Sometimes, vets can be ...

[ZinniaZ]

Eh, I don't think most vets are quacks or that they are anything but people who take care of animals day in and day out. I understand how frustrating it must be to see day after day unwanted cats and dogs and know that they are just dying in shelters.

It's an interesting climate on this forum. I am a member of dog lists and forums and horse lists and forums and people in each group think about breeding quite differently than reptile breeders. Basenji breeders are extremely closed to backyard breeding of any sort and are pretty darned tough on breeders that seem often to be doing a good job. There is a real sense of accountability-- why are you breeding? What good qualities does your stock have? Health, temperament, genetic diversity-- as a whole the breed fancy is really really tough about breeding for the 'right' reasons and breeding ONLY when you have all your ducks in a row.

Horse people are a bit more lenient in general. You'll hear them talk about breeding a mare because they want a baby out of her. Some breeders are super stringent but there are more mellow, breed whatcha want breeders in that group.

Here, I see the most mellow breeding attitudes of all. It may be all related to how many animals are in desperate need of rescue in each group. Ball pythons are NOT filling the humane societies across the country.

So, anyway, I am writing a little book here-- but it is just interesting. As a dog breeder, I would encourage any dog owner to really think long and hard about keeping a dog intact. Keep a dog intact IF that dog has qualities that its breed NEEDS. Another cute dog-- well, let's face it. Cute dogs die every day for lack of homes in this country. Take a look here:
http://www.dogsindanger.com/

I have bred basenjis. Every time it was an ethical battle. Does the world need another basenji? What is this breeding doing for basenjis? I do think my breeding choices were sound (at least at the time). But if it is NOT an ethical battle for you-- maybe you need to think longer and harder. Know what you are doing and really examine your reasons. Breeding more dogs should not be casual. I do not mean to offend anyone-- I have bred dogs and I would do it again. But I hope that anyone thinking of keeping a dog intact will really think very long about the implications of adding to that gene pool and the dogs already out there who need homes.

[ZinniaZ]

Jeez--
http://www.dogsindanger.com/memorial.jsp

[ADEE]

zinnia, glad im not the only one who feels the way you do.. I totally understand what your talking about when referencing the horse world, as i myself had a nice little thoroughbred stallion that bred with a couple of my friends mares, made some nice horses... My mentality when it comes to dogs/cats/bunnies are how you feel about breeding dogs..

[mischevious21]

See, in my post I did state that one way or another, she WILL be spayed. If not in a year or so, then after she has ONE litter of puppies. Also, the whole reason I am not sure if I want to breed her or not is because she is still a puppy- right now she is beautiful and perfect for a sled tam or show ring, but that may change into adult hood. We'll see.
I have people waiting in line for pups from her because of her bloodline and personality, and if not they would stay/come back to me, but that is NOT the reason I want to or will breed her.But it does help me feel better about it
A reason I would breed her is if she keeps heading for "perfection", then perhaps I could keep the bloodline going through ONE litter-and keep a pup.
So she may be fixed soon, or she may be fixed in about two 1/2, 3 years, but either way, there is no way she will not be.

I also did say that I think it is GREAT for vets to encourage to spay and neuter. But if its not their dog, then why try to force people? If its your dog, then feel free, but dont make the decision for them yourself. Im going to school to be a vet right now, and from what I've been learning that just doesnt seem like a good thing. Also, he said they didnt practice that, but how can that be true if someone else I know goes there and NONE of her dogs are fixed, and keep them CONSTANT!! The poor dog is 6 and just starting two years ago, since they got the boy dog, ahe had had FOUR litters!! That to me, is wrong.

I just think that everyone is able to hav their own opinion, but in this situation it is the pet owners decision and responsibility- not the vets.

[ZinniaZ]

Please know that I am not saying you should or should not spay your dog-- I was responding to the thread direction in general not your exact circumstance. It's a decision to be made seriously, not casually and it sounds like you are thinking about it.

As for the vet, maybe it isn't his place but in a sense, he gets to run his business as he chooses. It may not be good for his business and it may be paternalistic and not the best way to go about things-- for instance if he wants to encourage spay/ neuter, a more educational approach may work better than this heavy handed approach-- but he gets to do it. His business, his rules. And then, for the consumer, you , you get to decide if you like his business practices and go elsewhere.

[stangs13]

where i live, there is no need, k?

we plan on getting them fixed, but we dont have almost $500+ to fix both of them...

but right now we dont worry about it cause any dog that can get close enough to our dogs [male wise] is either fixed, or small enough to seriously understand what kind of power a electric fence for horses feels like... lol

either way, the vet had no reason to tell her [other than it being his clinic] that he wouldnt treat her dog unless she got the dog fixed...

Our SPCA charges around 30 dollars for a spay/neuter. YOu should find one when you do spay them!

[jkobylka]

wow, that guy would make be mad!

Justin

[mischevious21]

Our SPCA charges around 30 dollars for a spay/neuter. YOu should find one when you do spay them!

This is off-topic from my dog situation- but I wish ours did that! A guy from the street from me got two puppies from the same litter, and said he "didnt have the money" to get at least the male fixed- and they had puppys.. Imbred puppies.. Now, the two little girl puppies (that they kept) AND the mom/sister are about to go into heat, and the guy STILL hasnt gotten his male dog fixed!! I told him finaly that I would pay for it myself (even though he makes $30/hour??). See, to me, THAT is not right! So now I've been looking around at places around here to get his dog fixed, and for all of them its about $70. But I can not sit here and watch that again.

But yeam I do fully believe in spay/neuter, my other dog is spayed, and I am thinking very hard about this for my pup. I have a couple more years to debate with myself, but we will see what happens... And if it does, you will al know because I will be posting pictures of puppys and snakes!! lol