The Neutering Debate - no further reasons needed.

[Vallhala]

Spay, Neuter, Adopt.

The family member you passed on or sent to the pound
Is now being muzzled and held to the ground
He will take his last breath seeing only strange faces
No more loving arms, no more happy places
It may have been different had you thought of him more
But you would rather have a tidy house, a nice shiny floor

He looks at the needle with terror and fear
As the nurse holds him steady and talks in his ear
This will not change the way that he feels
This will not change the last breath he breathes
This will not change until you neuter and spey
TOO MANY DOG'S WILL DIE TODAY!

By Adele, a rescue angel.

Preaching to the converted here!

Got Fluffy bugger done, Staffy will be done in the next month of 2.

I got told I was cruel for not wanting to breed from my uniquely coloured Staffy.

"I got told I was cruel for not wanting to breed from my uniquely coloured Staffy."

Tell 'em from me that they're a complete twat, please.

Unique Staffie colour eh? Would s/he be blue by any chance? :)

preaching to converted here too! i think all dogs should be neutered unless there is a medical reason not to. stats for dogs needing homes and killed because there are too many dogs currently alive than there are homes for is appalling and we should all be ashamed that that is the case in a so called civilized society

i also got told that it was wrong not to breed from my pretty looking jrt. he is exceptionally pretty - even though i say so myself

Hehehe I'm back from voting.

I did actually say that it was twats like them that meant rescues were overrun with Staffs.

My baby is quite different. He is supposed to be red like the rest of the litter but has turned out a very weird tan and white with blue edging, a blue crest over his eyes and blue flecked thoughout the coat on his back!

Pics are on my profile if you want to nosey at him!

Oh and his tail's almost completely blue!

I need to get my dog done. He is 2, had him a year.
A friend thinks every dog deserves to have puppies once in their life!

PC - pics are lovely. at puppychops

I will never, ever be converted I'm afraid, but I will never allow my dog to breed either.

We've had to leave Poppy's spaying in abeyance for now (Budgen our sheltie is already neutered), but I will never breed from her. She came from a family friend who had a litter of pups (her bitch is now spayed) -something I've found out much more against since being on here.

Poppy was the right dog for me at the time. I hadn't even considered another dog and so wouldn't have gone to a rescue at that time - she just came into my life right at the time I needed her.

However, I certainly have no intention of doing the same. Next dog will be from a rescue and that's a promise.

I would definitely get a dog from a rescue, but this time I needed a puppy to mend a broken heart and so did my DC

I am always looking on rescue sites and always pick out dogs that I want but I can't. One dog is more than enough for me. Even when he is at his naughtiest, I know he is with me for the rest of his life. I don't care how hairy my house is or how dirty my car gets, he truely is my baby.

He will be 11 months old tomorrow, big fat lump that he is

musicposy - we live and learn. i am more aware now about canine welfare than i was when we had our first dog 14yrs ago. she was an informal rescue, dumped at 5-6weeks and we took her in until a home could be found. so she was a rescue but we didnt plan it.

PersonalClown - my old boy was not unusual in colour - he was just beautiful, well proportioned and muscular with a decent temperament (see my profile for just how beautiful he was). It took me 5 years to convince my partner that the dogs testicles were not in fact his (these days I would take no shit on that front - and wouldn't even have a non-rescue dog), but in those 3 years before I used to regularly get people with female Staffords coming up to me asking me if I would "stud" him with their bitch.

They were not in the slightest bit interested that he had trichiasis, lumbar sacral disease and enlarged prostate problems. They just looked at him and saw he was intact and thought it perfectly reasonable to think he would make great puppies.

People, huh?

I've definitely lived and learnt since we got our sheltie 9 years ago, and loads since being on here.

We did originally want rescue when we got our sheltie, but DD2 was 2 so no one would consider us. He came from awful conditions despite coming from a breeder who had a string of show shelties. He was 16 weeks - she told us he'd been brought up in the house and was fully house trained. When we got him home he'd obviously never been in a house before, had no training whatsoever and was not even remotely socialised. He was quite damaged by his start in life. It was an uphill struggle at first with him and we've never quite got over his fear of strange people and new situations. We were conned because I didn't have the knowledge I have now.

This time round, it had to be Poppy. She was born just 3 weeks after I lost a much-wanted baby, and friend had been documenting Poppy's mum's pregnancy at the same time I was going through mine. I had to have her, just like kid says, to mend a broken heart, for me and the girls. It was her or no dog at all, so I do feel that at least no rescue dog lost out. I was so terribly depressed she's literally been a lifesaver.

However, after reading so much on here and looking at lots of rescue websites I've already told DH that if and when we get another dog, I will only consider a rescue. It's a promise I will keep :)

My mother's Rottweiler x Golden Retriever (with possible extra bits thrown in as well; he was a rescue, as were/are all of our family's dogs) is going in tomorrow for his op.

This comes after months of attempting to convince her to get him done. I'm counting it as a mini personal victory (and a bloody relief that I can now put aside my rants on how it's better for his health, and she's now not going to be pulled across the road if he sees/scents a bitch in heat, etc.)

Next up, my dad's staffie x whippet (although that's only been delayed through financial reasons, and the dog's not allowed off lead at present as he has some territorial issues in respect to other entire male dogs, so I think waiting until May payday is reasonable...)

