Arguments For And Against Spaying And Neutering Dogs?

[Safffy]

http://www.saveourdogs.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Aggression-and-spay-neuter-in-dogs.pdf

This one scientific study shows that desexing has a lot more problems with dogs not just health wise but behavioural too. What does dolforums members believe?

[LisaCC]

There's a thread in the Health section at the moment discussing this if you want to have a read. It's under "Desexing male pet dogs", but people have discussed both sexes.

I personally haven't made my mind up, the more I research the more I don't want to desex my boy. At very least I will be waiting until 18 months.

[huski]

I understand why people are pro-desexing but personally I won't desex my dogs unless there's a medical reason that requires it.

This is long, but well worth watching IMO.

[sandgrubber]

I believe that most believe the science that they want to believe . . . no question that there are health and social arguments both for and against spey/neuter. Having lost a bitch at 9 years to an aggressive uterine tumor, I favor doing a spey at six or seven years. Repro system cancers are often late onset, and many would be prevented by a spey (or neuter? not sure if testicular cancers tend to be late onset?). In dogs where testosterone is a problem, I'm in favor of early castration (too bad they don't do it for humans with testosterone management problems).

[kelpiecuddles]

In my current house I'm pro-desexing at a fairly young age simply because the fences aren't all that high and there are dogs around here that are left to roam so i would worry about the security of a bitch in heat. With the plans for the place we will be building soon security is not an issue so I would be in less of a hurry to desex.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

As a rescuer I would never rehome an undesexed dog - no matter how old they are. Far too many unwanted puppies born all the time.

As an owner, I would never want an undesexed dog in my house - I've had plenty of experience of undesexed dogs that I've rescued and I definitely don't want the experience for more than a few days at a time.

From a health point of view, many of the dogs I've rescued have had health issues because they were undesexed. I had to put one to sleep an hour after he arrived - vet's assessment said his peritoneal hernia was too far gone. Lost another GSD cross after several surgeries that attempted to remove ovarian cancer. All caused because she was bred from relentlessly and never desexed - she was about 12 yrs old when she died. I've lost count of those that had pyometra happening or something else related to being undesexed.

Whilst you can housetrain an undesexed male dog, it's much harder to do so if they are older when you get them, there are also behavioural issues.

This is my experience - I've had 100s of dogs in my house since 2002, very few of whom arrived already desexed but they all left that way.

Edited April 3, 2014 by Her Majesty Dogmad

[sas]

I believe you should do what's right for the situation / the dog.

I would never make someone feel bad for desexing their dog if that's what they needed to do to enjoy their dog more. Some dogs simply can't handle their hormones and some guardians simply can't handle dogs with hormones.

I would never make someone feel bad for wanting to keep their dog entire if they were responsible and would be able to ensure the dog could not be mated unless it was intentional under a responsible and ethical breeding program.

As a Rescuer things are Black and White when it comes to Rescue dogs, there are no ifs and butts but for people's personal dogs that choice is up to them.

To tell a responsible dog owner they must de-sex their dog or put pressure on them due to brain washing campaigns is insulting to responsible pet ownership.

Ask the person WHY a dog should be desexed who harps on about desexing and they only thing they can usually tell you is to stop dogs ending up in pounds....well what about my entire male dog that isn't adding to that problem?

They may tell you for health reasons > that's a fair call in 'some' situations however a responsible pet owner can feel for lumps and bumps. There are probably literally thousands upon thousands of entire dogs and bitches making it to old age without adding to the pound population or ending up with reproductive organ cancers.

As a Rescuer and a Pedigree entire dog owner I am Pro Choice for responsible pet owners, I am also a supporter of early de-sexing if that's what people feel is the right thing to do. Each situation is different and no-one can tell you what is the right thing to do for your dog.

If you're a responsible pet owner then I support you de-sexing you dog, hell I've even paid for some of those to occur. If you have a dog who can't handle its hormones and they are not enjoyable to live with then I support you desexing your dog.

But in the end who the hell cares what I support, who am I to tell you what to do with your dogs bits.

