Neutering: Pros and Cons

Logic decrees that you're not going to remove a critical part of an animal's bodily systems and get away without repercussions. The only question is how severe those repercussions are going to be. So my perspective would be that if you don't have a really compelling need to chop off an animal's bits (from the animal's perspective, not your own) don't do it.
 
Mignarda said:
Logic decrees that you're not going to remove a critical part of an animal's bodily systems and get away without repercussions. The only question is how severe those repercussions are going to be.
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I love this.

We should also remember that our breed was "blessed" with a heavily used sire that was fairly ambivalent about breeding, so our dogs now have pretty below average libido. While some breeds will chew through a crate, break through windows and climb fences to get to a bitch a mile away, Shelties may or may not breed a bitch in front of them.
 
I listen to my vet, Lucky was neutered and Lil' Lady had a spay. Both of them had
the laser done on them and it worked out great.

Lucky at almost 14 just came up with some heart problem coughing not due to his neuter. Lil' Lady is on thyroid pills at 9 not anything to do with her spay,

The vet believes the neutering helps stop the cancer. I do what they tell me and
its been a successful experience with both my shelties.
 
sable said:
The vet believes the neutering helps stop the cancer. I do what they tell me and
its been a successful experience with both my shelties.
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I agree, its generally best to listen to a vet vs the internet.

On a side note, does anyone here really want to wonder what the world would look like if most/all dogs were not spayed or neutered?
83% of US pets are neutered at this time.
Because of that, the US has gone from 12-20 million pet euthanizations to 3-4 million.
If the majority of pets were not neutered, we'd have to have 10x more dog pounds just to put down the massive number of unwanted, unplaceable pets. There are already about 2.7-3 million pets in shelters which will not be placeable and thus euthanized.

I'd love to hear of a better option, truely.
 
Here are my thoughts:

Pros:

  • Easiest way to prevented unwanted litters
  • Eliminates chance of testicular cancer
  • Potential to reduce unwanted behaviors (edginess, marking, humping)
Cons:

  • Elective surgery (comes with the risks of all major surgeries)
  • Potential to create a hormonal imbalance which could affect the dog physically and mentally
  • Increases chance of hemangiosarcoma & bone cancer
  • Increases chance of CCL rupture in performance dogs
 
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