I recently did some emailing back and forth with a person who supposedly wanted a rawfed puppy for Agility and Tracking, but did not want dewclaws removed and did not want to neuter or microchip. He wanted me to select a baby pup for him and not remove the dewclaws because he felt Agility and Tracking dogs needed dewclaws. Did not want a microchipped pup because his Vet supposedly told him that chipping "caused cancer". Did not want to have to neuter for the same reason. Explained to him that I would not do that because I wouldn't know at 3 days of age which pup might be his. Also gave him the email address of friends who do serious Tracking and Agility so they could explain to him that dogs do not need dewclaws for either. I also questioned whether his Vet had actually told him those things. I will back off on neutering IF I am comfortable with the buyer, but this was not a buyer I felt comfortable with. His "requirements" were strange, and I found it hard to believe him.
Got an email this morning to tell me that he didn't need to contact my friends because he found a "breeder" who did not remove dewclaws and didn't require neutering. Yes, I'm sure he did. There are plenty of them out there. They were perfectly happy to take his money and sell him a pup with no strings attached. You do what you can to educate, but it's often not worth the effort.
4 comments:
That is one thing I don't miss about doing rescue; educating those who don't want to be educated. Ignorance IS NOT bliss!
There are actually two University studies indicating that spay/neuter could cause premature death. The original one is from Tufts http://www.gopetsamerica.com/dog-health/spay_neuter_risks_benefits.aspx
The second article is from the Davis California Vet school: http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10498
There is anec dotal evidence involving the European countries were neutering is not common place which indicates that dogs live longer and healthier lives without being neutered,
Vasectomy and or tubal ligation would effectively stop the unwanted puppies. These surgeries are lower cost and can be done at earlier ages that does the traditional neutering.
Yep, I'm well aware of those studies, but as you say the information is anecdotal so far. I DO discuss that with my buyers, and I am very much against early spay/neuter. I am more than willing to back off on neutering a male pup in a pet home - once I am comfortable that the buyer is not trying to "pull something". A lot of breeding stock in puppy mills was purchased from breeders who did not require spay/neuter of pets.
Oh boy! I can see it now... Sperm counts for dogs in the show ring... First it was Neuticals...
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