I honestly don't understand why so many people are against it. It's the safest, most responsible thing you can do for your dog; rules out a spectrum of hormonal issues (temperament problems, cancers, etc) and means that you aren't going to be contributing to the over-population problems which are leading to rescue centres being filled with unwanted dogs, many of whom will be PTS simply because there is nowhere for them to go.

2 x Rotty dogs here. We have no intention of breeding from either of them so are there any advantages/good reasons for neutering apart from the obvious. Does it calm them down at all?...

Well, we did our male sheltie partly because I wanted the peace of mind that came with knowing when he was off lead he wasn't going to take off after a random bitch a mile away and bobs your uncle, so to speak . It did help our sheltie behaviourally in some ways (he was marking territory before and humping a lot, which did stop) but not in others (was scared of new people and situations and I'd say that became worse). I think in retrospect I'd definitely have done it but a bit older than the 7-8 months he was.

With bitches I know there are health benefits as well as the fact that her first season was a nightmare. But I'm trying to balance that at the moment against the small risk of the op (it was just delayed on Tues on vet advice).

Im asked all the time if I'm going to breed my SBT bitch, she is Blue, very beautiful.
Unfortunately it's usually young lads that ask me
We are definately not going to breed her and she will be 'done' after her next season, have missed the window this time.
Motherjack Bear was stunning! Personalclown Your baby is gorgeous too, I have pics of Lola on my profile

There's a buy/sell pet group that's just set up on facebook local to me and there are so many asking/selling staffies specifically un neutered females!!!

Can someone tell me why the breeder from whom we got our golden retriever and the woman who runs one of our puppy socialisation classes have both strongly recommended NOT neutering dogs? They said something about it causing them to grow too quickly - thus damaging their bones, I think. What are the arguments for and against, as well as the obvious one for neutering - ie, mass production of puppies no one wants...?

(Rollo is now 13 weeks and 5 days, growing massively, attending 2 puppy socialisation /training classes a week and a one-to-one session with a clicker trainer too. He's adorable and exasperating and still taking up every single bit of spare time. When he goes on 'walks' - it usually involves sitting still, lying down and then leaping up and charging off to eat something poisonous, so that I constantly have my fingers in his jaws, extracting the latest item. He LOVES meeting people - especially men and tiny toddlers/ babies and whilst he still sometimes jumps up at my twins and rips their trousers and nips them, when in an excitable mood, he never does this with anyone else! Only two toilet accidents so far)

Does getting a female spayed calm her down alot??
We are having alot of problems with our 16month old german shepherd, mainly she gets so over excited, barks alot in the garden specially if she hears the bloke next door or something, and walking her is a complete nightmare, and she goes competely mental when she sees other dogs (but not in an aggressive way)

I wasn't going to reply to this thread, my view differs from many on MN, but as Solo2 has asked some very valid questions, I will do.

I would never neuter any dog unless there was a specific reason to do so and I would never neuter a dog that wasn't fully grown, so for most large breeds, 2 years plus. That's not to say I think that should apply to all owners, particularly for bitches there are many more reasons for neutering than for male dogs and so the situation is not as clear cut.

Solo2, I think what your breeder may have been referring to was early neutering. There is quite a bit of evidence to show it slows the closure of the growth plates, leading to taller, leggier dogs (this has certainly been well documented in horses for a long time now) which in turn can exacerbate existing or underlying joint or hip problems. I have also seen some very odd looking dogs (especially males) that were neutered early. There is also some evidence to suggest that neutering too early increases the risks of some cancers, such as bone cancers and can cause incontinence problems, especially in bitches.

Keeping an entire dog does not mean you have to or want to breed. I have four currently un-nuetered dogs here. Yes, I am a 'breeder', but my dogs are my pets first and foremost and their welfare is paramount to me. At least two of those dogs will never be used for breeding, probably three. I also manage (easily) keep an entire male in the house, under control at all times, even when the girls are in season, and will not be having any 'accidental' litters. He will be neutered though, as it will make mine and his life better and easier (he does know when the girls are in season) but we have waited until he is mature. Otherwise, I would be leaving him entire.

When we have had puppies I leave the decision to neuter up to the new owner, but I do ask they discuss the pros and cons fully with their vet (I do find vets are often quick to discuss the pros only, as Kid very, very sadly found out) and make their decision based on all the evidence. I also personally prefer them to wait until at least after a bitch's first season to spay, for the reasons mentioned above, but the decision is ultimately theirs and I am an experienced dog owner, not a vet.

I'll be having my new staffie done as soon as I can, I couldnt live with myself if she ended up having a litter, too many unwanted staffs already!

Yes, my vet pushed the pros of doing it at 6 months. Then I read up about the growth plates and that's why we waited until after Poppy's first season. Now it's going to be two seasons (on vet advice as she's erratic at the mo and they want to get it mid season).

But since then I've read that there's research to show that dogs with ovaries intact at 6 have a greater longevity, and the vet herself said if we did it at the wrong time you can end up with hormonal problems. Plus I asked about the risk of op and she said you just have to hope your dog isn't one of the unlucky few who reacts to the anaesthetic.

But then, I read about mammary cancers and pyometra and I am just so confused. I also know that unneutered dogs are a bigger theft risk (although she's basically a mongrel, but a cute one who does seem to attract attention from people asking about her). I want to do the right thing for Poppy but I don't know what that right thing is.

Either way, we definitely won't be breeding from her. But I wish I could find truly impartial advice.