judging a book by its cover. Basically, what we, as vets see coming in and go ahead and make large assumptions (normally we assume the worst or most obnoxious). So, here are some presentations and the expected problem.
Basset hound/Cocker spaniels: Ears. Always ears. Even if they’re just coming in for a rabies vaccine only and refuse to pay an exam fee, they will want you to check out their ears…. and a nail trim.
Red/white/blue pit bull: skin – allergies and or mange. Dilute colors = skin issues – also nail trim.
Labrador (any age, any color) not eating/vomiting – foreign body – ate toy, golf balls, raw hides, rocks, dry wall, socks, underwear, etc.
Any female dog over the age of 1 year and not spayed – WILL ALWAYS BE PYOMETRA until proven otherwise – and owner will give you a guilt trip about the expense of the emergency surgery “So you’re just going to let my dog die then?!?” even though you told them from the beginning to get the dog spayed “No, sir, I did not tell you to NOT spay your dog” (avoid a $800-$4000 emergency bill)
Puppy (any breed) under 1 year of age presenting with diarrhea, inappetence, and/or vomiting: Parvo until proven otherwise.
English bulldog: this one is wide open but can include some or all of the following: skin issues – (allergies, hair loss, ear infections, skin infections), respiratory failure due to nonexistent nostrils, too long of a soft palate, heart failure, or obesity. Inability to use hind end due to hemivertebrae, spinal bifida, obesity. Eye issues due to entropion (eyelid curling inward causing eyelashes to scrape the eye), cherry eye (gland of third eyelid popping out), dry eye (eye is dry.. and covered in thick green mucus and crust). Infection of skin around butt hole due to tail corkscrewing around and stabbing them in their own butt, also obesity. C-section: they literally cannot have puppies naturally due to large heads, small pelvis, and, well, often obesity (most also have to be artificially inseminated due to their poor conformation). *** hint – if you want an english bulldog, go ahead and save for $1500-2500 PER year in vet bills.
Old chihuahua/toy poodle – coughing – heart failure – will want nail trim – dog will turn blue trying to bite us
Young chihuahua/toy poodle – broken leg from getting sneezed on
Great Dane – vomiting/retching/bloated – GDV or twisted stomach bloated. Get to the emergency clinic NOW – the stomach is likely dying as you drive.
Cat (outdoor) swollen leg/lump/lethargic – cat bite abscess – sometimes caused by just a friendly cat fight gone wrong, but much more often by a neighborhood Tom – they will try to breed anything with a cat shape – male, female, spayed, neutered, it doesn’t matter and the fights that ensue end up with someone getting a serious bite wound. Cats have a particularly nasty bacteria in their mouth similar to the bacteria in a komodo dragon’s mouth and the bite wound will fester and cause fever, lethargy, limping until it breaks open and drains. Antibiotics are very helpful.
Male cat – vocalizing in the litterbox/posturing to urinate, but nothing or very little coming out – blocked urethra – right now emergency! Don’t wait until morning. The urine backs up to the kidneys and causes serious, sometimes irreparable damage.
Same thing goes for castrated, male goats – looks like stretching, urine dribbling, loud vocalization, sometimes looks like constipated – it’s not constipated – get to vet immediately! Some studies have shown that if you wait to castrate until 6 months of age and avoid feeding grain altogether, you can avoid this fatal issue.
Older Dachshund/chihuahua/other tiny breed dogs: “trench mouth” – the teeth are rotting out of mouth – will also want a nail trim.
Dachshund of any age, unable to walk/stumbling: Intervertebral disk disease – the same gene that makes them short legged and long backed also makes their connective tissue crap and they will often “slip a disk” and without surgery +/- major anti-inflammatories, will be paralyzed – will definitely request a nail trim.
Coughing dog anywhere in the southeast – Heartworm until proven otherwise
Dog constipated: diarrhea – almost every time. Diarrhea causes straining, straining looks like constipation. Most owners, including myself don’t necessarily pay attention to their dog every time they go out, but will notice when the dog is going out all the time and straining.
Dog stares off into space, stumbles, or collapses when not walking, urinated on self – marijuana – just admit it and save us all a big “told you so” and, like, $400 in diagnostics. We won’t call the cops.
Any animal with the history of “I think my neighbor poisoned him” = anything except poisoning by the neighbor – just doesn’t happen.
