Please STOP browbeating us about neutering our dog who we've been bringing to you for 5 years. We have told you no repeatedly and yet you persist FOR YEARS, causing stress during the visits and at home and reopening the issue at almost every visit, even if we just come for a nail trim.
Make a note in the file that we decline and STOP bringing it up endlessly. You're so pushy and one-sided about it. Please save the lectures and condescending attitude. When you press us for reasoning and we respond that we've read about possible downsides, you should respect our decision instead of replying "well, I can read online that Hitler is alive," as a way of superficially -- and super unprofessionally -- dismissing our concerns. How dare you.
Our dog is healthy, does not run loose, and we may want to breed him. It's not complicated. You never mention the risks (including of anesthesia!), only the supposed benefits. Recent studies do NOT support a lot of the historical arguments for neutering. Maybe continue your education and peruse the latest research instead of lazily relying on what you were taught in school years (decades?) ago and blindly accepted without challenging conventional wisdom. In the past, boring holes into human skulls was the standard of care for mental health issues. Should we have stuck with that?
In Norway, as of 2013, with few exceptions, it is ILLEGAL to de-sex healthy dogs. Maybe you should give some thought as to why. How is it that we come for a $15 nail trim and we end up leaving with $400 worth of procedures scheduled that we can't even afford, didn't request, and aren't medically necessary?? I get that you need to pay for that beautiful new building, but stop with the hard sell and arm twisting, especially since we've already said no multiple times and you deliver the pitch so rudely, every.single.time. We come for your help, not for another stress and argument in our lives.
Here are just some of the possible risks associated with neutering, since you seem uninformed, under-informed, and/or biased:
"Hip dysplasia -- twice as common in early-neutered males as intact males. No effect on females.
"Knee ligament damage -- higher incidence in early-neutered males and females.
"Lymphatic cancer -- three times more common in early neutered males than intact males. No effect in females.
"Cancer of blood vessel walls -- four times more common in late-neutered than intact females. No effect in males.
"Mast cell tumors -- significantly more common in late-neutered females. No effect in males.
"In short, the researchers concluded that early and/or late neutering increased the risks of all five diseases in golden retrievers. Their study was restricted to one breed, but other studies have also reported deleterious consequences of de-sexing healthy dogs. For example, castrated elderly male dogs are at greater risk for dementia. And another recent study found that neutering increased aggression problems in female dogs."
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"When dealing with 100 percent responsible pet owners, my preference is to leave dogs intact whenever possible to avoid unnecessary risks of anesthesia (Dr. Karen Becker).
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"A 2014 study of Vizslas included over 2,500 dogs and revealed that dogs neutered or spayed at any age were at significantly increased risk for developing mast cell cancer, lymphoma, all other cancers, all cancers combined, and fear of storms, compared with intact Vizslas."
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Sources:
Neutering Dogs: Effects on Joint Disorders and Cancers in Golden Retrievers
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0055937
The Decision to Neuter Pets Just Got More Complicated
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/hal-herzog/the-ethics-of-neutering_b_2790315.html
They Studied Dogs That Had Extreme Longevity and Guess What They Found?
https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2016/07/27/neutering-spaying-effects.aspx
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PS You told my partner that I can "call you" so that you can "educate me." This is the call. You stressed him and me for no good reason -- not for the first time. Stop. it. read more
