Spaying and Nutering...is it really that bad?

Question

I am becomming increasingly irritated by people who refuse to alter their pets. These are the same morons who generally post questions asking if their ***** is pregnant. What is the arguement against spaying/neutering, besides breeding? Why do some people refuse to alter their dogs? I simply do not understand this.

For the record, I do practice what I preach. I own three pit bulls and a cat, all of which are altered.

Greekman,
Interesting info, but with irresponsible ownership and overpopulation being a huge issue, I believe personally that the benefits outweigh the risks for family pets.

Answer 1

All my pets, whether dogs or cats, males or females, have all been fixed by 6 months of age! It should be a law! My pets have all been happy, healthy, well-adjusted animals.
I think there are a few different reasons these morons do not alter their animals.
One: They're stupid! The most infuriating thing I've ever heard is someone too stupid to get the facts say, "A dog needs to breed to feel complete." Puh-leeze! My guess is that person isn't getting any herself! Dogs breed by instinct only. They don't have emotions connected to the act like humans do.
Getting your pet fixed makes more sense. Anyone who has ever lived with a pet in heat will testify to that! It's healthier for the animal. It's less likely to run away and get lost or have an accident, less likely to get in fights with other animals, and it totally eliminates the risk of certain cancers of the reproductive organs. It's calmer, more affectionate, and less aggressive.
Reason number two: Laziness. People are too lazy to get the facts, or think they know everything. They figure if the dumb dog gets knocked up, they can just dump the pups off at the shelter (or God knows where!), and let somebody else deal with them. Then there are owners of male dogs that think it's not their problem at all! They have a male, their dog isn't getting pregnant, let the owners of the females get their dogs spayed if they don't want a litter of puppies running around. It's not their fault if their dog jumps the neighbor's fence!
Reason number 3: Too Cheap! These are people who really shouldn't have a pet at all! They are too cheap to get their pet fixed. They are the same people who won't take the animal in for regular check-ups or vaccinations, many won't even go to the vet when the animal is obviously very sick.
Never mind there are low and even no-cost neutering programs virtually everywhere!
Reason number 4: The worst of the worst : Greed! These are the people who think their dog is an ATM, spitting out puppies that can be converted into cash! As far as I'm concerned, they should all be lined up and shot! Especially the truly ignorant of the bunch, who get a mixed breed or low-quality purebred and breed it to another non-descript mixed or low-quality purebred, and expect people to line up to buy the pups! I would like to see laws passed to stop non-discriminant breeding by people who have no clue what they are doing!
I dream of running for office! My platform will be animal rights. I will pass laws that make it a crime to own an unaltered or unvaccinated pet. I will enforce leash laws and the licensing of pets. There will be stiff fines for people who let animals run loose, and jail time if the loose animals happen to be large, potentially dangerous dogs! People who break these laws will have to attend a pet-owner's awareness class. Breeding will only be allowed by licensed breeders.
Most importantly, I will nip the problem in the bud. I will have shelter workers talk to elementary school classes, to teach children to be responsible pet owners. I intend to raise a generation of kids who will know the importance of spaying/neutering and properly caring for their pets. If we start by teaching the kids, they will grow up knowing the facts, and hopefully will make the right decisions regarding their own pets. Eventually I would like to see the shelters close due to lack of need for them. That is my dream!

Answer 2

Spay/neuter isn't just about controling reproduction or being responsible it is a lot about the health of your dog.Spay/neuter prevents some types of cancers as well as some very serious often fatal reproductive infections. Despite claims a spayed female is no more likely to have incontinence or UTI then an intact one..as someone who has been in the vet field for 36 years I've seen just as many intact females with these issues as I have altered..and actually the cases of so called spay incontinence is very, very small compared to the large number of spayed dogs. There is a large number of intact male dogs who have urinary issues as well as anal tumors/fistulas.
I know peopel who have come up with some really stupid reasond for not spay/neuter and I also know many people who didn't that ended up losing their dogs before the age of 3 years to mammary cancer or other reproductive issues...

Not spay/neutering is ignorant and shows lack of education.