Edited April 3, 2014 by sas

[Agility Dogs]

I believe you should do what's right for the situation / the dog.

I would never make someone feel bad for desexing their dog if that's what they needed to do to enjoy their dog more. Some dogs simply can't handle their hormones and some guardians simply can't handle dogs with hormones.

I would never make someone feel bad for wanting to keep their dog entire if they were responsible and would be able to ensure the dog could not be mated unless it was intentional under a responsible and ethical breeding program.

As a Rescuer things are Black and White when it comes to Rescue dogs, there are no ifs and butts but for people's personal dogs that choice is up to them.

To tell a responsible dog owner they must de-sex their dog or put pressure on them due to brain washing campaigns is insulting to responsible pet ownership.

Ask the person WHY a dog should be desexed who harps on about desexing and they only thing they can usually tell you is to stop dogs ending up in pounds....well what about my entire male dog that isn't adding to that problem?

They may tell you for health reasons > that's a fair call in 'some' situations however a responsible pet owner can feel for lumps and bumps. There are probably literally thousands upon thousands of entire dogs and bitches making it to old age without adding to the pound population or ending up with reproductive organ cancers.

As a Rescuer and a Pedigree entire dog owner I am Pro Choice for responsible pet owners, I am also a supporter of early de-sexing if that's what people feel is the right thing to do. Each situation is different and no-one can tell you what is the right thing to do for your dog.

If you're a responsible pet owner then I support you de-sexing you dog, hell I've even paid for some of those to occur. If you have a dog who can't handle its hormones and they are not enjoyable to live with then I support you desexing your dog.

But in the end who the hell cares what I support, who am I to tell you what to do with your dogs bits.

Thank you for saving me the effort of typing. (Although I don't rescue I share your point of view.)

[Erny]

In a nutshell ..... there are good reasons for desexing i.e. to prevent unwanted pregnancies and to dissuade against instinctive prolificacy type behaviour. Apart from that, IMO you can't beat nature. We start changing nature to eradicate what we don't want/that causes problems (eg. testicular cancer; sexual behaviour; etc) but we find that creates imbalances and ergo problems, elsewhere.

I'm not saying "don't desex" but I am saying that we should be more aware of what we are doing and how it might come back to bite us on the later and in some other way. This way, I think we are more likely to approach things such as desexing with more forethought than what we have done over the past decades. I think that is in fact already happening (and for this I'm pleased) with alternatives such as desexing later rather than earlier (for development sake and assuming responsible ownership); not going for full hysterectomies; tubes being tied; etc. Not that these render anything as being perfect, but looking at things so they can be as close to ideal for us as well as close to the best we can do for our pets.

Edited April 4, 2014 by Erny

[Dame Aussie]

I prefer not to desex. I have no problem with others doing so. What I don't like is vets who preach the positive effects of desexing without even mentioning any of the negatives (eg. Spey incontinence, certain cancers, growth problems etc). They need a much more balanced view IMO.

Edited April 4, 2014 by Dame Aussie

[mixeduppup]

All my dogs are desexed just because it's convenient and i'm not a huge fan of some hormonal behaviour that can happen with entire dogs. I also do it as there are a fair few stray dogs that roam and I wouldn't want to risk an accidental mating/or other issues associated with a strange entire male trying to get onto my property no matter how much I tried to protect my dog. From a medical standpoint I have seen some disgusting cases of pyo and testicular cancer which has scared me off having entire dogs as well.

[Dogsfevr]

All our pups must be desexed,don't care about the science .Science doesn't prevent moron owners breeding there pet dogs & owning a breed highly sort after by BYB & DD breeders & exporting we will stick with desexing 100%

[*kirty*]

My personal preference is to desex once the dog is mature (approx 18mths). I have seen too many pyos, mammary strips (horrendous procedure), testicular tumours, etc to leave my dogs entire.

[trinabean]

I believe you should do what's right for the situation / the dog.

