I’m taking my dog in to get “clipped” within the next two weeks. Is there anything special I should do for him? What’s he going to lick now? What sort of changes can I expect from him if any? 2 year old chocolate lab.
YAY you for doing the smart thing!!! He’ll be a bit sore from the stitches for just a few days. Dogs don’t think of it in a “damn you for taking away my sex life” kinda way.
HE’LL be happier not driven to roam looking for sex (though 2 years is a bit late, if he has wanderlust, it may not go away).
It won’t “make him mean” or “make him fat” or any of that, as long as he’s getting lots of attention and exercise.
And ummmm, ugh, if you’re lucky, he won’t lick ANYTHING…
AFAIK, he’s a virgin.
Curiously, what do the vets do with the removed parts? Not being facetious, I’m really curious.
The same thing he licked before. He’ll still be able to get an erection.
He’ll lick his scrotum and his ass, just like he always has. There just won’t be anything in there anymore.
As for what will happen to his testicles, usually we pitch 'em, just like the other stuff we remove but don’t send off to a pathologist. At my last job, though, sometimes we’d freeze 'em and one of the other techs would use 'em for catfish bait. The fish seemed to like cat balls better, though.
:eek: :eek: :eek:
Thank god I never got around to taking him to the lake to swim. Although that may have saved me some money… 
I assume your a vet? What’s “ballpark” for this procedure? I know costs vary, but it’s well after hours for my vet. I’m getting him done either way, just mentally budgeting the next month or so. I figure as long as I’m up…
Thank you for your input, by the way.
Oh, they wouldn’t have gone after the testicles while they were still attached. Catfish do like meaty bait, though, the smellier the better. That’s why a lot of people use chicken liver as catfish bait.
I’m a tech, actually. The cost will vary wildly according to your area, your dog’s weight (I’m guessing your guy is in the 80# range?), and your vet’s standard of care. If they do preop bloodwork, antibiotics to go home, overnight observation, and pain meds it’s obviously going to cost much more than if they just cut him, give him a stick of ampicillin, wake him up, and kick him out the door. At a rough guess, I’d estimate you’re looking at anywhere from $80 (minimal stuff in a rural area) to $300 (the works in an urban area.)
I work for a specialty practice/emergency clinic now, and we generally don’t do neuters unless an employee has a new puppy who needs the snip. The last place I worked, it would have run about $120 for a CBC and kidney values, anesthesia, surgery, post-op monitoring and antibiotic injection, and suture removal on a dog that size.
Dang. When I saw the word “clipped,” I thought you had a grooming question I could answer.
sigh
As far as the cost goes - check in your area and see if the Humane Society or some rescue groups offer coupons for savings on neutering.
I know in Baltimore City, they operate a Neuter Scooter - a bus that parks in various areas and offers free neutering for city resident (well, their pets, anyway) - I expect in the long run it’s cheaper for them than building more shelters.
When my friend’s dog got fixed, we asked to see the testicles, and the doc fished 'em out of the trash or whatever and brought them to us.
I was amazed at how big they were! The dog’s a Pomeranian, and had tiny-looking nuts. I realized then that dog testicles are like icebergs, most of 'em are below the surface. Or, he brought out the wrong ones.
Ah, a question I am familiar with, concerning the behavior of a neutered lab.
Our Isaac was a rescue, picked up off the street at about a year, and was fixed at that point. He still gets erections (embarassingly enough, he gets them when I pet him fairly frequently, which is part of the reason that he is known as my doggie boyfriend around here) and licks himself enthusiastically. He’s never shown a tendency to wander, but that one probably varies from dog to dog. He certainly doesn’t miss his testicles any.
Aren’t labs great dogs? I adore him almost as much as he adores me.
Slightly off topic, but we recently had our 2-year old stallion gelded, and the vet asked if we wanted to keep the testicles. He told us that some people like to fry them up for a snack (although he usually gets this response with cows, not horses). We thought briefly about giving them to the dogs as a treat, but decided to pass.
Well, he got out today. Those boys are fast! He is a great dog, but I’m considering having them take a leg off, too, so I can at least catch up to him. 
Ages ago, my vet let me watch him clip my dog. And help a little.
Anyhow, make sure he doesn’t lick the wound so much that it affects the healing process. I ended up spending about a hundred bucks the week after my dog’s procedure on antibiotics and an E-collar to keep him from licking - it was horrible. And that was one thing my vet did not tell me to watch out for.
I bet cow testicles are as tasty as rooster eggs!
heh.
I was thinking you were going to cut his ears or something!
I was gonna beg you not to!
That said, my dog didn’t notice the procedure at all.
I worried that it would change his personality, but he’s the exact same. It was silly of me to worry.