To Snip or not to snip

To Snip or not to snip....

Well it is almost that time, we are considering having Denali neutered, or not. I never dreamed that this would be such a difficult decision to make. My previous dog was no problem, just a simple decision - snip - that was the only choice (mind you I was a young teenager when it came around to having this done, and my parents probably made the choice ultimately).

I guess the question that I like to ask is rather, is the procedure required? Do the pro's out weight the cons? For my wife and I we used to enjoy taking Denali to the off leash dog park, which has a mandatory neuter law in place. Unfortunately we have not been able to attend this park for months now. There are still plenty of other parks in the city which we frequent though. On the other hand Denali's training has come along very well and he does not have any problem with "humping" around the house or other dogs. Is it necessary to cause him unneeded harm?

Another factor that plays into effect is the age of the dog. From my research most breeds of dogs can be neutered around the age of 6 months when doggy puberty hits. Some vets may suggest to have it done before this age. However when consulting our vet, it was suggested that we wait till he is well past 1 year to fully ensure his proper development as is typical in larger breeds.

The other issue which we hear most about is aggression. This would be enough to sway my vote for the decision if he had any type of aggression towards humans or other dogs. Fortunately he doesn't, which makes the decision that much more difficult. However with some more research with the ridgeback breed I found several cases in which the dogs became MORE aggressive after the procedure! That is a scary thought, I can't imagine what I would do if we had a 90lbs aggressive dominant dog around the house.

With all these things to consider, we are at a bit of cross roads and still have not made the decision. I will keep posted how we work this out.

Cheers.

-Aaron

Port Burwell Park Beach.

Port Burwell has a great beach, also located on Lake Erie. There is a special section just for dogs and dog owners, which is very nice to see (although not leash free). It is a provincial park complete with camping and day use. One down side is you will have to pay the $14 park entrance fee to spend the day and access the dog beach.

(Denali demostrating the beach dead-man anchor).

For more info check it out here: http://www.ontarioparks.com/english/portb.html

At Lake Erie Again.

The lovely Patty with Denali at the beach once again.

At the Farm II

More action from the farm.

Visiting the farm.

Hershey and Denali after a swim at the farm.

It is great to have access to nice open areas to let dogs be dogs. The dogs had a blast together. Hershey gave Denali a clinic on swimming though, it was very interesting to watch how natural of a swimmer a Lab is compared to a Ridgeback.

Anyway more pics to come...

Denali in The Surf Again.

He is still working on his swimming skills and is a bit afraid of the waves.

Playing in the surf at Lake Erie

Denali visits the beach again, this time Lake Erie, where he has equal ammount of fun. This time he was free to run up and down the beach and play in the surf.