ah forgot to say that max has an over bite and could never of been bred from either. i can never remeber whether it is called over shot or under shot but he is one of them and i was terrified of accidental matings and being sued for paternity lol

Surely the issue is irresponsible dog ownership, not whether the dogs are castrated or not?

An entire dog with a responsible owner will not sire pups....

A responsible owner, with a dog like KatieB's Max that does roam and chase bitches on heat, will take the decison to neuter - but that doesn't mean that all entire dogs are like Max, and should be neutered "just in case".

PS thanks Katyb for telling us about Max - he made my example easier to illustrate, hope you don't mind

I remember when I was a child and dogs and bitches were hardly ever spayed or neutered ,it was very common to see 100% stray dogs wondering around ,plus lots of people just turned there dogs out onto the street for the day
The kennels were over crowded and dogs were going in one day and being PTS the next
If it was not for spaying and neutering being promoted and rescue centers doing it to dogs before they are rehomed we would still have the same amount of dogs being PTS now as there was when I was younger

but we all know that responsible dog ownership isnt happening- else we would only have one or two genuine cases up for rehoming

I'll answer each one.

Will look at the link, but of course testicular cancer is one of the biggest killers of older unneutered male dogs. Prostatic cancer is far less common, and I've read elsewhere that it's prevented by neutering to an extent.

Again, there isn't really any good evidence of obesity in neutered pets. One way to ensure your dog doesn't get obese is to look after it properly by feeding it at a maintenance level (worked out easily by adjusting amounts until dog is neither losing nor gaining weight) and making sure it gets proper exercise. There is absolutely no reason for a dog to become obese from neutering if the owner is taking care of it properly.

There are very small risks with anaesthetics in young and healthy animals. The real risks come into play with older, sick dogs. So, to prevent the risk in later life of having anaesthetic problems during an emergency neuter, it's therefore safer to neuter and do it while they're fit and healthy, not old and vulnerable which is unfortunately commonly when dogs develop testicular cancer, mammary cancer, etc.

Some breeders and show owners complain that coat quality is affected by neutering. This may or may not be a serious thing, depending on breed and the amount of effort an owner is willing or able to put in. I don't think it can ever be measured against a killer disease that effects far more dogs. Of course it's a personal choice - coat quality or possible death. Know which I'd choose

Yes. I agree. It's my personal choice to put a dog's health first and spay and neuter every single time

thanks lel i totally agree with you if there was more responsible owners about it would be great but not everyone iwlass are like the people on here dog friendlty /lovers and too many dont care less this is a sad fact i see it unfortunatly everyday

But surely these 'irresponsible' owners are not going to bother to neuter anyway?

I understand that rescue centres are keen to prevent more unwanted puppies, but if they are rehoming to responsible homes, surely the adopting family will prevent unwanted puppies? If rescue centres spay/neuter all dogs that pass through their care for this reason, it suggests that some people who are adopting dogs can not be trusted to prevent it happening?

I am not 'anti-neutering' - I just think that there are less invasive methods of birth control. My decison will always be taken on an individual basis, based on the medical research available at the time.

yes you are right iwass but unfortunatly there are some people out there that really dont care you have one side that are caring owners and can have an entire male /bitch and can cope no problem but there are others unfortunatly that get a dog and it is more or less left to its own devises i think all rescues do their utmost to find good caring homes for the dogs whether they are entire or not ( the dogs that is not the people ha!)

Despite considering myself a responsible owner, and despite Satch rarely walking off-lead, before I had him 'done' I had all sorts of horrible scenarios if he ever got whiff of a bitch in season while walking flashing through my head - dragging me over, me losing my grip on the lead and him tearing off to God knows where, him rushing out in front of traffic etc. No matter how much training we do, I think those kind of urges completely overwhelm a dog. I guess it may be different for owners of small breeds who could physically restrain their dogs easily if the dog tried to bolt, but I've never fooled myself that, if he ever put all his effort into bolting, I'd stand any chance of restraining Satch with muscle-power alone. Knowing his size and strength, for me it was the responsible decision to castrate him, considering I had no intention of breeding or showing at that time.

Becs

I consider myself responsible but no one can guarantee an accidental mating I don't have room to seperate my dogs all the time and they would be miserable if I did. Just a ring of the door bell and attention divert for 2 minutes can be all it takes