I don't know whether all dogs and cats should be neutered or spayed at six months or not, otherwise where would the next generation come from? However, at some point in the lives of our friends there should come a time for this encounter.
Daniel was our family darling. Part Doberman, part German Shepherd, part Labrador, part pretty much everything else, he was strong, intelligent, loving and the king of his domain. We live in a small town near the countryside where animals, domestic and wild, roam about. Daniel was top doggie in his territory. All of the other mutts would visit him now and then. Occasionally, he would slip his collar and the whole motley crew would case the town. Daniel had a wandering way about him, especially in the springtime when a young canines fancy would turn to thoughts of, well, certainly not baseball!
Many a night my mother and I would be worried about him because he slithered off his collar again to go gallivanting all night. Inevitably, he would be on our doorstep the next morning. Although barley able to raise his head or move one paw in front or the other, he did manage to climb up the outside stairs. He would crash in front of the electric heater and sleep for two days; only intermittently rising to skim a few licks of water and gulp it down in agonizing pain!
When Daniel was eight years old we decided to get him neutered. He was becoming far too aggressive towards anyone other than the family. Experts say that in the altered male canine it should reduce aggression, reduce a wandering behavior and make him more focused on training. However, Daniel never read those statistics.
I loaded up my reluctant pooch in the van and headed out. It's amazing how they know when they are being taken to the vets! Early the next day my mother and I picked him up. We even brought a blanket along just to make it more comfy for the baby to lie down on. When we got there, he let us know in no uncertain terms that this experience was not one he would have chosen for himself. He gave us the most, "Boy, are you going to pay for this," look. As we were taking him to the van, he stopped at the vet's flowerbed to relieve himself. Two sets of patients went in and out and we were still in the same spot! He cried a river, as it were. No matter how much I pulled on him to move, he stayed firm on three legs! The flowerbed is now a rock garden.
Finally, we got him into the van and up the stairs. He pretty much ignored us for the rest of the day. That night my mother got up to go to the bathroom and felt something squishy under her toes. She turned on the light and to her horror she saw chicken skins, bones, and sundry soggy items all over the kitchen floor! The following morning she told me about it. When we brought Daniel in to show him what had been done, all he did was give us a glare that said, "That's what I think about what you had done to me! Live with it!"
Daniel was somewhat less aggressive afterwards. His wandering didn't slow down though and he never did get a focus on training. Getting neutered at six months seems a little too early for me, but at eight years old? It's no dog and pony show!
