Choices have Consequences

My kids hear that expression about once a day... and it's always true.

Whether by act, hesitation, denial, or conscious choice, everything we do - and don't do - has at least once result. Even if we don't know about it. Accelerating through a yellow light may mean we're in an accident (or not) a couple of blocks later. Or a lie of omission that comes back to haunt us at the most inopportune moment.

Perhaps worst of all, is making a decision based on the best current information and later learning it was the wrong choice. Particularly when we're making decisions for others, and those consequences have life and death implications.

Years ago I had my border collie bitch, Dot, spayed at about five months of age. That was conventional wisdom and the standard veterinary advice. I now believe that we daily live with the results of that choice, and it was the wrong one to have made. Dot suffered a career-ending knee injury before she her second birthday, a fairly common injury in performance dogs altered before their growth plates are closed. Thanks to the work of Chris Zink DVM I won't make this mistake again; Dot's forced retirement is a constant reminder of that regrettable choice.

The last few weeks I've been planning the castration of one of my males, Ren. A hard-keeper at the best of times, Ren is impossible to feed for a couple of weeks every time a bitch is in season. Many knowledgeable people have reported increasing prostate problems in intact males as they age around intact bitches; Ren's got enough problems with out that! And, my son Anthony will be doing an internship at our veterinarian's practice for a month, and I thought that it might be good timing to have Ren castrated while Anthony is working there. Ren would have somebody he loves and trusts with him the entire time, it would be scheduled after our spring trial season is complete, and Anthony would be able to observe the surgery with full owner consent.

However, comma...

Today I came across a new and recent article on the long-term effects of altering, and it made for some disturbing reading. While castration decreases the incidence of benign prostatic hypertrophy, it also increases the probability of osteosarcoma. One is easy to cure, one is impossible.

What to do? I haven't a clue. My youngest bitch is in heat right now, and we seem to be getting along a bit better this time. The intact males are banished to the barn, pasture, kennel, and puppy paddock for three weeks; Gin is restricted to the house and house paddock for three weeks. Double-fencing and hyper-vigilant supervision, and routine crating in separate buildings, will prevent an accidental breeding - but the thought of going through this four (or more) times per year is a consideration. This time Gin is on chlorophyll; she gets 1 Tbls on each meal. Her poop is bright green, but she seems to smell a lot less interesting. (Thanks to this site for useful info - 1 tsp. per 30 lbs. of body weight, twice a day.) Increasing Ren's quality of life now vs. increasing the risk of a painful and fatal disease... I am paralyzed by indecision.

Another favorite of mine is the law of unintended consequences. The BBC broadcast last year ultimately prevented Crufts from being on TV. (It's being webcast this week - how cool!) The consequences of the backlash have been two-fold: one, by purebred dog fanciers against the BBC (I expect the same against ABC in light of an upcoming Nightline episode); and two, by the public against breeders for producing "freaks". Several KC breeds have had to change their standards. Sweden has already followed suit, many people anticipate the AKC will force American parent breed clubs to do so as well.

Is this good or bad? It depends. I think that breeds - not individuals, entire BREEDS - that can't copulate ("live cover") or free whelp (routine cesarean is mandatory) have fundamental problems. Fanciers that accept a life expectancy of 6 years or insist that ear cropping and tail docking are functional... are asking to be a target. Aesthetics are all well and good, but when the unnatural is promoted as normal... "Freaks" seems an apt word to some.

But the old expression about lies, damn lies, and statistics bears review: just becuase there are detailed data about breed-specific health issues doesn't mean the purebred dogs have more problems. The absense of data on mixed-breeds and random-bred dogs does not prove they are healthier. In fact, Jerold Bell DVM said at a seminar I attended less than two years ago that x-poo breeds have MORE thyroid problems than any purebred breed, primarily because the "hybrid vigor" myth deludes a lot of people and most mixed-breeders don't do any health testing. Yikes.

My mother used to say: indecision is still a decision. Mama's always right, again.