22. The coincidental spay
SPAY THE DOG WHILE THE DAUGHTER IS AWAY?
"You should get the terrier spayed," I said. "The false pregnancy will recur again, sometimes as often as 4 times a year. The anti-false pregnancy hormone does have side effects like infection of the womb, if given over the life of your dog."
The father with broad shoulders and broad chest, aged around fifty years old had come for another prescription of drugs to stop the behaviour of the terrier cross suffering from false pregnancy. He wrinkled his forehead and lamented, "My daughter is against spaying because she feels that the female dog will not be active and dynamic after the surgery."
He must have been a body builder before or a national competitive swimmer. I did not ask him as he seemed to be in a hurry and there were other patients waiting on this Monday afternoon. But definitely he was a good father taking time off to get some medication on behalf of his busy teenaged daughter.
"You can get the dog spayed when your daughter goes overseas on a holiday," I suggested. "When will she be on holiday?"
"In July," the father said.
"For how long?" I asked.
"3 days."
"That is too short a period of time. The dog needs around 14 days for the skin wound to heal."
This is 2005 in a modern Singapore. Fathers do not have the dictatorial head-of-the- household powers anymore. Most fathers are no longer authoritative parents.
"I just had 2 cases of teenaged girls saving the older dogs from euthanasia, over-riding adult wishes," I said. "In the first case, the uncle wanted to put the Shetland down because it had maggots in its backside. In the other case, the parents wanted to euthanase a 15-year-old Miniature Schnauzer with bad breadth and bleeding mouth that had grown up with the daughter."
"It is not so easy to be a father without powers of decision nowadays." I commiserated. "The grown up children's feelings must be taken into account. They seem to have their own powerful minds. You don't want your daughter to hate you to your old age."
I was wondering why he need drugs to combat false pregnancy. "Most dog owners just leave the dog alone."
The father said, "The dog is very aggressive during false pregnancy."
"Is it protecting a toy or an object?" I asked. "Just remove it from her."
"It is not so easy," the father replied. "She will just find another object to protect." Dams with puppies have a strong protective instinct and can bite strangers coming near their puppies. Usually, they don't bite family members. But this dog had no real puppies to protect. However, she behaves as if she has, due to the influence of pregnancy hormones.
It seems there is no solution to his problem. At least he has an excellent relationship with his daughter and that is good.
"You should get the terrier spayed," I said. "The false pregnancy will recur again, sometimes as often as 4 times a year. The anti-false pregnancy hormone does have side effects like infection of the womb, if given over the life of your dog."
The father with broad shoulders and broad chest, aged around fifty years old had come for another prescription of drugs to stop the behaviour of the terrier cross suffering from false pregnancy. He wrinkled his forehead and lamented, "My daughter is against spaying because she feels that the female dog will not be active and dynamic after the surgery."
He must have been a body builder before or a national competitive swimmer. I did not ask him as he seemed to be in a hurry and there were other patients waiting on this Monday afternoon. But definitely he was a good father taking time off to get some medication on behalf of his busy teenaged daughter.
"You can get the dog spayed when your daughter goes overseas on a holiday," I suggested. "When will she be on holiday?"
"In July," the father said.
"For how long?" I asked.
"3 days."
"That is too short a period of time. The dog needs around 14 days for the skin wound to heal."
This is 2005 in a modern Singapore. Fathers do not have the dictatorial head-of-the- household powers anymore. Most fathers are no longer authoritative parents.
"I just had 2 cases of teenaged girls saving the older dogs from euthanasia, over-riding adult wishes," I said. "In the first case, the uncle wanted to put the Shetland down because it had maggots in its backside. In the other case, the parents wanted to euthanase a 15-year-old Miniature Schnauzer with bad breadth and bleeding mouth that had grown up with the daughter."
"It is not so easy to be a father without powers of decision nowadays." I commiserated. "The grown up children's feelings must be taken into account. They seem to have their own powerful minds. You don't want your daughter to hate you to your old age."
I was wondering why he need drugs to combat false pregnancy. "Most dog owners just leave the dog alone."
The father said, "The dog is very aggressive during false pregnancy."
"Is it protecting a toy or an object?" I asked. "Just remove it from her."
"It is not so easy," the father replied. "She will just find another object to protect." Dams with puppies have a strong protective instinct and can bite strangers coming near their puppies. Usually, they don't bite family members. But this dog had no real puppies to protect. However, she behaves as if she has, due to the influence of pregnancy hormones.
It seems there is no solution to his problem. At least he has an excellent relationship with his daughter and that is good.
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