Twice we have seriously considered breeding: first with Darcy, and again with McKenna. They were quality bitches, both of whose breeders would have endorsed our decision. We had the necessary resources: time, space, money and love. We lacked experience, but had a willing network of friends, advisers and mentors to rely on. We were confident of finding good homes for a reasonable sized litter. There was absolutely no reason why we couldn't have completed our 'course' in wolfhound ownership by breeding a wonderful litter of puppies - we even got as far as compiling a list of names for the pups.
Rafferty and his five siblings at one week old.
Thankfully, we came to our senses when we considered the huge responsibility that a litter of wolfhound puppies entails. Our knowledge of genetics is negligible - how could we be sure that the puppies we bred would not only be healthy, but also be an improvement on their parents? Suppose there were problems with whelping and we lost our bitch? Could we cope with that? With hand-rearing? Could we cope with an ailing or dying puppy? How could we answer the multitude of questions that our puppy owners might put to us? And deal with any behavioural or heath problems that might occur throughout the dogs' lives? How could we commit ourselves to taking in and re-homing a wolfhound, possibly years hence, should the need arise?
Seven weeks later - kidnapped!
Call us cowards, but the more thought we gave it the more scary the prospect became, and it was with considerable relief that we finally decided against it. It's simply not for us - we're happy to let others have all the hard work and the worry, and we'll continue to kidnap their delicious pups at eight weeks.
If you're thinking of breeding from your bitch, please take the time to read
the Kennel Club Information Guide before you reach a decision.
Attitudes towards the spaying of bitches and neutering of male dogs vary hugely between individuals and countries, with routine spaying/neutering apparently more prevalent and acceptable in the US than it is in the UK or Europe. With wolfhounds there are two extra factors to be considered when deciding whether and when to spay/neuter: firstly, while the administration of a general anaesthetic always carries an inherent risk, however slight, whether the patient is human or canine, wolfhounds are less tolerant of anaesthesia than other breeds; secondly, studies have shown that neutering male wolfhounds before the age of two can increase the risk of osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in later life. In both dog and bitch wolfhounds, early surgery is generally considered unnecessary and undesirable - both sexes need the surge of hormones that comes with puberty for their genitalia to develop fully.
Whether and when to spay/neuter should be an informed decision taken by every dog owner only after consultation with vet and breeder. Individual circumstances and attitudes vary enormously, and many people hold strong, and sometimes irrational, views either for or against. Submitting a dog to a major surgical procedure and general anaesthetic is not something that should ever be undertaken lightly or routinely - there should always be a justifiable reason, though opinions may vary widely as to what constitutes 'justifiable'. It is worth remembering that there are pharmaceutical alternatives to surgery for dogs and bitches.
Spaying/neutering makes dogs fat and lethargic.
It doesn't. Giving your dog too much food makes it fat. The reduction in hormone production after spaying/neutering may reduce
your dog's metabolic rate, and if you continue to provide it with the same amounts of food and exercise as before it will become
fat. Being fat makes your dog lethargic. Reduce your dog's food intake for a few weeks before and after surgery; weigh it regularly
for a year afterwards and adjust food/exercise quantities accordingly. None of our dogs has gained weight following spaying/neutering.
Spaying ruins bitches' coats.
This may be relevant in breeds like cocker spaniels where coat quality is crucial to show ring success, but we've seen no
deterioration in the quality of our bitches' coats after spaying. We have shown two spayed bitches with a modicum of success,
and poor coat quality has simply not been a problem.
Neutering ruins male dogs' character.
Your wolfhound's character does not reside in his testicles. Removing testosterone from his system may tone down aggressive
tendencies, and thus make him a happier and more relaxed dog, but his character will be unchanged.
Neutering males after the age of two has no effect on aggression.
Our normally reliable vet told us this - all we can say is that in Hogan's case reducing his testosterone levels made a dramatic
improvement to his level of arousal around entire males within a matter of weeks - at the age of four.
Spaying bitches makes them aggressive.
No, it doesn't. This myth seems to come from confused logic: that if neutering males reduces aggression, then spaying females
must increase it.
Bitches should have a litter before being spayed.
There is no need for this, but they should have at least one, preferably two seasons before spaying as the hormones play an
important part in the development of bone and genitalia.
Spaying makes bitches incontinent of urine.
It can do, especially if carried out on a young bitch, but this tends to be simple 'bed-wetting', much as some children have, rather
than true incontinence - when awake, there is no problem. Of the three bitches we have spayed, only Darcy suffered from
bed-wetting. In fact, she 'suffered' very little, in that she appeared totally unconcerned by waking in a wet bed, and the problem
was easily and completely controlled by a cheap, simple medication.
It's a cruel and unnatural to surgically alter animals for our convenience.
This one's a matter of opinion. We actually believe it's cruel to expose dogs to high levels of natural hormones whilst at
the same time preventing them from carrying out the very behaviour that those hormones are intended to produce.
Keeping an entire male in close proximity to an ovulating bitch without allowing them to mate is as cruel as taunting a starving
dog with a joint of raw meat. As for being unnatural - dogs lead totally unnatural lives with us all the time. In nature, bitches only
come into season once, not twice a year; only the alpha female has seasons, and when she does she will mate and have pups.
Bitches spend their lives between seasons in a state of 'anoestrus' ie producing no oestrogen - spaying simply extends this
natural state throughout the year, eliminating the peaks and troughs of hormone production, that, while 'natural' have no purpose
in a bitch who is not gong to be mated. Nowhere in nature, in dogs or wolves, would you find an entire male and an ovulating
female living in close proximity and being prevented from mating - to us, that is cruel and unnatural.