Lump on boxer : mast cell tumor until proven otherwise
Dog with episodes of choking or “something stuck in throat” – allergies with reverse sneezing or kennel cough
Dog with lameness/stiffness/lethargy in certain areas of the country: lyme disease until proven otherwise
Small breed dog with hind limb lameness: luxating patella (knee cap slipping out of place)
Large breed dog with sudden hind limb lameness: ruptured cruciate ligament (like the ACL tear in athletes)
Goldens: especially the super sweet ones that belong to a special needs child: Cancer. Every F***ing time.
German Shepherd: will rush the door viciously barking as soon as you open the exam room door. Everyone in the clinic will hear and will assume you saw the shepherd. Will not let you touch it the whole time without heavy restraint, muzzle, sedation. Absolutely will request nail trim.
Cat with scabs all over body: fleas/flea allergy (even one bite from a flea can trigger the allergy in some cats)
Obese draft/quarter horse/donkey/pony that is stiff, doesn’t want to walk: founder/laminitis
Anything that is scratching and not on veterinary prescribed flea meds: fleas. Always fleas. Especially if the owner preaches essential oils and says there are absolutely not fleas and uses a natural remedy for flea control – fleas all day.
Cat with significant weight loss: and drinking a lot/not eating: kidney failure. Eating a ton/personality change: hyperthyroidism
Anything named “Lucky” or “Miracle” = doomed.
Anything named “Angel” will bite, unprovoked – owner will definitely want a nail trim.
Again, these are things vets just assume when they see it on the schedule. It doesn’t mean every patient every time and we all certainly go into the exam room with an open mind.
It pays to spay and neutered is tutored.. or whatever
I would say that for the most part, owners these days are much more aware of the benefits of altering their pet’s reproductive abilities, but we still run into the not-so-rare emergencies that come from not having a spayed or neutered pet. There continues to be more research as to when is the best time to have the procedures done, but overwhelmingly, the consensus is that it is safer, healthier, and dare I say, less expensive to go ahead and have that surgery done.
For the bitches: An obvious reason that it is recommended to spay a female and remove those hormones and organs from her body is the prevention of accidental litters of puppies. Despite the fact that nowadays, you can slap a cute breed remix name on a mixed breed puppy and get some attention, overwhelmingly, there are too many homeless pets in the shelters being euthanized every day to take the risk of finding forever homes for new lives. You won’t know until it’s too late whether you’ll have to find homes for just one puppy (which can be hard on the mother as that one puppy tends to be much larger than individual puppies in multiple puppy litters) or 17 puppies. And let’s say you secure homes for all these puppies, don’t pat yourself on the back yet, now these families will need to keep these puppies forever without dropping them off at the shelter when they start chewing up the couch or drywall before you can count yourself responsible. Obviously, I’m not talking about responsible breeders. There are absolutely some wonderfully thoughtful and detail oriented breeders out there trying to improve whatever breed they have chosen through intensive genetic testing and screenings and I salute them.
Other reasons it is healthier to spay your female: You will prevent an emergency, very expensive, very dangerous condition called pyometra – this is a condition where weeks to a few months after her heat cycle, her uterus, having been open to the world when she was in heat with an open cervix and the amount of mucus dogs tend to produce during heat cycles create an optimum environment for bacteria to enter and take over. So, a month or so after they’re in heat, they become lethargic, can become septicemic (systemic infection spread through the blood), sometimes vomit, and can die. They basically have a giant sac of pus sitting in their abdomen that can spread to the blood supply or the uterus can rupture and then fill the entire abdomen with disgusting infectious pus. This happens with enough occurrence that if vets see a female dog coming in for lethargy, vomiting, ADR (ain’t doin’ right) and she’s not spayed, it’s considered a pyometra until proven otherwise. This is a condition that is best dealt with by doing immediate surgery to remove said sack of pus. This surgery, especially in the middle of the night or during the weekend (when bad things tend to happen) may cost anywhere from $600 at your most rural practice to $2500-5000 depending on the severity of her condition when she presents at an emergency clinic. So, not only are you going to easily spend 6-10x what you would have to have a spay done, but now her life is in danger on top of anesthesia risk. There are non-surgical ways to treat (I know some were asking) but those are not at all guaranteed and can prolong your dog’s suffering and possible eventual death.
