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Paws & Claws

Jill Bowen has practiced veterinary medicine in England and Texas. She lives in Blacksburg now, and answers local pet owners' questions every week in The Roanoke Times and roanoke.com.

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Q I have a question about castrating my Labrador dog. He's 7 months old and weighs 70 pounds. I do not have papers for him.

I grew up belonging to 4-H and FFA, raising pigs and calves to show and sell. I castrated pigs and bull calves in order to show them. My impression of castration is the animal fattens up and loses his aggressiveness.

My wife and I are battling over castrating my dog. She doesn't want him to roam. I'm willing to put up with the inconvenience of having to bail him out the pound.

Are my impressions wrong, and if so why? I have been training him to retrieve duck and track deer. I didn't plan on breeding him, but I also thought it wouldn't hurt to use him now and then. A show dog handler saw him in a pet store and admired his beautiful conformation and stance and advised me to show him. He is very powerful and strong, really beauty in motion. I would hate to turn him into a couch potato.

A Concerning your Labrador and the thorny question of castration:

He cannot be shown without American Kennel Club registration papers. It might be possible to enter him in working gun dog trials without papers, but only at a low level. You have no chance of getting the papers, I suppose?

Castration will not affect his capabilities as a working dog. In fact it will help to keep his mind focused on you and your working relationship. Intact males have a strong tendency to roam in search of available bitches, especially in the spring and fall, when the majority of bitches come into season. If you are out hunting with others who have bitches with them, he is more likely to pay attention to them than you, especially if the bitches are coming in heat.

Allowing your dog to roam invites a number of risks. The possibility of being hit by a car is one. Being involved in dogfights would be another. There is always the chance of him being shot as a risk to livestock.

There is a high probability of him being picked up by the dogcatcher and taken to the pound, where there is only a small window for you to find him before he is put down or adopted. The fines for retrieving him from the pound are not cheap and will increase if he becomes a frequent visitor.

There is the risk that he could come into contact with rabid wildlife; there is a rise in the incidence of rabies in both skunks and raccoons in Virginia.

Males used for breeding can become annoying to women and children because there is an increase in "humping" if they are used for breeding only occasionally. This can be frightening when a big dog seizes a child or small woman by the leg or round the waist.

Castrated animals do have a tendency to put on weight because they are less active -- not roaming as much or expending energy looking for females. The remedy is in your hands. Monitor his diet because most Labs have an insatiable appetite and will eat anything unless restricted.

Exercise, too, is important, and tipping him out in the yard is not sufficient. Twice-daily walks of a minimum of a mile are necessary to keep him fit and in good condition. In hot weather, early morning and late evening are the best times for walking.

Finally there is the indignity of being labeled an anti-social owner.

So in conclusion I am strongly in favor of castration and agree with your wife.