Why are most people of the opinion that fixing a dog is always best?

Question

I understand that there are many irresponsible pet owners and unwanted litters, and that there are some long term health benefits, but then why are there requirments that a dog not be fixed for show?

Answer 1

There are some benefits for not neutering a dog...
-complications of surgery
-increased incidence of prostatic neoplasia, transitional cell carcinoma, osteosarcoma, hemoangiosarcoma
-increased incidence of anterior criciate ligament injury
-obesity (but can be controlled with diet and exercise)
-possible increased incidence of diabetes mellitus
-low chance of getting some of the above mentioned cancers, but mortality (life threatening) is high
-animal is still able to breed (for valuable studs)

Benefits to neutering...
-decreased incidence of testicular neoplasia and non-neoplastic prostatic disease
-possible increased lifespan
-less likely to roam to seek out females in heat
-may decrease potential aggressiveness
-high incidence of prostatic disease, but very low chance of it being life threatening


Some dogs are not fixed for show because if they are great champions, the owners what to keep those blood lines viable for future breedings.

Answer 2

Continuous propaganda. Much of what is said about spaying and neutering is not based on fact. However, for most pet owners, it is better to do so. Females in heat are messy and males become four-legged Houdinis. There are health benefits if females are spayed prior to the first heat and before age 2.5. The lower metabolism that causes especially neutered females to gain weight can be countered by feeding less (often as much as half is needed).

As far as conformation shows (dog shows), these shows are solely to decide which pure bred dogs should be bred to better the breed (note the corollary - pure bred and papered does not equal should be bred). It makes no sense to do so with neutered canines.

Answer 3

You are just thinking of conformation. Usually dogs shown in conformation are fitting the breed standard and are the right dog to breed to. In obedience, agility, free style, disc dog, dock dog, herding or any other dog sport, a dog can be fixed. There are health benefits for fixing your dog and there are less behavioral issues with an altered dog. It's the more responsible thing to do. Keeping an intact animal is hard if you want to do it right! There are so may responsibilities and things can go wrong. It's better for the dog and for you.

Answer 4

The whole purpose of showing a dog is to judge breeding stock, showing S/N dogs would be kind of silly.

There are many reasons why NOT to S/N your dog, as I see someone else has already posted. Nobody wants to acknowledge that there are also health benefits to leaving them intact.

If you are a *responsible* owner, there is nothing wrong with leaving them intact. The problem is, is that so few people are responsible owners.

Answer 5

The goal of a conformation show is to evaluate breeding stock quality. That is why only intact dogs are allowed to show. Why give points to dogs that will never be bred? The AKC is starting to explore options for alter classes at the present. Dogs shown only for performance only sports that are not capable of winning conformation points are encouraged to be altered by AKC, and of course, dogs with ILP (Indefinite Listing Privleges) MUST be altered before they can obtain the permission to show in performance.

Health benefits abound. For females, no chance of ovarian or uterine cancer, no chance for deadly pyometra, and a great reduction in mammary cancers. No death by dystocia.

For males, no chance of testicular cancer, greatly reduced chance of prostate cancer, less aggressive tendencies, less roaming desire, and less territorial urination (marking).

Not to mention the elimination of unwanted litters. Look here long enough, and you can see about 70% of the "My dog's knocked up" questions are from dogs that were left unattended or got loose during heat cycles. Altered dogs don't do that. Many of the in heat females were thrown out of the house because of the "mess" their estrus cycles made of the carpet and furniture, and "accidentally got bred". Common sense isn't common anymore. If people are encouraged to spay and neuter non-breeding quality dogs, the overpopulation, aggression, and property destruction problems experienced today would disappear.

Answer 6

The history of dog shows is that it was, and still is, an exhibit of "the best" breeding stock. I put the term "the best" in quotes because that term is interpreted differently by many people. But the true purpose of a dog show is to provide a place where breeders can find the best breeding stock for their kennels.

Answer 7

Because the true purpose of conformation showing is to determine the best and most correct individuals of each breed. It's NOT a beauty contest (although it seems so on TV!) The dogs which most closely adhere to the breed standard are those also most suitable for breeding.

This helps to ensure that the breed stays true to its standard. It's also the reason that the best breeders agree that only dogs and b!tches who have been shown and judged to be outstanding specimens of their breed should be bred.

Answer 8

For conformation shows, like you see on television, these are dogs that are showing and will be bred in order to further the bloodlines and keep the breed's integrity. These folks who show are professional breeders who do a lot of research into the breed and know what's best to keep the breed what it is intended to do.

For the average pet owner, fixing a dog will eliminate the threat of a lot of illness/disease, can calm the dog, keep them from roaming the neighborhood and marking their territory.

Also, dogs that are fixed can be shown in obedience trials, tracking tests, herding trials, agility trials, and all sorts of other dog-related shows.

Answer 9

You have already answered the first part of your question--animal population control and health benefits (not to mention a neutered male is a lot calmer). Regarding not fixing a dog for show...I think it has something to do with the clubs' requirements that the dogs not be altered unless that specific breed allows certain alterations such as tail/ear docking.

Answer 10

A dog that is not a show animal should always be fixed. If showing, sure, don't fix until they are retired but only a champion show animal should be allowed to breed. This is to preserve the integrity of the breed and try to reduce the huge numbers of unwanted dogs that languish in shelters and eventually get euthanized each year.