AIBU to think leaving a dog unspayed/unneutered is silly unless you're a breeder?

[lioncubofcintra]

A neighbour of mine used to have a female German Shepard dog which died a few years ago. When it was alive, the male dogs in the neighbourhood would gather outside the neighbour's house every few months and bark furiously for hours on end. On one occasion, the neighbour's dog was out in the front while a tiny male Jack Russell tried desperately to shag it. It was trying to mount the German Shepard for ages, but kept falling off and eventually gave up. I thought it was funny at the time. I realise now that the male dogs were gathering because the neighbour's dog hadn't been spayed. I don't know why an owner wouldn't spay or neuter unless they were breeding.

it depends on the breed.

There are some smaller breeds that have congenital heart issues that anaesthesia is known to exacerbate, so they do recommend that you don't put them under for operations that aren't absolutely 100% necessary.

As long as you're responsible, then it shouldn't be an issue.

I think there's a bit more to it than that. There's quite a few health reasons for a start. A quick Google search would give you some ideas.

Plenty of reasons not to. It can affect joints in breeds prone to problems in that area. If your dog is fearful he needs testosterone for bravery.

My intact dog has sired zero litters.

same here lil. we've had 2 intact dogs, not a single litter.

although we did question the wisdom of our neighbour agreeing to dog sit her dd's bitch while it was in heat and then allowing it in the garden knowing our dog is whole. We kept him on a lead in the garden until she'd gone.

I agree that it isn't that black & white. My bitch isn't spayed & never will be. Saints have such a short lifespan to begin with I'm not willing to take any risks. She isn't allowed off the lead when we're out though she's too playful with other dogs &doesn't realise her sizethe back garden is completely secure.

Both my dogs are neutered, but I don't consider it 'silly' if other people don't do it. There are a few factors to be taken into consideration, and I wouldn't take the decision lightly.

I think that most dogs should be spayed/neutered, there are a few occasions when it's best not to. But for most dogs it's the right thing to do, particularly bitches.

No i dont think it is silly. There are lots of reasons as to why they havent. My parents didnt get their male dog done just because they didnt want to. My sister, too.
I personally have had my male done asap, for no particular reason.

Well it's silly to leave your in heat bitch outside while dogs harass her...but there are plenty of reasons not to neuter, so far I haven't had one that I haven't had neutered, but I have no idea if that will always be the case.

there are inherent risks with NOT neutering, in the same way that having sexual organs creates issues for us owners. That you can only get breast cancer by having breasts, or testicular cancer if you have testes,etc. is what vets argue from what i've heard.

There are greater risks for bitches because of first and foremost its very easy for them to get pregnant and so have to be kept in for a good portion of their season (don't risk taking out a bitch in heat and expect to be able to keep a keen female and male apart! especially the bigger breeds!). It happens very quickly and its also not fair to any of the males to take out a bitch in heat, so be prepared for having housebound mutts and hosting other bitch play-dates. Also entire bitches run the risk of high fatality rate pyometra, i'm not exactly sure of the stats but once a bitch has this they can die extremely quickly, and expensive emergency surgery is the only hope of saving if it works.

Good reason to keep both sexes unneutered until fully matured, some vets will say one season, others two, others for big breeds not until age 3.

I have to say i have never witnessed ddogs hanging around house of bitch in heat, but maybe you are talking about when there were many strays and letting ddogs roam free was more commonplace and less traffic. I do know that if a male so decides some will run a very long way on the scent of a bitch, whether in season or no. Mostly males under good control can be managed either entire or no, any on here that keep stud ddogs would be able to testify to the difference between their males' behaviour around other bitches.

Keeping either sex is an added responsibility when entire, but a bitch who may suffer repeat phantom pregnancies, heavy bleeding, severe mood swings,and having to find other ways of entertaining during what can be a long two /3 weeks indoors, is a lot more work.

Having said all that, i completely understand the vets push to neuter and keep the ddog population to a complete minimum - too many rescue homes, but i think thats down to responsible ownership and those that don't know how to do that, or can't, should always neuter imo.

if you have a very busy life and cannot keep track of when your bitch is due in, or coming up to peak of fertility/know the signs, then neuter.

we've had 4 dogs in total.

the first went unspayed, she got pyometra and had to have an emergency op to save her life.

the second was spayed but spaying her caused myriad complications to do with her weight/shedding and contributed to her dying of heart failure at 7yo.

We changed to dogs, and have kept both whole... both are much healthier!

I'm not prepared to mutilate my dog because of what some people think. Also I'm not prepared to decide at 8 months old whether he will sire a litter or not. He's a member of my family not an accessory or a machine. There are points on both sides which each owner has to weigh up themselves- neither side are 'silly'.

The thing is you do not know whether neutering will be beneficial/harmful to any particular dog/breed.
I do think some neutering is done too early - under 12 months old it is not necessary and some pundits recommend at least 2 years old for the op.
The dog owners I find 'silly' (sorry) are the ones who (usually male) do not want their dogs deprived of their masculinity/virility .
My private rescue dog (current lurcher) came to me at 4 years old entire as his 'owner' did not want to neuter him! He had the op and was fine, more calm and suffered no ill effects.

From personal experience I have found that 'entire' dogs do have a tendency to react to other male dogs in a rather aggressive way (just IMO of course)