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Can someone here give me guidance on neutering? Seems to me like such an abhorrent act. But experienced dog owners tell me that not doing it would be a disservi

Can someone here give me guidance on neutering? Seems to me like such an abhorrent act. But experienced dog owners tell me that not doing it would be a disservice to the dog. Please discuss.

gadders 5y ago
I recently got a (male) dog, and neutering is being pushed hard by vets, owner groups, trainers etc. However, I grew up with dogs in the 70's and 80's, and we never had them neutered, and they weren't going round humping everybody's leg. I think for now, I'll only consider it if I see specific behavioural or health issues that could be cured by it.
k8sToGo 5y ago
It reduces the need (hormones) to reproduce in dogs to a certain degree. Of course, they will still go around and hump things. Imagine you being horny all the time and you can't do anything about it. So neutering helps against this. If I remember correctly, it also reduces the risk of some type of cancer plus the risk of unwanted puppies. The link between agression and neutering has been refuted by some studies.
- DominikD 5y ago
  It does reduce territorial tendencies in feral cats. Not sure about other animals and living conditions.
DominikD 5y ago
In female cats and dogs neutering eliminates the risk of pyomyxia. The risk in females that have never gave birth is extremely high and consequences of delayed action when it happens are fatal (not to mention that cost of surgery may be prohibitive for many; it's orders of magnitude more expensive than neutering). For male cats neutering reduces territorial spraying (urinating in order to mark your space; the smell of the urine is also much stronger if ca isn't neutered).
cpwright 5y ago
We have an unaltered male GSD, and he is the nicest creature you could hope to meet. Our breeder asked that we leave him intact so that he would grow into the impressive animal that he has. There are studies that show, at least for large dogs, that hip and joint problems are less prevalent if the dog is not neutered before 1 year old (or not at all). Roughly, the intuition is that in males it allows the testosterone to have muscles grow to match their bones. One citation: https://www.akcchf.org/news-events/news/health-implications-in-early.html https://www.akcchf.org/news-events/news/health-implications-... And another: https://www.dvm360.com/view/when-is-the-best-time-to-neuter-german-shepherds https://www.dvm360.com/view/when-is-the-best-time-to-neuter-...
rahoulb 5y ago
In the UK, over one hundred stray dogs are killed every week. There is no need for more puppies.
542354234235 5y ago
As interesting as anecdotal stories about pets are, spayed and neutered animals live substantially longer: male cats live 62% longer, females cats 39% longer, male dogs 18% longer, and female dogs live 23% longer. [1] The exact reasons are complex, with everything from decreased roaming behavior to lower cancer risk, but overall it is a beneficial practice. Really, unless you specifically feel you need to breed your animal, spaying or neutering is the way to go. [1] https://www.banfield.com/en/about-banfield/newsroom/press-releases/2013/spaying-and-neutering-may-contribute-to-longer-lif https://www.banfield.com/en/about-banfield/newsroom/press-re...

Can someone here give me guidance on neutering? Seems to me like such an abhorrent act. But experienced dog owners tell me that not doing it would be a disservice to the dog. Please discuss.

gadders 5y ago

I recently got a (male) dog, and neutering is being pushed hard by vets, owner groups, trainers etc. However, I grew up with dogs in the 70's and 80's, and we never had them neutered, and they weren't going round humping everybody's leg. I think for now, I'll only consider it if I see specific behavioural or health issues that could be cured by it.

k8sToGo 5y ago

It reduces the need (hormones) to reproduce in dogs to a certain degree. Of course, they will still go around and hump things. Imagine you being horny all the time and you can't do anything about it. So neutering helps against this. If I remember correctly, it also reduces the risk of some type of cancer plus the risk of unwanted puppies. The link between agression and neutering has been refuted by some studies.

DominikD 5y ago
It does reduce territorial tendencies in feral cats. Not sure about other animals and living conditions.

DominikD 5y ago

In female cats and dogs neutering eliminates the risk of pyomyxia. The risk in females that have never gave birth is extremely high and consequences of delayed action when it happens are fatal (not to mention that cost of surgery may be prohibitive for many; it's orders of magnitude more expensive than neutering). For male cats neutering reduces territorial spraying (urinating in order to mark your space; the smell of the urine is also much stronger if ca isn't neutered).

cpwright 5y ago

We have an unaltered male GSD, and he is the nicest creature you could hope to meet. Our breeder asked that we leave him intact so that he would grow into the impressive animal that he has. There are studies that show, at least for large dogs, that hip and joint problems are less prevalent if the dog is not neutered before 1 year old (or not at all). Roughly, the intuition is that in males it allows the testosterone to have muscles grow to match their bones. One citation: https://www.akcchf.org/news-events/news/health-implications-in-early.html https://www.akcchf.org/news-events/news/health-implications-... And another: https://www.dvm360.com/view/when-is-the-best-time-to-neuter-german-shepherds https://www.dvm360.com/view/when-is-the-best-time-to-neuter-...

rahoulb 5y ago

In the UK, over one hundred stray dogs are killed every week. There is no need for more puppies.

542354234235 5y ago

As interesting as anecdotal stories about pets are, spayed and neutered animals live substantially longer: male cats live 62% longer, females cats 39% longer, male dogs 18% longer, and female dogs live 23% longer. [1] The exact reasons are complex, with everything from decreased roaming behavior to lower cancer risk, but overall it is a beneficial practice. Really, unless you specifically feel you need to breed your animal, spaying or neutering is the way to go. [1] https://www.banfield.com/en/about-banfield/newsroom/press-releases/2013/spaying-and-neutering-may-contribute-to-longer-lif https://www.banfield.com/en/about-banfield/newsroom/press-re...