Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How neutering dogs became the norm

moosenuggets.substack.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 233 posts

Re: How neutering dogs became the norm

#81

Post by t-writescode »

realsimplesynd wrote: post #57
projektfu wrote: post #38

As a US veterinarian, I hold a nuanced view of spay/neuter. Nevertheless, I generally recommend it as default for most pet owners, as it goes along with their expectations of what their pet's life will be like. People who elected to leave their dogs intact are often shocked by something down the line. 1. Pyometra. Dogs do not have menopause, but they may stop cycling. When they do they can develop a uterine infection…

> 6. All bitches bleed during proestrus. The word “bitch” has changed so much in cultural meaning during the last 50 years or so that somehow it feels more offensive to call a female dog a “bitch” then a human. How is “bitch” used in veterinary hospitals?

It hasn’t. That’s the source of the word, and you likely haven’t been in circles where the real word is used intentionally for the real word’s purpose.

Re: How neutering dogs became the norm

#82

Post by t-writescode »

sn_master wrote: post #60
michaelmrose wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don't post a url corresponding to a search of YouTube videos as if it were a source backing up your argument.

The hundreds of videos of the said dogs attacking people, the detailed news reports and expert interviews are not a source to back an argument?

Whether or not the message you’re sharing is true, the plural of anecdote is not data; and the only solution you find acceptable is the ending of hundreds of thousands of animals’ lives, many of whom have done nothing wrong.

Re: How neutering dogs became the norm

#83

Post by hnick »

empalms wrote: post #39

I think this author is missing a major piece of dog park social norms where spaying & neutering are concerned -- behavioral changes that (ostensibly) arise from de-sexing dogs, particularly in neutering males. Maybe they should ask these other dog park goers _why_ they are so interested in status of their dog's reproductive organs... In my own anecdotal experience, my male golden retriever (who I've spent considerabl…

Interesting the behaviour mellowed after the fact. When we did it for our rabbit - because he'd already become a little grumpy and aggressive bundle of hate - the vet said it's probably too late to revert the changes but at least he won't hump our feet. I'd assumed it's the same for dogs.

Re: How neutering dogs became the norm

#84

Post by perardi »

realsimplesynd wrote: post #57
projektfu wrote: post #38

As a US veterinarian, I hold a nuanced view of spay/neuter. Nevertheless, I generally recommend it as default for most pet owners, as it goes along with their expectations of what their pet's life will be like. People who elected to leave their dogs intact are often shocked by something down the line. 1. Pyometra. Dogs do not have menopause, but they may stop cycling. When they do they can develop a uterine infection…

> 6. All bitches bleed during proestrus. The word “bitch” has changed so much in cultural meaning during the last 50 years or so that somehow it feels more offensive to call a female dog a “bitch” then a human. How is “bitch” used in veterinary hospitals?

It’s still used extensively by breeders, including what amounts to the highest authority, the American Kennel Club.

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeding/choosing-a-br...

Re: How neutering dogs became the norm

#85

Post by AuthorizedCust »

tw25511315 wrote: post #79
empalms wrote: post #39

I think this author is missing a major piece of dog park social norms where spaying & neutering are concerned -- behavioral changes that (ostensibly) arise from de-sexing dogs, particularly in neutering males. Maybe they should ask these other dog park goers _why_ they are so interested in status of their dog's reproductive organs... In my own anecdotal experience, my male golden retriever (who I've spent considerabl…

The social density aspect is an interesting one. Of course, there is still the option of not having a dog in such an environment. This leads me now to wonder whether it's not a bit selfish to decide to mess with an animal's hormones to get them to conform to an unnatural environment. Not casting aspersions; every dog I've had was spayed/neutered.

> This leads me now to wonder whether it's not a bit selfish to decide to mess with an animal's hormones to get them to conform to an unnatural environment.

Do dogs even have a natural environment? Dogs are separated from any natural source by many thousands of years, and done in a way to make them easy for them to be owned by humans.

Re: How neutering dogs became the norm

#86

Post by perardi »

cwkoss wrote: post #77
dfxm12 wrote: post #16

I'm surprised there's no mention of Bob Barker. In 1970, less than 10 percent of licensed dogs were spay or neutered. Today, about 80 percent are. From 1979, everyday, Bob would end his show with this message: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTpolOR0kQo It's where I learned about the issue...

Kind of crazy to think that a game show host may have caused hundreds of millions of canine gonads being removed. What an odd legacy to have.

“What an odd legacy to have.”

If by “odd” you mean “he saved millions and millions of unwanted cats and dogs from ending up in kill shelters or being abandoned in fields”, well, I’d take that on my tombstone.

Re: How neutering dogs became the norm

#87

Post by perardi »

sn_master wrote: post #31
SamoyedFurFluff wrote: post #26

The author is claiming that dogs are rare in shelters now and that institutions are actively buying them from the same puppy mills that are being detracted. I can’t see that to be true- look at villa lobos rescue with over 130 pit bulls, and they have a nationwide show trying to adopt out their dogs. Hell my local aspca has 445 dogs looking for a new home within 25 miles of my zip code.

pit bulls are dangerous dogs, unlike most other breeds. source: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pitbull+attack Edit: https://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics-fatalities-2019... 69% of fatalities due to dog bites were caused by the same breed.

“Pit bull” isn’t even a coherent concept; it a loose term for a constellation of terrier and bulldog breeds.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pit_bull

Re: How neutering dogs became the norm

#89

Post by perardi »

Fezzik wrote: post #80
leetcrew wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

pretty much any large dog can seriously fuck you up if they have a mind to. I've seen a chesapeake bay retriever crush a deer's head with his jaws. in the vast majority of cases, a properly socialized dog will not attack a human unprovoked.

Pretty much any mammal that is around 40+ lbs could seriously fuck that unarmed human up if it wanted or needed to. You’re not winning a hand-to-hoof fight with a deer or a mountain goat. The fact is that pit bulls are responsible for the super-majority of dog-attack-caused fatalities, at least in the USA: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_dog_attacks_in... Over a 30+ year span, pit bulls were responsible…

Ha, 40 pounds? My dad ended up in the hospital because of an antibiotic-resistant infection from…our 12-pound cat named Mittens.

Re: How neutering dogs became the norm

#90

Post by perardi »

sn_master wrote: post #58
michaelmrose wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You would get less down votes if you make substantial arguments as people will be more apt to engage in discussion instead of down voting and moving on.

I shared a YouTube link with hundreds of videos of pitbull attacks caught on camera. Watching one or two of those videos should constitute a substantial argument if someone has an open mind. From experience, I can spend a solid hour writing arguments and I'll get downvoted anyway by all the SJWs here who refuse to accept anything differing from they believe in. Even if one person decides to watch any of those videos…

Define a “pit bull”. Go right ahead.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pit_bull

Post reply on HN