Answer 3

Some people think it changes the pet's personality, or that it's cruel.

However, the benefits of spaying and neutering FAR outweigh any negatives. Spayed/neutered pets are at less (or no) risk for certain types of cancer. Spayed/neutered pets are less likely to run away or break out of the yard. They live longer and are often healthier.

I'm with you -- I don't understand why someone wouldn't alter their pets (unless they were a breeder).

Answer 4

I volunteer at a Humane Society shelter, and our dogs must be spayed or neutered before they leave the shelter. The argument (which is absolutely ridiculous, as well as completely inaccurate) some people give when they object to the dogs being neutered or spayed is that it makes male dogs "meaner", and that female dogs should be allowed to go into heat once before they're spayed. It's absolutely UNTRUE, and if you let a female dog go into heat once, chances are she's going to get pregnant if there is any access to her from other dogs (i.e. she's in the yard, she's in the house with an unaltered male). That will only lead to more unwanted dogs, and it's just uncalled for and wrong.

Answer 5

It is a personal choice not to alter a dog. My opinion is that this is okay IF the owners are vigilant about ensuring their dog does not become pregnant or is the cause of a pregnancy. The problem with this is that most people SAY they will ensure there are no issues like this and then they get lazy and it happens anyway.

I say if they aren't a reputable breeder and showing or working their lines, then the dogs should be altered. Then there are no mistakes. All of our dogs were properly altered by 6 months of age and none had any kind of problems yet from it.

Answer 6

I do not understand why people make such a fuss over it either. I own a 9 month old pit and a 9 month old cat. My cat is spayed, and my pit is getting nutered in two weeks. I think all pets need to be fixed, unless you are a breeder. It is not inhumane or mean. Heck, I a human, and I got myself fixed. Two kids is enough. If humans can get themself fixed, why is it so wrong to have a pet fixed?

Answer 7

It isn't that bad, it just isn't that important to most. Mostly the hicks who think that our 83 acres is here for their unspayed/unneutered dogs to run around on while we have to keep our dogs safely penned to keep them out of trouble. (I digress, that's a whole nother topic - keep your dogs home!)

We lost a dog at 11 yo because he got prostate cancer - which could have been avoided had he been neutered according to our vet.

A small, tiny part of me, though, really hopes that there will always be mutts out there. If was were successful at altering all non-papered dogs, we'd have to specially breed mutts!! I've never had a mutt that was anything less than 200% the dog a purebred was. (sorry to the purebred lovers out there)

In the meantime though, we have plenty of dogs to rescue, so I'm not going to sweat that we will ever reach 100% altered dog population. Ya know. . .

Answer 8

Well speaking as a male I can understand how it would be hard to have your male dog neutered. However there can be many factors, price for instance not everyone can afford a spaying which can run into the 100's of dollars or simply are unaware of clinics that offer discounts on these services. Most people are also unware that spaying can decrease a dogs chances of getting ovarian cancer. I struggled with the decision I knew my dog would not have a chance to get pregnant as she is an indoor dog and I keep an eye on her at all times however she was such a gorgeous and unique mutt that there should be more of her. I ultimately decided to spay her. Of course I think all cats should be spayed and neutered but I dont like cats.

Answer 9

I do not understand it either. I think it is a great idea to cut down the pet population. There is so many homeless animals and it is quiet sad. It is pretty inexpensive to get your animal fixed. Some places run specials on certain days. You can even adopt an animal already fixed so if it was a money issue.

Answer 10

Irresponsibility
Lack of $$ (which goes with irresponsibility because if people can't afford medical care for their pet they shouldnt HAVE a pet).
Irresponsibility on the breeder's part for not screening people better. (I recently heard of a breeder who sold a b*tch puppy to someone she'd sold a dog pup to 6 mos earlier... "but she's a nice lady and she says XYZ..." The puppy got pregnant her first heat. I blame both of them.. the owner for lying/not being responsible to keep the dogs apart and the breeder for being an IDIOT and selling someone a b*tch when they had not yet proven they were a DECENT owner and going to follow the contract on the DOG puppy.)