Adopting a galgo - part II - neutering

Almost all rescue organisations will ask that the galgo or galga you adopt be neutered if it has not already been done prior to the adoption. There is a reason for this, and a very good one too.

The problem in Spain that causes these poor dogs to be so abused and abandoned is caused by over population, over breeding. certain areas of Spain are literally so full of galgos that there is no chance of homes for them.

Why neuter?

Many end up wandering the streets, being dumped in shelters and dog pounds or even worse, ending up in the hands of the galguerros( hunters), or the gipsies.

These people allow them to breed unchecked, pick what they want and treat the rest as truly disposable.

Spain has this problem and we outside Spain see the terrible consequences of it every day.

When we bring galgos out to France, or Holland, or Belgium, or even overseas to the UK and America, we do not want to create the same problem, and this is why we insist that all galgos are neutered.

It isn't that you, as an individual, are not trusted, just that a sensible policy has been adopted to try to pre-empt any problems and it must be enforced. If an exception is made for one, it will become the norm, with foreseeable difficulties in the future.

Neutering does not harm the animals, not make them unhappy. In fact, it tends to preclude the possibility of the development of various cancers in later life, and removes the angst sometimes associated with the desire to find a mate, resulting in greater contentment.

Written by Joanna Simm.

I'm adding a note here, as all the dogs, cats and horses which I have owned or currently own, are neutered. It saves so many problems. As I told my French neighbour as he walked through our door, 'everything which comes into my house to live is cut!' How he did laugh, with his knees together!

Also, if you've had experience of coping with a 'whole' male dog who scents a female on heat, or a female dog 'on heat' being pestered by male dogs, or mopping up around the house after her whilst she is on heat,
neutering the dog brings peace of mind to everyone.

Beryl.

If you adopt a puppy from a rescue association, you will be asked to put up a 'bond' Here Joanna explains the purpose of a 'bond'.

Bonds

A quick word here about the payment of a bond, required by some organisations to be submitted in the case of the adoption of a puppy, a sick or badly injured galgo, or a dog who for some reason is unable to be neutered before the adoption.

All that is required here is a cheque of perhaps 500 Euros, which is NOT CASHED but held until you submit the vets certificate to state that the neutering has been carried out.

This may be alien to British minds, but it is a common practice abroad, and is nothing to worry about as long as the organisation you are using is a bona fide charity such as L'Europe des Levriers or Amigos de Los Galgos. The cheque is returned to you untouched after the neutering.

Related articles:
Questions to ask yourself
Importance of neutering
Fees paid to associations
Questionnaires and visits

Comments

[ulla keller]

Hallo,

I do not agree with the policy to neuter
dogs and bitches under ALL circumstances.
-NEUTERING by itself is an operation under
anaesthesia, with all the wellknown
problems that might occur
- if it is done too early, the animal has
no chance to develop properly physically
and psychologically
- it is affecting the hormone system,
unbalancing it, sometimes bringing
underlying problems (malfunction of the
thyroid gland) to become pathological
- older males not necessarily get "softer",
as a dominant behaviour often has been
"fixed"
- some bitches might get tougher, as their
testosterone level now is not longer
counterbalanced by oestrogen
- some other dogs react critically to
aggressively towards neutered dogs

so there are risks, which should be taken into consideration, when making the decision.
Neutered bitches don't come into season,
its cleaner and easier for the owners.
And the risks of breastcancer is lower.
But, this cannot automatically justify
neutering.
Placing a rescue dog in a new home,it is
always a risk, and one never can be 100%
sure, to have found the right owner.
So, there is personal assessment of the
person, the circumstances of living,
and most of all .....trust.
Why not leave the decision to them, to
neuter or not, when they might have even
more difficult decisions to make concerning
the adopted dog in the future ?
I personnally have a pack of four bitches
(12,9,1 year and 3months old), none of them
has been neutered and when I had a male,
he underwent vasectomy, so he couldn't
produce puppies but was "intact" as a male.
So, it is possible.

