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Just a couple of photos of Tonks and Emmett posing for the camera!

Hahaa - This is Emmett's favourite pose - the slight head tilt and the 'Are you serious?' face :P



Tonks has the sweetest expression!



Both the boys waiting for a treat!



This is one of my all-time fave photos of the boys! Emmie is standing slightly more in front of Tonks - but you can still see the difference in height! Emmie dwarfs Tonks now!



Both the boys waiting for me to give them a treat after posing for the camera (hence the drool!). You can see how lovely the beach is!

Aww! I love Ridgebacks. Both are pretty boys.

Alexandria

Thanks for sharing all the great pix!

Such a handsome man!

Yes, they are lovely and so nice to see Emmette doing so well.

Was Emmie neutered fairly young compared to Tonks? Early neutering delays the closing of the growth plates letting them grow taller. Tonks also has a more masculine face. I met an early-neutered cocker this summer - he was almost as big as a springer. Interesting.

Oh, and how I love that beach! So nice that you are allowed to run the dogs there like that.

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Last edited by gaylanstudio on 9/28/2016 11:22:50 AM

Both boys were desexed at 6 months of age.

5-6 months is the recommended age for desexing where I live.

Tonks has had no issues whatsoever with being desexed at 6 months.

With Emmett - I don't know how much of his problems are related to genetics or how much are related to being castrated.

Emmett was already showing signs of hip dysplasia at 10 weeks old and had his first surgery (JPS) done on his hips when he was approx 12 weeks.

He was already showing signs of being a LOT longer in the body and a LOT taller than what Tonks had been at the same age from about 4 months of age. Everyone who met him said "wow he's very tall/very long for his age'. Even other Ridgeback breeders commented that he looked like he was going to be massive. Which makes me think that the effects of him being castrated at 6 months had nothing or very little to do with the fact that he is so tall and long.

His spinal surgery was done at 8 months. His valgus deformity of the front legs first started to appear at roughly 7 months.

At the end of the day - the decision to castrate him at 6 months was mine. I prefer to have them done before the 'intact male' behaviours begin. I don't like intact males as they are often incredibly over-boisterous, testosterone fueled, they tend to mark everything with urine, they're inclination to fight or be territorial is heightened and when you're at the dog park they are the first to pick a fight. This is all my own personal view - I know other people feel differently.

My dogs are out in the community every day - whether it be at a dog friendly cafe/restaurant, dog park, beach etc - therefore I wanted my dogs to be able to behave well in public without causing issues. Obviously I have put a lot of training into both my boys to ensure they are well-loved in the community but in my opinion testosterone plays a big part in their behaviour.

Both my boys are around 40kg (which means 80kg combined on the leash) so I'm glad that they didn't have the chance to develop the 'intact male excessive muscle mass' that all males will naturally develop due to the testosterone.

I also always wanted two male dogs as I personally prefer the personality of the boys compared to the girls of this breed. Every male Ridgie that I met prior to getting my boys was always a beautiful sook, wanting cuddles and loving human interaction. All the female Ridgies I met were VERY aloof (natural trait of the breed) but to the point where they preferred their own company rather than that of their humans. So knowing that I wanted two males I was never going to have either of them kept 'entire'.

These are my own personal views - and like I said I know there will be 1000s of people out there who disagree and that's completely fine. Do I think that my decision to desex at 6 months caused Emmett's problems? Most likely not. I feel his genetics have played a much stronger part in his anatomical faults.

I have an intact male cocker - he's 4.5 now, I brought him home from the breeder at almost 3. He came from an environment where there were actually several males and females of varying ages. They all had kitchen privileges. Of course concessions had to be made for the girls in season so the groups varied. All the boys got along fine although, yes there was some marking done if you were not vigilant.

I did have some issues with Baxter once home and him now being an only dog. It took about six months to be reasonably sure of his behavior and I was pretty confident of him after a year. We went back for a visit this summer and he rejoined the pack seamlessly and was very well behaved - best of the bunch I think. We were there almost a week and he only broke training once at the very end. We then spent another 4 days with another friend where there was one neutered Border Collie. They got along too fine and Baxter was well behaved. When we go home we had a couple of incidents but the problem was quickly resolved.

Very different breed to a Ridgeback. I have liked them for a good many years but I do understand that they are a more aggressive/protective/territorial breed.

Baxter loves everyone! He is extremely quiet. He does now alarm bark but it took awhile and started as single soft woofs and sometimes more of a snort than a bark. I think he was a little traumatised at first - he had passed through a number of hands before I got him (including at least two different handles) before ending up back with his breeder – and it impacted his self-confidence. Cockers I find are pretty much all quite social. Some are more independent others are cuddlers. The males tend to be a bit more adventurous, bit more of a challenge. They will push the envelope, females, easier to house train and more compliant but it is definitely a gradient. I like males. I had a male in mind when I went looking for Baxter but I was flexible. They tend to be a very 'soft' breed.

Your reasons to neuter are certainly valid and I did not want to imply criticism. Early neutering does apparently affect final height – even in horses – so I wondered. I doubt very much it has anything to do with Emmett’s issues beyond his height. I believe 6 months is a very common age but I have heard of cases where it was done much earlier such as the case of the cocker I mentioned.

Gorgeous photos and boys! Their colour and the blue sky are so complimentary!