Post by @championdogtraininguk

CHEMICAL CASTRATION 🐾 It’s always a difficult decision wondering whether to neuter/spay your dog. Personally, it’s something I’ve never rushed into or particularly liked doing unless there’s a genuine reason for it. For me, reasons to consider neutering can include: • Health concerns • Waiting until the dog has physically matured where appropriate • Their lifestyle or living situation creates a genuine risk of accidental mating • A male becomes extremely stressed around a bitch in season • A bitch suffers repeatedly with phantom pregnancies • Hormone-related behaviours are significantly affecting the dog’s welfare or quality of life With Loki, neutering wasn’t something I originally wanted to do. However, when Lady came into season in June, I had never seen him so stressed. He was pulling his hair out, constantly tail chasing, breaking out of TWO solid crates, damaging the house trying to get to her and completely refusing food for around a week, resulting in weight loss. The tail chasing has unfortunately also become something he now does when he becomes over-aroused. I now have two entire bitches in the house, and I don’t want to put Loki through that level of stress again or risk him seriously hurting himself. He’s now 3½ years old, so after weighing everything up, I decided it was the right time to consider castration. However, I didn’t want to permanently remove his testicles without knowing how reducing his testosterone may affect him. That’s why I’ve chosen chemical castration first. Chemical castration involves a temporary hormone implant that suppresses testosterone and fertility for a period of time. One of the biggest advantages for me is that it allows us to see how Loki responds before considering permanent surgical castration. Every dog is different, which is why decisions around neutering should be based on the individual dog, their health, behaviour and lifestyle rather than simply doing it because they’ve reached a certain age. Huge thanks again to Gemma and the team at @springlodgevets #chemicialcastration #dogs #vets #dogtrainer