[Mediabee]

Hi

Thank you so much for taking the time to a)read Galgo News and b) to reply in such depth to a post.

We are all, as individuals, entitled to our own views, which are often based on our own personal experiences.

But I think we all have to accept that the basic problem in Spain as far as the galgos is concerned, is over breeding, and therefore, to control the possible use of rescued galgos for further breeding is to be congratulated.

Personally, I think that all professional showing of dogs should be banned. It encourages the over breeding of all predigree dogs, especially in the UK, where conformation faults can be inbred as 'fashion' styles - what does the dog know if it should have a much more squashed nose - which produces breathing problems - or sloping hind quarters - which produces hip problems - all because of fashion!

So, basically, I think personally there are hundreds of thousands of dogs produced, many of which end up in refuges and rescue centres, and anything which controls this is welcome.

Every animal which I have had, in over 60 years of owning dogs, cats and horses, has been castrated, with no side effects, no problems to the health of the animal - whatever age they were castrated, and I had a bitch and a dog who were both castrated when they were 7 years of age - separately - with no detrimental effects, the dog lived till he was 18 years old.

Those that are still living - to the greatest of their life expectancy - have I am sure, been negated the risk of cancer and other diseases which they could have run the risk of developing, had they been left whole.

It is good to have healthy open debate on such a topic.

But personally, I think all animals should be neutered, to cut down the problems of inter-breeding genetic faults - as in the showing world - and producing so many unwanted animals that the refuges - especially in Spain - cannot cope.

Thank you again for your valued contribution.

So, it is a

[ulla keller]

Hi,
I think , the problem of ethical breeding,
avoiding genetic problems,
is a very serious one, but a DIFFERENT one.
The problem we are facing in Spain, mainly
has to do with abandoning hunting dogs,
that do not perform.
Dogs are being bred in large numbers, and
those that do not perform,those that are sick or getting older ,are being treated like garbage.
We obviously cannot reduced the numbers
of hunting dogs being bred in Spain, we
may help the dogs being abandoned by
given them a new home.
So, the question is, should the bitches
and dogs being neutered under ALL
circumstances before rehoming them ?
To make this decision, one has to know All
the facts, those that speak for neutering
and those that give reason, not to do it.
This should be discussed between the rescue
organisation and the new owner in EACH case.
If a rescue organisation does not trust a
new owner to make a responsible decision
concerning neutering,
how can they trust that this owner will
be able to take care for the dog for the
rest of its life ?

[Mediabee]

It's good to have debate on this, and to consider different views.

At the end of the day, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

And I think that is where we leave it. For people to decide for themselves, after reading and digesting all the information to hand.

Thanks for your interest in Galgo News.

[Barbara Jacobsen]

I am in favour of spaying an neutering. Let us consider the Galgo and their general living conditions in Spain.

The females are often massively overused as breeding machines. Each year, we see pictures of the results, such as hanged, starved, pierced, abandoned dogs, bitches and puppies.

This forced overpopulation makes it more or less necessary for neutering and spaying.

When one person adopts one dog, that leaves room for one more dog to be rescued.

If you have an unaltered bitch ... well, accidents happen. And you are adding to the overpopulation. This sabotages the whole concept of Galgo rescues, as each person who accept your puppies is one less potential rescuer of an extremely needy Galgo.

Every rescue the world over, and everyone who cares about rescues should have the same slogan ... ADOPT AND RESCUE INSTEAD OF BUY OR BREED.

[Beryl Brennan]

Further to Barbara's comment, for which I thank you very much.

Research shows that the majority of people involved with dog rescue, rehoming etc, think the only way to deal with the problem is neutering and spaying.

This is something the RSPCA International is working on. They have videos and exercise books in several languages for use by teachers in schools, to educate children in responsible ownership of animals.

Everyone has their own opinion on the subject, but the majority is in favour of neutering and spaying.

B