I would never make someone feel bad for desexing their dog if that's what they needed to do to enjoy their dog more. Some dogs simply can't handle their hormones and some guardians simply can't handle dogs with hormones.

I would never make someone feel bad for wanting to keep their dog entire if they were responsible and would be able to ensure the dog could not be mated unless it was intentional under a responsible and ethical breeding program.

As a Rescuer things are Black and White when it comes to Rescue dogs, there are no ifs and butts but for people's personal dogs that choice is up to them.

To tell a responsible dog owner they must de-sex their dog or put pressure on them due to brain washing campaigns is insulting to responsible pet ownership.

Ask the person WHY a dog should be desexed who harps on about desexing and they only thing they can usually tell you is to stop dogs ending up in pounds....well what about my entire male dog that isn't adding to that problem?

They may tell you for health reasons > that's a fair call in 'some' situations however a responsible pet owner can feel for lumps and bumps. There are probably literally thousands upon thousands of entire dogs and bitches making it to old age without adding to the pound population or ending up with reproductive organ cancers.

As a Rescuer and a Pedigree entire dog owner I am Pro Choice for responsible pet owners, I am also a supporter of early de-sexing if that's what people feel is the right thing to do. Each situation is different and no-one can tell you what is the right thing to do for your dog.

If you're a responsible pet owner then I support you de-sexing you dog, hell I've even paid for some of those to occur. If you have a dog who can't handle its hormones and they are not enjoyable to live with then I support you desexing your dog.

But in the end who the hell cares what I support, who am I to tell you what to do with your dogs bits.

Great post!

[Sheridan]

I recall a thread in the rescue forum where someone said they would ask someone walking an undesexed dog why the dog was not desexed. My reply was if someone random walked up to me in the street and asked me that question, I'd tell the random to fxxk off. What the hell business is it of anyone if your dog is not desexed?

[Dame Aussie]

I recall a thread in the rescue forum where someone said they would ask someone walking an undesexed dog why the dog was not desexed. My reply was if someone random walked up to me in the street and asked me that question, I'd tell the random to fxxk off. What the hell business is it of anyone if your dog is not desexed?

LOL good luck to them with that attitude!

Its like asking someone if their kid is circumcised and why/why not.

[wings]

Great post sas :)

I'm facing increasing pressure to desex my dog. Usually in the form of rants about how I'm killing him by leaving him entire and images of dogs with injuries/problems in their bits.

And of course none of this comes from my dog's breeder or my friends and family members.

It gets incredibly frustrating, I just want to do right by my dog and from what I've read I feel more comfortable leaving him until 12 - 18months. He is in beautiful condition, no behavioural problems and lives rural in an area where we have no roaming dogs.

[cali]

I have read and experienced both sides. and I am 100% pro de-sexing(at around 8 months) for health reasons for females and behavioural reasons with males. here anyway there is has been more and more of a movement in the pet world to leave males intact, and I my line I work? I see the results of that. frankly people are stupid and people are lazy, the no neuter push does NOT make pet people train their dogs, its makes pet people have a bunch in intact males they cannot control and don't understand. me personally? I will not own an intact dog again, I have had nothing by health problems with intact females directly related to their reproductive organs, and males..I would rather not own at all, ever..regardless of being desexed or not.

[huski]

If people can't responsibly manage intact dogs then desexing is likely the best option for them, but other pet owners being irresponsible isn't going to impact in any way shape or form on my decision to desex or leave my dogs entire.

Desexing their dogs also won't make those irresponsible owners responsible, it will just stop them being able to breed with their dog. They will still continue to manage it irresponsibly.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I get fed up of seeing idiots on Bondi Vet who left their dogs undesexed and goodness me, they end up with a litter of puppies.

Last night it was someone with an English Pointer, only caught the last of the show but there were 10 puppies and they looked like they'd been crossed with a Border Collie.

The Bondi Vet was seen explaining to the undesexed male Rough Collie in the same home that he wasn't the father and that there was Border Collie out there "with a smile on his face".

I didn't find this remotely amusing ...

Edited April 6, 2014 by Her Majesty Dogmad