The Debate on When to Spay or Neuter Your Dog

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have no interest in neutering our puppy. He isn’t aggressive, doesn’t mark in the house, doesnt hump, and has no unwanted behaviors except jumping (which has nothing to do with being intact). He’s really the perfect pup. When we started researching we were shocked to learn of issues/behaviors associated with neutering and since our pup is perfect in every other way, we don’t see it in our future. It’s been difficult since we can’t board him or take him to daycare, but we found sitters with their own dogs that he can hang out with. We take him to the dog park multiple times a week, and have only had a few iffy interactions (and each has been with a neutered dog).

Our guy has little chance to escape or impregnate another dog. The only pro of neutering would be making our lives easier with day care but he didn’t to be our fur baby so that’s a burden we’re ok with. Unless he suddenly develops unwanted behaviors or becomes a target for neutered males we don’t plan on neutering.

Our guy is 11 months old btw.

This is a copy paste from a agenda board.

Yes.

Uh no.. I wrote this last night but could you let me know the board. It’d be great to chat with others who have the same opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is like the new circumcision debate.

Except circumcision is just a piece of skin.

[Anonymous]

Our vet recommended waiting until 1+ year, but it’s a huge pain in the butt because I don’t want puppies.

She can’t play unsupervised with my best friend’s male dog (same age, not yet fixed for the same reason). Play dates are more difficult because we also have kids to watch while making sure the dogs don’t mate. My friend used to board my dog and now can’t. Most daycares and boarding facilities won’t accept her because she could go into heat and cause problems or end up pregnant. Technically intact dogs are not allowed at the dog parks here.

I understand there are health benefits, but I also think their are benefits to letting dogs have a social life. Waiting 1-2 years has really cut back on the amount of socializing we can do.

I suspect that in a few years, we’re going to see a large increase in the number of oops puppies and dogs with poor social skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is like the new circumcision debate.

Except circumcision is just a piece of skin.

Ha! MY sweet summer child! Count your self luck for never having witnessed the 1001 essays on why you ar wrong about that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a 2 yr old Pug and a 1.5 yr old toy spaniel, males, and I do not plan to neuter either one unless prostate problems appear later in life. Previously I neutered my dogs at about 4 mos.

I've had these breeds previously and I'm convinced that taking away all their testosterone is, on balance, much worse for their overall lifetime health picture than leaving them intact. Joint, tendon and disc issues are of particular interest to me, especially with the Pug.

If all of Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands etc. can figure out how to have healthy, nicely behaved dogs without cutting off their gonads, tails and ears, I have to believe people like me can figure it out too. There's zero chance I'm going to "create unwanted litters" of puppies, nor am I going to enter intact bully breeds in fighting rings. Or whatever other things ASPCA say to bludgeon all dog owners into questionable choices.

If you were super concerned about health and well being, you wouldn't have bought a pug. You feel comfortable shoving the burden of population control off on other people because therw is zero chance that your male dog will become pregnant.

[Anonymous]

I wish vasectomies were more common for dogs. Seems like an easy solution for those not wanting to neuter. Unfortunately it's not even given as an option by most vets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 2 yr old Pug and a 1.5 yr old toy spaniel, males, and I do not plan to neuter either one unless prostate problems appear later in life. Previously I neutered my dogs at about 4 mos.

I've had these breeds previously and I'm convinced that taking away all their testosterone is, on balance, much worse for their overall lifetime health picture than leaving them intact. Joint, tendon and disc issues are of particular interest to me, especially with the Pug.

If all of Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands etc. can figure out how to have healthy, nicely behaved dogs without cutting off their gonads, tails and ears, I have to believe people like me can figure it out too. There's zero chance I'm going to "create unwanted litters" of puppies, nor am I going to enter intact bully breeds in fighting rings. Or whatever other things ASPCA say to bludgeon all dog owners into questionable choices.

If you were super concerned about health and well being, you wouldn't have bought a pug. You feel comfortable shoving the burden of population control off on other people because therw is zero chance that your male dog will become pregnant.

I’m glad someone said it.

It’s looking more and more like population management will fall on owners of female dogs, since they’re the ones who will deal with unwanted puppies. Owners of male dogs get off scot-free.

I live in an area where very few people spay/neuter their dogs, and as a result there’s a massive overpopulation problem. I see stray dogs nearly every day. The shelter is so overrun (4x as many dogs as it was designed to hold) that they don’t accept any animals anymore. It’s very common for people to dump litters of puppies outside - every week I see Facebook posts from people seeking foster homes for dumped puppies they found. There are a few rescues, but most aren’t accepting new dogs because there are too many dogs and not enough homes.

What’s far more damaging to dog health is our obsession with breeding to achieve certain aesthetics. The English Bulldog life expectancy has nearly halved due to cardiac and respiratory problems that arise from its anatomy. Conditions like hip dysplasia arise from inbreeding and breeding for certain physical features. If you look at dog breeds from 100 years ago, they look completely different, because they were bred to be physically resilient, not to have the shortest legs or flattest face.

If people are concerned over dog health, they should be pushing for boycotting breeds, not boycotting spay and neuter.