dog's are getting fixed

catboogie · Jun 28, 2006

so my two boys, golden retrievers 11 months old, got fixed today. i was surprised that they had to stay over night at the vet as a standard thing. i have a lot of experience getting cats fixed but never with dogs. i did expect this to be a little harder on them since we waited until they were older. what should i expect the recovery time to be like? do you think they'll be in a lot of pain? is it true that male dogs can get depressed from being fixed? also, did you notice any changes in your dogs' personalities after fixing them? and did they gain a lot of weight or did you have to start feeding them less? thanks...

laura

fr3ak · Jun 29, 2006

Personally I think its easier on a male dog to get fixed then a
female, mostly due to the actual op is less evasive. 
 
my boys were running around as if nothing had happened just a few
hours after the surgery, once the sedation wore off. They didnt get
depressed, or act as if they were in any pain....(my boys both came
home the same day as soon as they woke up) 
 
dogs gain weight due to over feeding and lack of exercise, not
really from being fixed....retrievers as a rule have a tendency to
gain weight, but if fed a good diet thats adequate for the dog you
shouldnt have any problems (dont let the dog/s free feed) I
personally dont like free feeding anyway.... 
 
Just remember if your boys are already cocking their leg and scent
marking desexing will not stop this as its a learned behaviour.,
that has been practiced, the same goes with dog aggression, many
ppl think that fixing an entire male dog will stop dog to dog
aggression, and sometimes it can aid it, but it wont complete stop
it, depending on many factors!...The stitches will be in for about
10 to 14 days, but as I said both my guys didnt even act as if
anything had been done (I have dalmatians) 
 
hmmmm anything else just ask 
 
Im a dog trainer, plus I work and help run a dog kennel

catboogie · Jul 10, 2006

really you are a dog trainer? can you give me a suggestion on how to teach my dog not to pull on the leash? he is very stubborn and alpha about the whole thing.

laura

julie · Jul 10, 2006

Ohh, can I get some advice too?

My dogs have recently started fighing over food. One will come around the corner and the other is eating and the one eating will growl, then the other one will start, then it turns into barking.... We take the food away, we've given them designated bowls in designated spots, we've put the gentle leader on our more aggressive dog and it helps for the moment but that's it, we get down and put our heads in the bowls but they don't growl at us.... Waht gives??????

CowTown · Jul 10, 2006

Hi Laura,

have you heard of a gentle leader? It's basically like a harness, not a mussle, and keeps the dog from pulling. When it tries to pull, the gently leader makes the dog's head tuck down and reduces their urge to pull so hard. That's how it is suppose to work anyways. My newfoundland learned it for a while and now she's stubborn and doesn't care about it....she pulls again and it sucks. I really need to work more with her on this! She needs to learn heal too!

fr3ak · Jul 11, 2006

Hi Laura and Julie, 
 
Yes I am a dog trainer and yes you can attempt to pick my brains
about dogs as much as you like! hehe aint much brain activity there
I'm afraid LOL 
 
first one first 
 
I agree with Mynewfy that You can use a gentle leader, the only
problem being dogs can still infact pull with a gentle leader
on.... so it may work it may not, but it can definitely
help.... 
 
what you need to do is go back to basics, I do positive
reinforcement training only, so no check chains or harsh
punishment...... 
 
your lucky you have retrievers they love food and think with their
stomachs ALL the time lol, which does make training easier 
 
first thing you need to do is get your dogs attention 
 
how do we do 
 
use tasty treats that your dog loves (vary them as well) dried
liver, roast chicken, roast beef etc, anything your dog really
really likes 
 
initially what you will be after is to get your dog to look at
you 
 
get a treat put it to your dogs nose and draw your hand to your
face, the minute your dog looks at you (click if your using a
clicker or say YES) 
 
yes becomes the cue to your dog that it has done something
right 
 
to train the yes command or clicker, basically click treat click
treat click treat for at least 10 repetitions..... 
 
why do we want our dogs attention? if our dog is watching us and
paying attention to what we are asking they are not watching the
world around them 
 
does this happen over night no. 
 
initially you will start in the backyard with NO distractions, and
then you will practice out the front of your yard, and then build
on it till you can go to the park etc 
 
loose leash walking is easy enough to teach if you are consistent
with your training 
 
hold a piece of food to your dogs nose level with your leg, take 3
steps with your dog completely fixated on the food, and then give
him the piece of food 
 
if your dog does pull make like a tree, stand still and wait for
your dog to stop and come back to your before you recommence your
walk.... 
 
The more your dog gets to practice pulling the better he gets! 
 
you may only get three steps initially out of your dog but
eventually you can build up slowly until you can walk without your
dog pulling 
 
hopefully this will help, if you have any other questions feel free
to ask 
 
juile a couple of questions first 
 
what breed of dogs do you have? 
what ages? 
what sexes are they? 
when did the food aggression start? 
is it with all food or special foods? 
did you notice anything specific that started or changed when the
dogs first started having a problem with their bowls? 
 
I can give you a couple of solutions once I get some answers to the
questions above 
 
cheers

kybert · Jul 12, 2006

got a question for your fr3ak. i currently use the halti [tried gentle leader and it was worse] for my akita and it just doesnt work anymore. anything else i can use. she pulls so hard on this now that its bound to cause damage over the long run. by the way, shes fine walking around streets, its just at the park where there are other dogs that she pulls.

fr3ak · Jul 12, 2006

Hi Kylie, 
 
 
In my experience some dogs prefer different head halters, I have
seen dogs go absolutely ballistic on a gentle leader but not even
flinch an eye with the black dog wear halters, and vise
versa... just depends on the dog I suppose 
 
You can do the training like I described to Laura, but I know all
too well that akita's are big powerful dogs....(idea sled dogs
hehe) 
 
there are other products on the market specifically for pulling
such as the easy walker, the straps go from the collar to under the
front legs and join back up to rings attached to a harness type
thing at the back of the dog, and they do work really well, the
only thing to be very conscious of and mindful of is that it can
rub the dogs armpits, and dont let the dog charge or it could get a
rope burn.... 
 
there is another type head halter on the market called the infin8
which fits like a normal head halter only the part the lead
attaches to is at the base of the dogs neck in a martingale type
fitting (very good) 
 
pulling is rewarding to a dog, they get to drag us around to were
they want to go, re training with rewards could have benefit to
your dog (kinda hard to do a consultation over the net) 
 
but try an easy walker, the more you practice the better your dog
gets (same applies for pulling the more he pulls the better he
gets) 
 
hope this helps!! 
 
the other question I have for you Kylie, is she pulling to get to
the other dogs to play or rip off their heads? 
 
 
you might be able to do some extra training with loose leash
walking with some friends with dogs? so the whole experience isnt
so exciting!

dog's are getting fixed

catboogie

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fr3ak

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catboogie

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julie

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CowTown

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fr3ak

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kybert

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fr3ak

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