Entire males will roam.
Only if you allow them to. All dogs should be securely contained on their own premises - roaming simply shouldn't be an option.
Unspayed bitches attract strays.
Yes, this can be a problem, especially in urban areas. While your bitch is in season all her walks must be on-lead, and rather than
walking her from the house and leaving a scent trail for all the local dogs to follow, taking her out in the car to a distant area
can reduce the problem.
You can't show spayed/neutered dogs.
You certainly can in the UK, but you must inform the Kennel Club that spaying/neutering has been carried out. Judges have no
way of knowing whether or not a bitch has been spayed, so your chances of success in the ring are unaffected. With neutered males,
you may have to accept that your dog will not be placed, as the breed standard requires "two apparently normal testicles".
For the regulations in other counties you should consult your national kennel club or breed club.
We have taken different courses of action at different times with our wolfhounds:
- McGinty (1994 - 2002): we were so green that we didn't know he was cryptorchid (had an undescended testicle) until we took him to the vet for his first puppy check. Because of the increased risk of the abdominal testicle becoming malignant in later life he had to be neutered at some point, and we opted to do it when he was two, just before the arrival of our first girl, Clancy.
- Clancy (1996 - 1999): never having had a bitch before we weren't sure how we'd cope with her seasons, but were willing to wait and see. In fact, we had very little trouble, McGinty having already been neutered. However, poor Clance suffered badly, going off her food and descending into deep depression for several weeks afterwards. As we had no intention of breeding it seemed cruel to put her through the peaks and troughs of hormone production twice a year for the rest of her life so she was spayed after her second season.
- Chewbacca (1995-1999-2004): came to us entire at four years old, and remained that way, happy and problem free.
Two beautiful wolfhound bitches: McKenna and Darcy
- Darcy (2002 - 2010): we were thinking we might breed by now and this was the first time we'd had to manage a bitch in season with an entire male in the house. However, Chewie was an old man by then and had never been used at stud, so although he was interested and we were watchful, the risk was minimal and we skated through two seasons with no problem. Both seasons, however, were followed by phantom pregnancies, and it was heart-rending to see Darcy so stressed and unhappy. We decided against a litter and she was spayed after her second phantom.
Darcy with some of her phantom puppies.
- Branigan (2003 - 2008): destined never to set foot in the show ring or be used at stud due to a spinal injury at four months. We would have left him entire, but having decided to have Hogan we were worried about potential conflict with two entire males in the house, so Bran was neutered at 18 months. He developed osteosarcoma at the age of four and died at five.
- Hogan (2004 - 2009): remained intact, but by the age of three he was becoming troublesome around entire males. He never had a fight of any sort, but his displays of hackles, growling, posturing, tail-flying, etc were becoming concerning. Training was ineffective, as Hogan had a serious brain-cell deficiency (techno-speak for stoopid) and no interest in food at all, so neutering was very tempting. However, rather than put him though surgery and general anaesthetic we opted to try a Suprelorin implant to suppress his testosterone production - and it worked like a dream. Within a few weeks he was not only relaxed around other males, but transformed from an anxious, worry-wart of a dog to being totally chilled and laid-back - and much, much happier.
- McKenna (2005 - ): we seriously considered having a litter, especially as we felt she and Hogan were physically and temperamentally complementary. So, Kenna's first season came. In the house we had Darcy (spayed), Bran (neutered) and Hogan (entire, pre-injections). We prepared for battle, equipping the house with an array stair-gates and setting ourselves strict rules as to who could be in or out with whom at any one time. And it was a doddle. No problem - what was all the fuss about? For the first week.
Then she entered the ovulation phase of her season,
and all hell broke loose.
McKenna: spayed bitches don't have to be fat.
Hogan was beside himself - wouldn't eat, sleep or settle. We tried all the bitch sprays and potions; we tried keeping him where he could see her; we tried keeping him where he couldn't see her. Nothing could console, comfort or pacify him. All through the day he would whine, pace, pant, drool; in the night he would howl - not continuously, we might have coped with that, but about every half hour. There would be peace for just long enough for us to start drifting off into blissful sleep and then . . . off he'd go again. We staggered on with this for about three days, by which time even the dogs were bleary eyed and twitchy and eventually I spoke to our vet who prescribed a mild sedative for Hogan which helped us all through the remaining days of Kenna's season. We were still interested in her having a litter though, so didn't want to spay her. After discussing hormone injections with our vet and weighing all the pros (obvious) and cons (mainly the risk of mammary cancer) that's what we opted for. She stayed on the injections with no problems at all until she about three, when we made a final decision not to breed. Kenna was then spayed and we took advantage of the opportunity to have gastropexy carried out at the same time (gastropexy: surgical fixation of the stomach to prevent torsion).
- Rafferty (2008 - ): remains entire, but like his Uncle Hogan before him he does suffer from a belief that he should be the only dog in neighbourhood with balls. His aggression is low-key and easily controlled, but none-the-less inconvenient and potentially dangerous. For this reason, and with O'Mara's first season approaching, he has received a Suprelorin implant to suppress his testosterone production.
- O'Mara (2011 -): remains entire, but as we do not intend to breed we plan she will probably have laparoscopic spaying and gastropexy after her first season.
Clancy: no deterioration in coat quality after spaying.
