[centaur]

Originally Posted by DieselFan

We are planning to adopt a dog into the family. We are looking at Labrador retriever, as the breed is very friendly and easy to handle for first timers. Please suggest a good breeder in Bangalore who breeds quality Labs with minimal genetic issues.

Thanks in Advance.
DF.

I would suggest you look at adoption instead of "buying" a pup. There are plenty of Labs which are even abandoned by their previous pet parents and can make a really good pet especially because they are house broken. Puppy mills aren't really a good place

[DieselFan]

Thanks Centaur for your suggestion. There are two issues with adoption-
1. The chance of pups being adopted coming from one of the puppy mills are high.
2. As a first timer I would prefer to house break and train a pup rather than correct a dog/ pup that has not been trained or have behavioural issues.

As mentioned earlier - I am looking for a responsible breeder , NOT A PUPPY MILL.
I have raised this query to do just that. A puppy mill can be found dime a dozen in any city in India.

[callvvijay]

Guys,

With very heavy heart, I have to announce the death of my beloved cat, Sony. She was found lifeless with some injury marks in her left hand yesterday (Saturday-7th Jan) morning. I did not check for other injury marks as there was no point in doing that when she was no more.

She has been with us for ~5.5 year now (came - along with her two siblings - to us as one-month old kitties in June'11). Her two siblings went missing (somebody took them away?) in Dec'12 & Feb'13.

Though Sony would be inside our home most of the time, she also used to move around freely in the neighborhood - crossing the road to the opposite house, jumping into our neighbor's houses. And it was the usual routine for us on Friday night as well. We were awake till around 12:30am and when I went to bed, she was sleeping in the sofa.

The next day morning my wife woke me up @ 6:30 and showed Sony lying still/lifeless in front of our door in the first floor. I screamed/cried/shouted badly helplessly.
From what we could consider as a possibility, she might have stepped out and could have been attacked by the street dogs/stray cats and would have got injured badly. With all her might, she would have tried to come back home. There would always be a window open and that's her entry/exit point. After reaching till the door, she might have lost all her strength and lost the battle to keep herself alive.

We took her to a burial ground and buried her.

Felt/feeling completely devastated. Everyone at home is very much depressed. I had been getting emotional seeing every small things and remembering her again and again. Couldn't come out of it. She was always very close to me. Many a times, I used to (mistakenly) call her by my son's name and vice versa. Miss my dear Sony.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by callvvijay

With very heavy heart, I have to announce the death of my beloved cat, Sony.

So sad. Sympathy and condolences. It has probably been said a few times on this thread, but it is like loosing a family member. No, it is loosing a family member. Very sorry.

[srivatsahg]

I definitely agree with Centaur. Being a part-time rescuer I know how Puppy mills operate. And the god-awful conditions the breeders keep the Lab-Moms.

@DieselFan: There are lot of abandoned dogs looking for a permanent home. I can hook you up with people fostering such furry kids.

Originally Posted by centaur

I would suggest you look at adoption instead of "buying" a pup. There are plenty of Labs which are even abandoned by their previous pet parents and can make a really good pet especially because they are house broken. Puppy mills aren't really a good place

Hi Keroo
Please try to post this on Bombat Dawgz on Facebook.

My problem is almost the same, except that I have 7 of them housed in the garage plus two of my pets inside home . It's been 2 years that way now!

Originally Posted by keroo1099

Desperate times call for desperate measures.
So if you know of anyone who would like to adopt a dog in need, please let me know otherwise I am going to end up with a brood of 17 strays (yes yes we are a crazy family)!!!, and before anyone asks my daughter has posted on OLX/Quickr, and various adoption sites with no luck as yet.

Mod Note: Please use the EDIT or MULTI-QUOTE buttons instead of typing one post after another on the SAME THREAD!

To know how to multi-quote, click here.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by srivatsahg

..Being a part-time rescuer I know how Puppy mills operate...

That's a great service. I'd love to read more on your experiences as a rescuer. Is there a way you can create a new thread and write a bit? Would be an eye opener for anyone who loves pets / strays.

[carboy]

I have questions about neutering a male kitten. How much will it cost? How long will the kitten take to recover? The kitten is out during the day time & sleeps in my home during night. After the neutering, how many days would I need to keep him in all the time? How much will it pain for the kitten? What is a good age for this? Also if anyone knows any Animal NGOs where I can get this done cheaply and well, let me know. Is IDA India (http://www.idaindia.org/) a reliable org?

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by carboy

I have questions about neutering a male kitten. How much will it cost? How long will the kitten take to recover? The kitten is out during the day time & sleeps in my home during night. After the neutering, how many days would I need to keep him in all the time? How much will it pain for the kitten? What is a good age for this? Also if anyone knows any Animal NGOs where I can get this done cheaply and well, let me know. Is IDA India (http://www.idaindia.org/) a reliable org?

Cost - will depend on your vet.
Recovery - Normally for neutering a Tom, the incisions made are so small that sutures/stitches are not required. Now both the Toms in my home are not neutered (should think about that as off late they have started staying out of the house a lot), but both the females are spayed.
Females recover from the anesthesia in 12-24 hours, and have to be caged for 7 days for administering antibiotics before the bandages are removed.
I assume that recovery for a Tom shall be faster, but still would advise caging and monitoring for 7 days.
Age - it is advised that spaying / neutering be done at about 6 months age, but it is not binding. I had cats spayed at 6 months, and also at 3+ years.

[Thad E Ginathom]

It is a simple thing for males, but a much bigger operation for females. Humans please note!

Had a boss who was bragging about having had it done and being back at work the next day: "They do it while you wait!"

