Here’s something I don’t talk about very often: my dog’s testicles.
After last week’s episodes of Patch sneaking next door to visit Lilly in heat, I decided behavior modification was in order. Patch was seriously frustrated all last week; yipping, barking, digging, running in and out of the doggy door. 24 hours a day for nearly 2 weeks. It annoyed me, but I’m sure Patch was a lot more annoyed.
I did my web research and then called the veterinarian to discuss the options. Basically, there are 3 major reasons to have a male dog neutered: to prevent breeding, to modify behavior, and to lower the risk of testicular cancer and prostrate problems.
I looked at the two major methods of neutering, castration and injection. Then I crossed my legs and cringed like any healthy male would do.
Injection has the advantage of being less painful, quicker, and no surgery. It prevents breeding, but since it doesn’t fully reduce the testosterone level, it’s not very effective at modifying behavior (i.e. Patch will still go bonkers every time Lilly is in heat). Whether it’s effective against cancer isn’t widely studied; the makers of Neutersol® seems to think the risk was small to begin with.
In Patch’s case, I want to reduce his frustration as well as eliminate his roaming; if he got under the fence once to visit Lilly, he’ll do it again. So castration is the best method. Hold on a second, I have to cross my legs again.
Even though he’s nearly 6, he’s not too old to be neutered, but since he has memories of what it’s like to live next door to a dog in heat, there’s no guarranty that he still won’t get all frustrated next time he hears the siren song of the black labrador.
Patch has an appointment with the vet next Friday morning.
Chasing the Wind 
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