Castration

As you have read, we have been “behavioral people” for all of our lives
and will from a behavioral point of view highlight this topic. Also some medical aspects are included in this chapter, but it is best to discuss these with your own veterinarian. If there are any questions after reading this information, we would be happy to discuss and/or answer them.
Please feel free to contact us for this.

Male

Castration of a male is a sensitive subject for some people; Men in particular sometimes find it difficult to have a male dog neutered. Some people, and sometimes veterinarians, believe that “we” should not intervene in nature, because: “they are born with hormones and sexual organs”. The latter is indeed true, but we have of course been intervening in nature for a long time by locking our dogs in our houses; forbid them to gather a nice harem that they can care for and mate with. As a result, they actually always walk around with a “mating urge” and that causes stress. Dog males cannot give themselves relief like human males can, so they actually always walk around with a “loaded gun”. The testosterone ensures that there is always vigilance; this to keep his environment (territory) safe from his (not present being natural) pack. Possible intruders must be chased away to protect his pack. At least that's how it is in nature, with wolves... in our house there are only a few birds to chase away from the garden, or passers-by who walk by. Other “intact” males must also be chased away; if not for better or for worse! Because of course you can't lose your pack without a fight, you certainly won't let the first person knock you off your throne. That should at least be chivalrously fought.

If there are bitches in heat nearby (at least a 2 km radius, because that's how far his sense of smell extends), everything is a little worse for him!! The wonderful scent that a bitch spreads to attract the gentlemen ensures that he will not eat for up to 3 weeks and will start to howl like a wolf at any time. He does this to let the bitch in question hear where he is and to call her and also to let all other males know where he is and to warn them not to go to “his” bitch because he has already claimed her. This is also a very undesirable situation, of course, and not least for the male in question.

An intact male always sleeps with one ear open, always on guard and alert to immediately detect any danger. To notice and intervene. In short: an intact male is always on. All that stress costs him a lot energy! Not every (new) dog owner has enough knowledge of dog language to notice all this, but believe me: all un-neutered males "suffer" from their testosterone drive. Simply because they don't run around in the wild and have a nice pack to look after. After a Castration this urge will be removed and allows them to live a much more relaxed life without the urge to mate. And also playing with all other dogs, without a testosterone-driven undertone and leading a normal fun and relaxed dog life.

The best age to have a male dog neutered cannot be determined in advance. It is preferable to let them mature and grow physically first. At the same time, it is important not to allow unwanted behavior to be conditioned. The longer unwanted behavior (also if it is hormone-driven
behavior) is present, the more difficult it will be to extinguish it. The more testosterone-driven behaviors are present, the earlier it may be advisable to castrate. Somewhere between 8 and 18 months is most common.

Hormone-driven behaviors include:

Marking (lifting his paw against everything and peeing a few drops)
Chase birds, etc., away from the garden
barking passersby's away at the window (always works, because most people just keep walking)
“To ride” on other dogs (or have a tendency to do so)
“To ride” on his pillow or people
Pulling on the line, want to be at the forefront
Being reactive to outside sounds (including outside in the garden)
Not being able to play nicely with other dogs due to the presence of mating urges
Fighting with some dogs (almost without exception these will be intact males)
Being attacked out of the blue by another intact male (this can be caused by the high testosterone level of both dogs)

Frequently mentioned reasons for not having a male dog neutered are:

*“It changes his character.”
Just the opposite is true. His real character is what remains after castration. Only its hormone-driven behavior disappears and his true “self” remains. So his behavior will certainly change, especially because he will experience much less stress from everything that he "had" to do because of his testosterone and now no longer has to. It will no longer always be on, which is especially nice for the dog itself.

*“My dog will become anxious, because he is already a bit insecure.”
Often the opposite is true. Certainly a male who is a bit reserved about his own nature and/or who is insecure, will be very happy if he no longer has to do things because of the testosterone that he actually does not dare to do. This inner confusion gives him a lot of inner stress. Especially if he has already “had” to fight with another male; something he would certainly have avoided without the influence of testosterone. In short, you remove the inner confusion through the castration and his own “I” remains steadfast

*“His coat will change.”
We have never seen it before in an Australian Cobberdog. This is certainly possible with some other breeds, but not in our breed.