Another colleague outdid him: "they could hardly say, 'come back and collect it tomorrow!' "

My current cat has not been done, as yet. A few years ago, had mum and three kittens done. Even recovering from the anaesthesia was tough for the ladies; the young man hardly noticed.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by blackasta

Age - it is advised that spaying / neutering be done at about 6 months age, but it is not binding. I had cats spayed at 6 months, and also at 3+ years.

I read that if you neuter late, then the tomcat habits they acquire will not go even after neutering - fighting, spraying urine in the home etc.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

My current cat has not been done, as yet.

How old is he/she?

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

A few years ago, had mum and three kittens done. Even recovering from the anaesthesia was tough for the ladies; the young man hardly noticed.

My kitty spends the day outside & night (7 to 7) inside my home. After the operation, how long should I keep him inside all the time.

The whole neutering thing is huge moral dilemma also :-(

[ruchirtnt]

I have a five month old imported American Akita and a imported 22 months old South African Mastiff famously referred to as Boerboel.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by carboy

How old is he/she?

Goodness... he survived the Chennai flood as a largish kitten, so well over a year. Time flies!

My kitty spends the day outside & night (7 to 7) inside my home. After the operation, how long should I keep him inside all the time.

Like my ex-boss, I think he can be pretty-much straight back to work! Except, I doubt that male humans have a general anaesthetic, especially for the while-you-wait job.

It's a matter of getting over the anaesthetic. I prefer the vet to to take care until they can fully stand up, walk, jump... even if it means an overnighter. Otherwise, their legs just crumple under them when they try to walk, and their heads hit the floor.

The whole neutering thing is huge moral dilemma also :-(

Only because of the identifying-as-guys thing. And, as I understand it, at least if fully developed at the time, it doesn't stop them doing anything except having babies.

Full confession: I am lazy and selfish on this one. With one male cat, I may or may not get around to it --- with one mother and two female kittens, it was an easy decision because I would have been the one with thirty cats in the end. Easy too to include the boy. I love cats: I have never and will never want to have dozens.

But my laziness helps other people get unwanted kittens <blush>

[Ricci]

Originally Posted by carboy

The whole neutering thing is huge moral dilemma also :-(

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Only because of the identifying-as-guys thing. And, as I understand it, at least if fully developed at the time, it doesn't stop them doing anything except having babies.

The thing about ethics/morality is not whether your subject knows its wrong or not, it's whether you know it's wrong. People like to anthropomorphize animals , giving them names , making them wear clothes, making facebook/instagram/twitter accounts for their pets ...and neutering them. We also speak of tail-docking and bull-fighting as cruel, but lopping off the 'nads ? Oh go ahead, no harm. We justify the violation in terms of what we want : an obedient animal with no desires or wishes of its own other than to server us, look up to us, snuggle with us , not result in feral population and puppies dying under cars and such -we want something like a teddy bear or stuffed toy but with a voice-activated recall mode. Such is human narcissism.

About being a guy thing - a news article today , about a man whose lover - a married woman herself - cut off his privates because he was supposed to marry someone else. His name was not masked, as with crimes against women. When it comes to ethics, we humans fool ourselves all the time that what we're doing is ethical. Had the sex of the victim been F, there would be outrage all over media.

I'd imagine if a race of smarter-than-us-buffoons extra-terrestrials existed, they would use the same argument against us to keep us from procreating. And in their eyes, it's all ethical considering how run-away we have become with ruining the planet, right?

As for behaviour, there was at least one answer on quora narrating a neutered dog's behaviour changing from a happy outgoing canine to a nervous, fearful, introvert who'd avoid meeting other dogs, who'd sniff and find out what it was missing, as if in depression.

Not looking for a continuing debate, I've said what I know/feel.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Ricci

The thing ... ...

Sorry, but that is an outpouring completely unrelated to anything that I know or have experienced in six decades of living with animals. It is also completely wrong about the simple "family planning" operation for human men as opposed to the real surgery performed on women because men (and women, actually) are completely ignorant about the effects and the facts.

You think neutering turns a tom cat into a stuffed toy? You don't know about cats. You should have seen my neutered tom fight when his territory was threatened.

Yes, I have been through the playing-god dilemma too. It is part of getting straight on this one.

Not looking for a continuing debat

With respect: Strongly recommend that you do more listening about this. Been there and had to do the same myself.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by carboy

My kitty spends the day outside & night (7 to 7) inside my home. After the operation, how long should I keep him inside all the time.

If he's used to being outside, then after neutering he's not going to stay put. Half a day at max if you can keep him inside should be sufficient.

Originally Posted by Ricci

As for behaviour, there was at least one answer on quora narrating a neutered dog's behaviour changing from a happy outgoing canine to a nervous, fearful, introvert who'd avoid meeting other dogs, who'd sniff and find out what it was missing, as if in depression.

Not looking for a continuing debate, I've said what I know/feel.

Then what you know/feel is inadequate.

In a human-free world, cats wouldn't be roaming around urban cities but in the wild. In a perfect world, their life span would be 2-3 years; thanks to diseases, competition, natural predators; basically nature's way of maintaining order; instead of the 6-8 years average seen in domesticated cats (even longer in the developed countries).

Our presence and acceptance (of them as a pet) has increased their lifespan, their population and the whole dynamics of the natural order. And hence the need for neutering.

Ever done the two bunny on an island mathematics puzzle in school? The logic kinda is very similar for cats too, if left un-checked.

So let's keep our humanity beliefs away on this aspect. Unless you have a better way of handling their population of course

Edit: Qurora is so NOT the site to go searching for facts lol