Lastly, medical complications like mammary cancer is greatly increased with the more heat cycles your dog has been through. Generally speaking, you’re bitch is safest if spayed before her first heat (prevalence of mammary cancer: 0.5%), then safer after her first heat (prevalence: 8%), and least safe after her second heat (prevalence of cancer: 25%)
Other excuses for not spaying:
- “She’s in a fence, she never leaves my yard” – great! As long as that fence cannot be penetrated by a male dog’s organ – because they can and they will.
- “She’s a German Shepard and my male is a Chihuahua, there’s no way they even could” – Sweetie, where there’s a will, there’s a way. They can and they will.
- “I’ve heard it calms her down to have just one litter” – Nopity nope. Not true. It will have a very different and unpredictable effect on every individual – some bitches get more aggressive with puppies. Also, if you start with a crazy/semi-aggressive/insecure mother, you’re more likely to have the puppies inherit/learn that behavior as well.
- “She won’t hunt if we spay her” – Ummm, well, she won’t be hunting for males!! *knee slap*
- “They are brother and sister or mother and son – they wouldn’t do that” – Yes. Yes, they will. They don’t care about human social structure or taboo when their hormones hit.
- “I want my children to witness the miracle of life” – Let me suggest a DVD: PBS Nova’s Life’s Greatest Miracle. You can buy it on Amazon.com for $16.59 – Pop it in the DVD player, I think you can even watch it online. It will save you the risk of an emergency c-section (go ahead and put aside $800-$5000 just in case), the possible loss of life of your dog and her puppies, or the possibility of having orphaned puppies that you have to feed, and stimulate to pee and poop every 2 hours. And then, don’t forget the vaccinations, de-worming, and health examinations ($45-$100 per puppy depending on your area) you will need to get all those puppies before giving them to their new home.
- “She’ll just get fat” – To be fair, obesity is a problem in all of our animals, surgically altered or not. We just like to feed them and forget how little they actually need. You are in complete control of their nutrition, they don’t have to worry about getting depressed and polishing off a bucket of cheese balls and a bottle of wine. You keep your dog at the right weight, not them. I’ve had surgically altered dogs my whole life and none of them have been overweight.
Now for the boy’s side. To be fair, I don’t have nearly as many medically scary side effects of having testicles, but in short, being neutered will prevent unwanted puppies (yes, owner’s of males are also responsible for shelter euthanasias. I’ve heard too many times “well, I don’t have to worry about that because I have a boy”- just because you don’t see the litter born doesn’t mean it wasn’t your fault). Other medical reasons would be benign prostate issues when they’re older, testicular cancer, and preventing other emergencies such as being hit by a car when your dog runs down the road because he smells a female in estrus, dog fight wounds, etc.
Cancer: if you have the organ, it’s open to get cancer. Intact male dogs are more likely to not only have testicular cancer, but also prostate cancer, benign prostate hyperplasia (testosterone causes large prostate that presses on and blocks colon) and perianal (right next to the anus) cancer.
Other “excuses”:
- “He’s my BOY! I wouldn’t do that to him, just like I wouldn’t do it to my best friend” (usually of the male persuasion) – A couple of things bother me about this one. For one, why are you emotionally attached to your dog’s testicles? Your dog isn’t. Your dog has no idea what those things are for and doesn’t care a wink when they’re removed. Second, would you keep your best friend, your “boy” isolated in the house while you go to work? Would you walk them on a leash? Would you let them poop in your backyard? Now, imagine your best friend was also your roommate and had typical male desires that comes with full testosterone load from having testicles. Now, imagine telling your “boy” that he won’t be allowed to be with females ever (because you’re responsible). Again, your dog doesn’t care about his testicles, but if he has them, he will want to do things with them. If he doesn’t have them, he’ll just live in an ignorantly blissful world where he never even knows he’s missing anything.
- “He’ll get fat” – see previous reasoning in the girl section
- “It’s not my responsibility if he gets out and gets a female pregnant” – This is just infuriating for obvious reasons
- “I might stud him out” – good luck with that. He’s no Kentucky Derby winner and the very rare chance someone is actually going to ask to pay you for his services, you’re not likely to get much for it when you weigh all the risks of keeping him intact.
- “I love it when they get those large, disgusting testosterone pumped butt holes” – Said no one ever.