*“It's an operation after all.”
That's right! Every anesthesia carries a (small) risk, including this one. For a male though it's a very small procedure with 2 incisions of approximately 1 cm. This only bothers them for 1 or 2 days.

If, after reading this, you still have doubts about whether castration is the right decision, you can always contact us; We are happy to take a look at your dog's behavior and can provide any explanations. If you are still in doubt, you can also consider a chemical castration. A chip is inserted under the skin that stores hormones for ½ or 1 year to simulate surgical castration. During this time you can approximately see what it would be like if he were really neutered.

Female

Then the castration of a bitch. Castration indeed! Castration is the removal of the testicles or ovaries. Medical matters play a leading role here; There are actually no behavioral reasons. Behaviorally, a bitch (especially of our breed) will not change; at most it will become somewhat even more stable due to the lack of hormone fluctuations. For many bitches and their owners, the heat period, which lasts at least about 3 weeks, is an unpleasant period. Blood loss, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, lethargy and pushy males can play a role in this. Actually, it can be compared 1 to 1 with the cycle of us humans, with the difference that women have a cycle of about 4 weeks and dogs have an average of 6 months. However, there can be a lot of difference here; anything between 5 and 12 months can be normal. After castration, heat will no longer occur.

Phantom pregnancy

Many bitches become false pregnant after a heat cycle. This gives the bitch in question the same feeling as a bitch that is really pregnant. They may eat less, become a little fatter, and develop an urge to nest. This usually goes away on its own, but... after 9 weeks milk can start to flow, because that is how long a pregnancy lasts in dogs and then puppies have to be suckled. Nature has “devised” this phenomenon to keep the mother wolf as strong and fit as possible. After all, she has to lead the pack. All other bitches in the pack come into heat shortly after each other and then become phantom pregnant so that they can also care for and feed the cubs at the right time. A kind of risk spreading, which is very desirable and effective in nature, but clearly not in our environment. During the next heat cycle, the false pregnancy will often return in a more severe form and there are few remedies that really provide relief. After castration (at the right time = 3 months after the last heat cycle), false pregnancy will no longer occur.

Breast cancer

A bigger problem is that unneutered females have a much greater chance of mammary tumors, i.e. breast cancer, which often develops at a slightly later age but can be prevented by castration.

Inflammation of the uterus

But the biggest problem is that intact females (25%) can get uterus infections. Unnoticed, this has a very high mortality rate. An acute uterus infection is often noticed because the dog suddenly becomes very ill with a high fever and everything. With a timely, correct diagnosis and emergency surgery, a bitch can still be saved. It is worse when there is a dormant uterus infection with only mild complaints. This is often overlooked, even by the best veterinarians. Such a uterus then becomes increasingly worse and the wall becomes thinner and will eventually start to leak. Then there is peritonitis, often resulting in sepsis very quickly, making it impossible to save a dog. This can happen at a young age and I wouldn't wish anyone to have to lose their dog to this at a young age. By castrating a bitch, the risk of uterus inflammation is completely eliminated.

The cons

There are few disadvantages to castrating a bitch. Of course it is an abdominal operation and every operation carries risks, but it is better to perform preventive surgery on a healthy dog than to have to operate urgently on a critically ill dog. Normally, a bitch is back to normal after a few days and seems to have little trouble from the operation. Incontinence can occur very sporadically. If, after reading this, you still have doubts about whether castration is the right decision, you can always contact us. We will then look for a solution together.

However, the “castration clause” in the purchase agreement is based on the above; the long-term health and well-being of our sweet pups.

With us (and with almost all other breeders), a breeding ban is included in the purchase agreement, unless it has been discussed in advance that you wish to breed. This will then be taken into account when considering the distribution of the puppies and additional DNA testing will be done.

If you have any questions about the above, please feel free to contact us and we will take the time to answer them.