so we have a lovely spanial lab cross the loveliest dog in the world but the week so far he has ran off every day he has either come back himself or been found and returned luckily we live in a small village but he has never been dressed and we think this is why he his running off i have him registered at a vet with hopefully funding help from the pdsa but i have no way of getting all his medical records as the vets need to know for definate he has had all his jags. I know the woman we got him from looked after him very well and he would most definatly had them but i cant get back in touch with her as i dont know where she is now
Is there any where we could get him 'sorted' for very little cost as things are super tight along with every one else thanks in advance xx

The PDSA should help but if they can't ask you're vet if you can pay in instalments. When I was a student I had to pay my dogs vets bills at £2 a week. It took me almost a year but it was worth it

I've never heard of a vet needing all the pets previous records before. It might be helpful but they can still treat them without it.

If he keeps running off then keep him on a lead or a longline until you can be as certain as possible he won't. He may cause an accident and either end up hurt himself or causing someone else indirect harm.

Not having an accurate record of his vaccinations shouldn't have any bearing on getting him neutered, and I'm not sure why you would need this. The vet would normally just start a new course if you wanted this. The Dogs Trust sometimes do vouchers for reduced neutering, so that might be somewhere to check out.

Thanks very much for the advice i will try and see the vet tomorrow and get more info as a friend has just told me the same that you dont need all the medical records. I will also see if we can pay in instalments to make it easierfor us.

Thre frustrating thing is he answers his name every time in the house and in the garden but as soon as we get out its like he goes deaf. I am just very lucky he is such a good nature and doesnt bother anyone he just wanders and sniffs everything

Thanks again for your help xx

Hi Taygirl, you really need to keep your dog on a long line until you have recall fully trained.
When you are outdoors there are a lot more interesting things than you, lots of new smells and new sights to explore which is why your dog is not coming back to you.
As you say you have the recall nailed in the house you need to start practising in the garden, when you have that 100% move to a quiet field or similar with little distraction then when that's 100% your normal walking places.
Dogs have to know there's something in it for them, so you need a high value treat to train them for recall, something they don't get in the house! Another tip is using the look at this method to distract them and pre-empt them running off to something in the first place...give it a wee google and have a read

Oh, also, why do you want to get him 'sorted'? If it's for behavioural reasons do a little research, as a lot of behavioural problems are learned behaviours, including humping, and castrating will not 'cure' these. If it's medical, go for it, but otherwise, do research, read the pros and cons and make the decision then

if you are on job seekers or housing benefit, ask the vet if they are in with the dogs trust scheme for neutering, we had our lad done in may on this for just £30, due to a lot of bitched visiting the garden and the boy howling at the door every night for two weeks straight every couple of months.

the RSPCA also sometimes provide vouchers for reduced cost speying and neutering, i think our older girl was done for half price on the RSPCA scheme about 14 years ago now

neutering did improve our boys obedience, but he's still no angel
he recalls, but often when he's finished sniffing or peeing on something
we don't run him if there are people or other dogs around though as he's not good with other dogs, since being attacked by a boxer and he's wary of men, thanks to my mums ex bloke.

it did stop him wandering as well, but it's not always the case. i fully believe that if a bitch smelt good enough to him, he'd be off again without a thought :/

neutering likely won't cure the problem of him running off, but at least if he does and manages to visit a bitch in heat, there'll be no pitter-patter of tiny paws as a result.
training it probably the best way to go with him as a start.

I don't think this has anything to do with the dog not being neutered, he just needs recall training. As the poster a couple above said, much more interesting things when out and about than you, extra training and he should be fine.

My Boy lost his balls earlier this year... he was 5 years old and developed a tumour just under the base of his tail and above his bum . The vet
advised various treatments but the one we opted on was castration.

He still can "smell" the girlies on the wind. Jaysus does he get frantic going on walkies.

My local Dog Warden told me that local places do have funding available for sorting your dog or cat out. Get onto your council dog warden... they may be able to give advice as to where you can get your pet sorted cheap.

We had a beagle cross some time ago, he was a lovely dog with a very nice nature, but it was absolutely impossible to let him off the lead. I took him to dog training classes, we had him castrated, we did everything we could, but the damn dog just legged it whenever he was let off the lead. He'd come back to the house eventually, never got lost, but it was dangerous to let him roam about. So he always had to be exercised on a long lead (I got very slim while we had that dog!).

Oddly enough, he had one trick that he was brilliant at. He could be starving hungry, but if you put his food down a few feet away and told him to "wait", he wouldn't move a muscle until told to "go", so there was a brain in there somewhere, but apparently beagles are total nutters!

He needs some training is all. A lab Spaniel cross will have a huge desire to run off and go sniffing around for small furry things. Hes a gun dog and as such will have a lot of drive to go off and follow his nose. Chopping his knackers off wont be of much use as the drive will still be there, it'll slow hm down for a bit but it won't stop him. Gun dogs need a lot of stimulation and they absolutely need to be trained. Go to a local training class and you should be ok. If that doesn't work I'll train him up for a small fee

Get a new dog.

Castration may make him more attentive but won't teach recall.

You have to be the most interresting/rewarding thing in the whole universe to get nim to recall - and you have a lot of competition.

Practice at home with a very high value reward - his favourite toy or warm sausage. Look at Clicker training also. Do this repeatedly throughout the day at home and repeatedly when out (on a long line & harness) - when out, recall when nothing else is going on to distract him. Don't just wait until you need him to come back. To dog, this means missing out on fun unless he 100% knows he is going to get warm sausage/favourite toy.

I would still recommend castration. In bitches an early (before frst season) spay is the obvious choice - almost complete irradication in mammory tumours and pyro. In dogs it is less clear cut but in the young adult dog the behavioural and health benefits do seem to favour castration.

Spaying a bitch is a good idea if she isn't going to be bred. As you say mammory tumors can be a risk if they aint spayed. But cutting a dogs knackers off does nothing but ruin the dog. Especially gun dogs. Dont cut the dogs balls off, get a different breed or a budgie.