TinyAlbinoDancer - Why I Don't Neuter

[Owned by Lucy]

The excess weight gain in altered dogs usually only applies to females. With less estrogen and progesterone metabolic rate decreases and calories are more easliy converted to fat stores. This is also related to insulin production (more fat = more insulin = more fat; a vicious cycle) and its effects of fat stores.

Males who are altered early are actually likely to weigh less, has less muscle mass and longer leg bones. This often makes them unstable and clumsey. Estrogen, progesterone and testosterone also have effects in the brain and are necessary for optimal development of the CNS.

I am all for the altering of most pet dogs (and cats) but I think for their health it should be postponed until the dog is fully developed, both physically and mentally. I would guess, that for many people would not even be able to act responsibly for the the 2-3 years it takes for a dog to fully mature.

[linnie]

Originally Posted by Cassiepeia

Good post, OC.
My only gripe is that the majority of people out there are "average" dog owners who are no where near responsible enough to keep an intact dog. I'm not big on the idea of encouraging them to not spay or neuter their animals (which I understand is not what you're doing).
Keeping an intact dog is something only extremely responsible and educated people should ever do and the rest should be actively encouraged to spay/neuter their dogs for the sake of the dogs and the dog overpopulation problem.

Cass.

DITTO I agree completely with Cass on this one

[Rivsky]

Originally Posted by oc_spirit

Rivsky, depends on WHY they have that crossbreed If its simply the result of an ""oops"" litter and they obtained said mix as a pet then yes I believe it should get neutered, BUT if the pup is a mix breed to try and get the better of something (ex. the Alaskan Husky being a better sled dog, or some of the Bandog projects out there) and the pup was bought with intentions of it being a worker then no.

Thinks for clearing that up OC - I now fully understand where you're coming from (sorry for being a little slow to catch on before )

[IceyBlueSibes]

Well said OC. I completely understand where you're coming from.

[mrsgrubby]

Nice post OC, thank you for thinking it out and posting all your research. you did a great job.

I too agree that the average pet, or the unworking pet should always be spayed/neutered, as most people dont' have the time or spend the energy to keep their dogs from breeding. But in the case of truly working dogs with very diligent owners, then it's up to the owner to make the most responsible and educated choice.

[mom2cocoa]

Being someone who works at an animal shelter, I strongly encourage altering dogs and cats. Very strongly encourage it.

There are only very few breeders out there that should really be breeding. They are few and far between.

I'm sorry, I just can't agree with this.

[RedWolf]

Since I have gone through having two pets with mammary cancer I don't think I could make the choice not to spay a cat/dog because I would be too worried about it... It is a pretty common cancer in unspayed females and I just want to do everything I can to not have to ever go through that again if I can help it...
I lost my cat to mammary carcinoma. After battling kidney disease with her for over 2 years and getting her to the point where she did not need sub-q fluids any longer through nutritional management, she then developed mammary cancer. After 2 surgeries it spread to other areas and we could not save her. She was an adult rescue and had at least one litter before we adopted her.

[Dogsareme]

Very nicely written

I wrote a response to something similar to this on someones blog once... she listed reasons for not Spaying/neutering, same as what you put and I agree as long as people are responsible absolutly nothing wrong with not spaying or neutering... However I just want to paste down what I wrote on the blog, and I'm sure many of you will agree...

What I put on the blog was - "even though I know the pros and cons of spaying and neutering, I believe that all the half truths are to convince careless and irresponsible owners to spay and neuter there pets. It's the careless and irresponsible owners that are responsible for the pet over population and half of the deaths in shelters. They don't need another excuse to not spay or neuter. If those lies are to stop animals from needlessly dieing... I would be more then happy to spread them myself. Nothing a small lie does to those who are responsible, even comes close to the massive amount of deaths created by those who are irresponsible."


I think its great for responsible people to know the 'real' risks of spaying and neutering... but as far as I'm concerned they are few and far between that I would prefer to only mention the 'benefits' of spaying and neutering and not the 'benefits' of not S/N to those who ask.

I do however think you are very responsible for making the decision you have made. Like I said in the begining I see nothing wrong with not S/N as long as people are responsible about it. ( Just want to make sure no one thinks I'm debating this).

[Aussie_Dog]

Originally Posted by mom2cocoa

Being someone who works at an animal shelter, I strongly encourage altering dogs and cats. Very strongly encourage it.

There are only very few breeders out there that should really be breeding. They are few and far between.

I'm sorry, I just can't agree with this.

