Friday morning, Danny and I dropped Mason off at the vet's office for neutering and the removal of his hind dewclaws. The operation and recovery took about six hours. The neutering procedure is less severe than I envisioned: the vet makes a small incision between the base of the penis and the scrotum, and pops the testes out through the incision. The scrotal sac remains but will shrivel up over time.
At 2:30, I returned to the vet's office to pick up Mason, and he came bounding out to me as if nothing had happened. His hind legs were wrapped in gauze, but he didn't so much as limp. The vet and I took Mason into the examination room, and we placed the notorious lamp-shade on his head, so he wouldn't risk opening up his incision. He has to wear it until the 16th. Mason is not a happy camper and initially kept bumping into objects, but he's adjusting to it.
Over the weekend, Danny and I took it easy, staying close to home. We only made a few brief shopping trips, and I spent a good amount of time reading in the family room while Mason and I listened to Classical music (Mason likes Schubert). The high point of the weekend was having Zsolt over for dinner, movies, and music.
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"... small incision between the base of the penis and the scrotum, and pops the testes out through the incision. The scrotal sac remains but will shrivel up over time. ...
Better him than me.
Neutering is not pleasant for the dog, but it's the most humane answer. Here's why. Currently, some 3 million unwanted dogs are euthanized each year in the United States. Most of these are mixed breed, due to the antiquated and inaccurate notion that only "pure" bred dogs are desirable. In fact, pure bred dogs are more likely to suffer from genetically passed on diseases and are less intelligent than mixed breed dogs. Nevertheless, the market runs things, and people who are willing to spend $2,000 for a pure Labrador are unwilling to spend a dime on a Labrador mixed with Shepherd and Collie.
Thus, if Mason father's any pups, they are likely to wind up being euthanized. Therefore, we don't want him reproducing. Why saddle Mason with the desire to reproduce if he won't be allowed to fulfill that desire?
Finally, neutering is said to make dogs less aggressive, and less likely to roam.
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