Does having your dog spayed or neutered make a negative difference in their behavior or personality?
Afraid that their dog will become a fat, lethargic ‘nothing’ is a popular misconception believed by too many dog owners.
True, metabolic needs change after the operation (especially in regard to food), but with proper supervision of diet and exercise the dog will maintain his correct weight and former liveliness.
An altered male doesn’t lift his leg on prize bushes and flowers, killing their foliage, because the instinct to leave his mark everywhere has gone. He is less apt to have prostate trouble, such as cancer of the prostate gland; and a grouchy dog with medical problems, such as tumors or fungus of the testicles, will feel better and have a nicer disposition.
An unaltered male in a neighborhood with unspayed females is in agony and unlivable. According to more than one veterinarian, such a situation is very unfair to a dog that is not used for breeding, so consider your dog’s mental and physical frustration when considering the question of neutering.
The spaying of female dogs, more common and not filled with so much concern, also has points in its favor. A spayed female dog is less likely to pick up uterine infections than an unbred non-spayed female, and the discharge of a female in heat is eliminated.
And since females in season stir up male dogs throughout the neighborhood, the owner of a spayed female is much more popular with the neighbors.
An unspayed female in season and running loose is a public nuisance, and owners can get fined up to $1000, depending on where they live.
For the dog’s protection, she should be watched when outside if in season, and never left alone. More than one female left tied and alone outside by an ignorant or uncaring owner has been bred to death by males from which she couldn’t run away from. In short, neutering operations have more pluses than minuses in their favor for both male and female dogs.
The mounting number of unwanted animals is the greatest problem humane societies everywhere have to face. On one Saturday alone fifty-one puppies were brought to the Bucks County SPCA. With only eight puppy pens available, what was the solution?
Unfortunately, it meant immediate euthanasia.
Is this how we repay centuries of companionship and love? Man’s best friend is sometimes his only friend. What can be done about this needless waste of life? When considering spaying or neutering, think not only of your dog but also of its possible offspring and their future and fate.
Put your ego aside, put your worries and fears aside, and remember – there are no reasons not to neuter and many reasons favoring the operation.