I don't think the OP said anything about breeding her dog, but I agree with you. This thread is leaving a bad taste in my mouth, but I think that might be from the horrible fear that some lurkers will read this thread (more like scan it, actually) and will decide "Hah, someone advocates leaving dogs intact, and they listed a lot of reasons why, and I don't wanna demasculine my dog and pay $300, so I'm not gunna cut him. Now to tell all my friends and help them out in the same way..." You get what I mean. Maybe it's paranoia, but it's hardly an impossible idea. At least one person is going to read this thread and decide not to alter their dog, and that'll influence their friends, either for the better or worse.

I did catch one paragraph that mentioned altered dogs being slower to recover and having weaker immune systems, but I have to disagree. In my dog's life, the only injuries he's ever had was two encounters with a porcupine (5 quills the first time, 20 quills the next time exactly a month later), two nosebleeds when he was a year old (the 2nd one was linked to the first one; he'd gotten the first one from playing with a broom, and piece of a bristle was still in his nose, which caused the 2nd nosebleed a week later), an ACL injury, and a head injury that caused his pupils to be out of proportion to each other. Nothing that requires his immune system, and he healed quickly in each instance (with the ACL injury, he might as well as had a slight bruise instead of the complete tear that he had, that's how fast he healed, and he doesn't even have a slight limp now). Aside from those physical injuries, he's never been sick a day in his life. And I know there is a lot of proof that dogs neutered early tend to be leaner and less-muscled, but I tell you, Jake was neutered when he was 5 months old and he's FAR from scrawny. He has thick shoulders, a deep chest, big ol' hips, and pretty intimidating back legs (all muscle and tendons).

Personally I just can't wrap my head around the idea of leaving any dog intact, especially a male. If you're into sledding, what happens when there's a female in heat and many intact males around? I'm sure your dog would be distracted during running, and you've have to keep a pretty watchful eye on your dog at night (if you're one of those competitive sledders that leaves the dog tied to whatever it is during the night; I'm not really familiar with the sport but I know a van filled with crates doesn't follow your sled through the whole trip, lol). And it's a known fact that altered pets are calmer and more relaxed, and more likely to be focussed on you.

And FYI, intact animals are MUCH more likely to come down with testicular and ovarian cancers. Leaving a dog intact just because there's no real reason to neuter it isn't good enough, IMO. The benefits of neutering it FAR outweighs the benefits of leaving it intact. I personally like the idea of letting my dog go free at a dog park, or free in the backyard, or free to follow me around in the back alley, which you can't do with an intact dog, obviously.

If the dog ain't going to breed, for God's sake, neuter it. If it ain't a good specimen of it's breed, neuter it. If it ain't entered in shows or trials, neuter it. I don't care about the benefits of NOT neutering, IMO, it's just lazy ownership. Hate me all you like, but I'm going to sit on my high-and-mighty throne knowing I have literally 0% chance of contributing to the pet overpopulation, though either an accident or on purpose.

[Aussie_Dog]

Just want to add that it's 5am (I haven't been to bed yet), so if I missed that you actually breed to better the breed, then my apologies, but I'd rather keep my post up for others who are NOT reputable breeders. Don't want to let a foolish chance slip by for me to add in my own 2 cents.

[oc_spirit]

Aussie Dog, only a very stupid musher would bring a female in heat to a race i think its even against the rules in some clubs! Granted if it does happen its just something that needs to be dealt with, as in every musher is responsible for judging whether their team can handle running past a female in heat. Ronan very interesting when it comes to being around females in heat. He waits for me to give permission before going to check her out. Of course I have never given him permission. He gets a little antsy about it but doesnt go crazy like I''ve seen a lot of males do.

BTW, currently I do not breed. I do plan on getting into it some day but likely not with Siberian Huskies. Granted if the right female came along and the owner was very enthusiastic about using Ronan I *might* consider it, but of course not until proper health testing is done and ONLY to a deserving female (ie. not some random John Doe who happens to have a female he got out of a pet store who has never even seen a harness in her life)

[mom2cocoa]

I don't think the OP said anything about breeding her dog, but I agree with you.

I know she didn't say anything about breeding her dog. But in my mind that is the only reason for not neutering. As I said before, the people who should be breeding are few and far between. Therefore, almost every dog should be neutered. The rest of the reasons are not good enough reasons, IMO, to leave a dog intact.

[RedWolf]

Someone once brought a female dog in heat to a training class I was in... Even my spayed female was distracted!