[Eyssa]

About a month or two ago I bought a handsome -and absolutely adorable- little pomeranian named... well, Little. ;-) My aunt and uncle had been talking about buying their own little pom as well, and when I went to pick up my baby, they ended up bringing home one too. Now don't get me wrong, they're excellent animal owners, and I often go to my aunt for advice about the animals. But my uncle...

The reason he wanted to get a pom was because he wanted to breed her (yes, he specifically wanted a female) to their un-neutered boy. My aunt and I are both against it, but once my uncle gets something in his head there's little stopping it. In fact, they've also talked about breeding Little to her! NO. Absolutely NOT.

They've had a dog that had puppies before, and believe it or not all twelve of those puppies (and the mother and father) lived on to find homes and the three puppies that they kept, and their parents, lived into their teens. But that was a long time ago, when it was more widely accepted. Now... it's just inexcusable.

So my question? What facts can I present my uncle -who is as stubborn as a mule and quite frankly doesn't seem to like me- about dog breeding, Pomeranians specifically, that will deter him from breeding her? Especially breeding her to a sixteen pound dog that is definitely much bigger than she is.

 

[Elana55]

Oh I would not present him with Facts.. I would dog nap the male and have him neutered...

If the female dogs look the same, have one spayed while the other one is at the vet then swap 'em back.

Unkie would hate me for sure.

While I agree with you that without titling/testing they should not breed these dogs. However, it is unlikely you will convince him of anything. Some people become more insistant the more you press them not to do something.

The one thing I can tell you from experience, the most dangerous health wise thing a non human female can do is to give birth. Most intact female animals are lost as part of the process mating, gestating, birthing and post partum care for the mother and the offspring.

 

[FourIsCompany]

There was no contract specifying that the dogs cannot be bred?

 

[RonE]

the most dangerous health wise thing a non human female can do is to give birth.

Despite medical advances, I think that still holds true for humans, as well. (Aside from the obvious dangerous things, like aggravating a Plott hound, of course.)

 

[Elana55]

Aggravating Plott hounds is an obvious one for sure... but probably not the most commonly dangerous thing...

But I think the numbers game has things like car accidents leading the way over birthing for human females these days.

It was not long ago that birthing was absolutely the most dangerous thing a woman could do and being born was the most dangerous thing a child could do under the age of 2. Looking at headstones in old cemetaries can tell you a lot... "Jane Doe, Age 18 years and 8 months and 3 days" and right next to her "Johnny Doe age 1 day" with the date of death being only a day apart.

 

[Lolas_Dad]

If the uncle is working schedule a spay the time he is at work. If the uncle is retired then accidentally have the dog get lost (aunt takes the dog to the vet for spaying) spaying is done then magically the dog is no longer lost but found safe and home. If need be the vet keeps the dog for a day or so.

That would be the only way to convince someone that is stubborn.

 

[hulkamaniac]

My grandma used to say, "Those convinced against their will are of the same opinion still." I miss my grandma. Anyway, I too propose a dog napping. The dog "wanders off for a month or so" and then "wanders back". When she comes back she's miraculously been spayed and recovered. Holy crap!! How did that happen??

 

[RonE]

Uh huh. And if something unexpected happens during the spaying? It is, after all, major surgery and not without risk.

I'm all for spaying, but not against the owner's will.

 

[Echo's mom]

Sorry, I don't agree with napping the dog. Don't get me wrong- I think the uncle should NOT breed her. However, this dog is not being physically or mentally abused, besides imposing normal child-bearing risks (and yes, I do understand that those can be harmful). However, Human family is a sacred thing to some people, and if the OP and the uncle have a close relationship (despite the OP's objections to the uncle breeding), that relationship could be ruined. It sounds as if the uncle just comes from a different time with different views on animals. He may be a great guy otherwise... just backwards about this.

Oh... also i would imagine that dog napping would be illegal- not to be taken lightly.

To the OP: In my opinion, explain the health risks to your uncle (especially with breeding to a larger dog), and just plead with him not to go through with it. Best of luck to you.

 

[hulkamaniac]

Uh huh. And if something unexpected happens during the spaying? It is, after all, major surgery and not without risk.

I'm all for spaying, but not against the owner's will.

The risk for a healthy dog is less than 1%. If the dog passes during the spaying then you just have a dog that ran off and didn't return. I'm a horrible person.

 

[Beki659]

Its the Aunts dog too, and if she wants to disappear it for a week, I wouldn't object.

 

[Tokio]

Uh, I would say 'no' to dog napping. Wouldn't that be illegal? I don't think you can just snatch and alter someone else's dog like that. That could possible end in a lawsuit, family or not.

If I had an intact dog and someone took it upon themselves to get him/her spayed/neutered without my permission then I would definitely be taking them to court.

Anyway, could you somehow convince him that the puppies wouldn't sell? He'd be seen as a backyard breeder and nobody wants unhealth checked, untitled, backyard puppies with not guarantees. Might have worked back in the day but not these days, so on so forth.

I'm sure the puppies WOULD sell, but you can still maybe convince him they won't and so he'll be stuck with a bunch of unwanted puppies and vet bills.

 

[nikkilugi]

The risk for a healthy dog is less than 1%. If the dog passes during the spaying then you just have a dog that ran off and didn't return. I'm a horrible person.

But the risk is still there. I had a perfectly healthy pit pass away during spaying when I was a teenager - that is why I am very wary of spaying still.

If it were me I would pass along the statistics of animals in shelters, etc. You should also give him the info on how much it could cost especially if the female needs a c-section. The cost of that surgery might make him change his mind.

 

[ThoseWordsAtBest]

There dog napping and made up tales of a lost dog are unnecessary. It is the aunts dog, too, and she has the decision to take and have it spayed, or would have had the male neutered. If she is that against breeding, then that is what she should do, and deal with the consequences. If they both don't agree on what should happen with the dog, they shouldn't have adopted on in the first place.

 

[rosemaryninja]

Add up the costs of breeding a dog. I'm not even talking about things like CERF tests -- he's not likely to bother with those. Shots, food, supplements, socialisation tools, whelping box, etc so he realises how expensive it is. Money talks.

 

[Eyssa]

I'm afraid dognapping is out of the question. Although my aunt and I did talk about taking the male to get fixed in secret... If he found out, though, he'd blow his top. But I have a feeling that if my aunt says no, then there's going to be no breeding. He already knows my stance at least, and we often get into a lot of arguments anyway, so I'm not worried about damaging my relationship with him because he doesn't really care much for me anyway. But no, dognapping is not a good thing.

It's just that my aunt, no matter how scared she is about it, won't tell him what she thinks. I mean, she's never afraid of his opinion and I'm sure they've talked about it before, but even so she's about ninety-five percent against it.

And Rosemaryninja, thanks for the money suggestion! I can't believe I didn't think of that before... it actually might work.

I just hope everyone's wrong about being unable to change his mind, though I know how hard it is to change my mind once I've made it up. Either way, wish me luck!!