I do not believe in routine neutering,why put a completely healthy dog or bitch with no problems under a GA.

Not all owners who own entire dogs are irresponsible.I own an entire dog,he doesn't bother when there are inseason bitches around,yet I know of castrated dogs that do,infact I know of someone whose neutered dog mated an inseason bitch.
My dog is fine,he hasn't gone off his food,roamed,or tried to do an escape act.He has never shown any aggression towards other dogs or any other entire males.

A dog is an individual and should be treated as such,just because neutering is right for one, it may not be the case for another.

My bitch is spayed but not by my choice,my dog will remain entire,unless there is a medical reason to have him castrated.

I don't agree at all that is is the show/work people who advocate non neutering. I don't show and the dogs I have had that have worked have not been mine...nor are you the only person who volunteers for Dogs Trust. I just don't talk about it on here.

As for having a lot of dogs? Yes, in the last say 5 years, I have had probably around 10 dogs staying at some point for some period...probably more, so yes, I have a fair amount of recent experience with this issue, I have been involved in some way, shape or form with helping to train a fair few others. I also know a lot of people who are 'into' dogs.
On some level, the vet was the problem with one or two of the dogs we have had neutered, but not with the others, in fairness to the vets, I do also think the dogs immature immune system was to blame.


What do I think the dogs lose out on? Their testicles and the hormones that they produce. I don't think that we should underestimate what neutering is...it may be a 'simple' operation, but at the end of the day it removes an organ that produces an important hormone, so I do feel that makes it quite an important thing that the dogs are losing out on.

My previous two bitches were neutered before their first season and they both eventually became incontinent and ended up on medication, one when she was about seven years old and the other when she was ten years old. One of them was obviously in a lot of pain as a result of the operation and that was hard to watch. She would not lie down for hours afterwards.
Because I am now aware of the dangers of incontinence in speyed bitches I decided not to neuter my new puppy before the second season at the earliest. When I spoke to my vet about this she said the best time would be around 18 months to get the most health benefits.
My girl has now had her first season. Not having been through this before I had been a little bit anxious about managing her during this time. Some people said she would not even be able to go out of the house without causing a lot of hassle. In fact we went out everyday - on the lead of course - and we had no interest from any dog that we met. We had no dogs howling at the door either.
I am now debating whether to have her neutered at all. I think being careful for 3 weeks twice a year is easier than dealing with the incontinence that may occur as a result of speying. I agree that it is a matter of being responsible by preventing the bitch from mating rather then being responsible by neutering her.

I thought this thread was about the pros and cons of neutering, not about the morality of breeding? I`ve never shown, never bred, take Rescues and don`t support blanket neutering. Have a look at all those sad ex-breeding dogs on the Homes Wanted websites. Neutering all pets wouldn`t make any difference to the breeders-for-profit brigade.
The only thing that will make a difference to the dreadful slaughter of healthy animals is education and social pressure.
I deeply resent being told I`m irresponsible for not neutering a dog when I`m sure it would not benefit that dog.
At present all my dogs are neutered - but rhere are circumstances when I would not neuter, You really have to look at the individual dog, not make a judgement based on outside factors.

I've had both entire and neutered animals and to be honest there has been no difference in their health, their behaviour or their growth. None of them have been responsible for increasing the canine population or even shown much inclination to do so. I'm not sure my entire males knew what it was for, although my neutered males now could show them. I think it's a decision to be taken on an individual basis and what anyone else thinks of your decision is pretty irrelevant. In previous posts you've mentioned your dog becoming extremely stressed by in season bitches in the area so it's probably worth consideration, whereas my previous entire males wouldn't have batted an eyelid.

I agree with Trouble, in that if I had an entire dog that was very responsive to bitches in season in the area, then I would neuter them, as I don't think it would be fair to have them getting all 'excited' in that way.

Im not sure who or which post this is in reference to but as someone who has just came through a week of hell........lol
I will say, If I didnt show or breed, I would never have in season bitches near dogs,
I would be more tempted to have my bitches spayed than my dogs neutered though,

It's in reference to this thread
http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?t=97148

Ah thanks Trouble, I would say, if there are many bitches in the area coming into season, I would defo consider having him done...... poss waiting untill he has finished growing first.

I'm broadly pro-neuter but I agree with that.

However those of us who neuter are adding to that social pressure.