[Konotashi]

I'm just curious what everyone's position here is on spay/neuter. I think I kind of confused my mom with mine.

I do not want to neuter any males I have, unless it is for health issues or if I feel it is necessary. (Like trying to scale the fence or dig out of the yard or showing extreme stress if a female comes in heat). But that would be after they're at least 2. I think it's healthier for males to remain intact.

I would always have my females spayed after they reach maturity, because I feel it would be less risky to have a female spayed, particularly with pyometra. Not to mention, more sanitary.

However, I always encourage spay/neuter because I know a very large majority of the pet owning population is incapable of containing an intact dog.

What's your take? I'm not trying to start a debate, I just want to see where everyone stands.

 

[Good_Karma]

I will always speuter every single one of my pets, no exceptions.

 

[Deuce]

I will always spay/neuter my pet. There's no reason to keep your animal intact unless you plan on breeding to better the breed. I feel the same way about my horses as well.

 

[jkscandi50]

I have all my cats/dogs spayed/neutered - I'm just waiting until Kai is 18 mos - 2 yo - I (and the vet) want him fully matured first.

 

[LaRen616]

I like the idea of keeping males intact but I dont want to have an accident and end up with an oops litter. So I will neuter any future male dogs between 1.5-2 years old.

As for females, I dont want to deal with them going into heat so I will spay them between 6 months and 1 year old.

 

[Emoore]

I think that the huge majority of pet owners just aren't responsible enough to own an intact animal. This is borne out by the HUGE number of poorly bred animals that are for sale or to be given away on Craigslist, kijiji, etc. Therefore I think most dogs and cats should be speutered before they get a chance to reproduce. I think any dog or cat that spends any time unsupervised outdoors should be speutered before sexual maturity unless they are kept in a secure kennel (not just a fenced yard).

For people who keep their dogs indoors and are committed to preventing unwanted litters, I say they should be able to do whatever they feel is best. Waiting until maturity is great, choosing not to speuter is great, IF the owner is truly able and committed to preventing unwanted litters.

I'll probably get hate mail over this, but if you have dogs of both genders and aren't a breeder, I really think either the males or females should be altered. I have seen literally hundreds of cases where people "didn't intend to breed their dogs" but it happened anyway. They don't know what happened, they just let their intact dogs alone for a second and the next thing you know she's bred! Or they come home from work and their intact male has destroyed his crate and chewed through a wall to get to their female in heat.

Personally, I only have males. Rocky was neutered at 9 months. Cash was neutered when I got him at the shelter. My puppy will be neutered around 1.5 or 2 years.

 

[Konotashi]

I don't think I'd be comfortable having an intact male in the house with a bitch in heat unsupervised, even if they 'couldn't get to each other.' Another reason I'd have the girls fixed. I like boys, though.

 

[Larien]

My dogs will ALWAYS be spayed/neutered. I see no reason whatsoever not to unless you are breeding.

 

[DJEtzel]

I'll always have girls spayed, but males will remain intact unless I have a reason to neuter. Frag will be getting neutered so that we can show, but if we didn't, he'd remain intact.

ETA; I don't like the tone of many people saying "I see NO reason not to if you aren't breeding" this isn't supposed to be a debate. I've done research and feel the risks of health issues far outweigh the odds of Frag knocking up a bitch. Not gonna put my dogs through those possibilities. There's no reason TO neuter, imo.

 

[stacey_eight]

My previous dogs were all spayed or neutered very early as they came through the rescue system.

After my personal research and vet recommendations Zeke will stay intact until at least 1.5/2.

If we ever add a female to the family, I'll let her go through 1 heat cycle, then spay.

I don't want to ever be a breeder, and I certainly want to avoid any accidents. JMO.

 

[Wolfiesmom]

I have never neutered my males. Never had an oops litter either. The leash laws are so strict around here. In my 23 years living here, I have seen 2 dogs wandering around alone. One of them I caught and brought back to the owners and the other had an owner following not far behind in his car, trying to get the little guy back.

 

[Larien]

I wasn't opening a debate, I was stating my opinion. And that is what it is, period. If you don't like it, and you want to listen to the OP and not debate, I suggest you don't answer MY post and only answer HERS. I'm entitled to my beliefs, as are you. Mine will not change.

I'll always have girls spayed, but males will remain intact unless I have a reason to neuter. Frag will be getting neutered so that we can show, but if we didn't, he'd remain intact.

ETA; I don't like the tone of many people saying "I see NO reason not to if you aren't breeding" this isn't supposed to be a debate. I've done research and feel the risks of health issues far outweigh the odds of Frag knocking up a bitch. Not gonna put my dogs through those possibilities. There's no reason TO neuter, imo.

 

[1sttimeforgsd]

Ace will stay intact unless a medical reason should arise to do other.

 

[JustMeLeslie]

All of our cats/dogs are spayed/neutered and always will be. I never want the chance of my males impregnating someone else's dog or theirs impregnating mine.
We learned our lesson a long time ago when we hesistated a neuter on a 8 month old shepherd mix(large) and he tied with our small dalmatian. We had just gotten her and her previous owners dropped her off at our house in heat(they didn't tell us that little tidbit). She had to have an emergency spay while in heat. It was pricey and she had a long recovery time,but she was worth it. The vet said because she was so small she probably would not have made it through the birthing. Every since then all cats/dogs are spayed/neutered.

 

[Stogey]

I've owned several male GSD or GSD/mix and left them intact. DJ is cut but he was done before I got him.

 

[Klamari]

I will probably spay/neuter all my dogs, after they reach maturity. It's just personal preference. If I wasn't so scared of oops litters, I would probably leaves the males intact. With the precautions I take for all my dogs, it would probably be 1 in a million that he would actually get loose. But I'm just a play-it-safe type person when it comes to that stuff.

 

[Lilie]

My barn cats are spayed for obvious reasons. My Golden was neutered due to health reasons. My lap dog rescues always come to me already altered. My GSD will not be neutered unless there is a medical / behavioral reason. And I don't intend on ever utilizing him for breeding.

 

[Elaine]

I would spay any female before first heat as there's no way I could deal with a bitch in heat without going crazy myself.

I have always neutered my males between 1-1.5 years of age. My current dog is not neutered and probably will not be neutered. He's my first real quality dog and he doesn't need to be neutered; at least not yet, maybe sometime down the road. Ok, could I be more wishy-washy?

I want just about all other people to spay and neuter their dogs right away as most people can't be trusted with an intact dog.

 

[King&Skylar]

i will always spay/neuter my dogs. although when i get my boy, i'm going to wait until he's older to do it (a year maybe?) because i read somewhere they look more masculine if you wait longer.

 

[ZebsMommy]

Since the majority of my pets are rescues they are already fixed. lol.