OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the case of neutering, I don't think it's a case of all dogs being equal. I choose to keep my boy entire (at least until he's mature) as I believe he needs the hormones that flood the body at this age. Giant breed males should be allowed to fully mature (at least 2) before they are neutered and research shows that if this is not allowed to happen, there are long term health risks. According to research I've read, early neuter for male giants increases the incidence of bone cancer, the risk of hypothyroidism is tripled, prostate cancer is quadrupled and orthopaedic disorders increase. Vets seem to quote eradicating testicular cancer as a good reason but less than 1% of dogs get this. Nearly all those afflicted with prostate cancer are neutered dogs. Testicular cancer is actually rare and can be dealt with by neutering if it occurs.
Also, early castration can result in a dog with an insufficient breadth of chest for orthopaedic health. The narrow chests which result are inadequate to support the weight that many neutered animals put on. These dogs then have to develop a toe-out stance in an attempt to broaden their base for weight bearing and bloat becomes an even bigger issue.
Of course it is sensible to spay/neuter rescue dogs, but for the ordinary responsible pet owner neutering is a bigger issue than just population control and if you make the wrong choice you can actually be shortening your pet's life.

I think C&D sums it up brilliantly.

When I got my first dog (a bitch) I had no intention of showing or breeding so I got her spayed as I felt the health benefits outweighed the risks.

My second dog (a dog) I intended to show so he had to stay entire. As it's turned out he's not suitable for showing but is a complete wuss and I really feel he needs his testosterone so I will not be getting him castrated.

No. 3 (another boy) also to show, but only managed to produce one testicle so he will have to be castrated and fortunately I'm sure he will be fine without the testosterone!

So basically, horses for courses, treat each case on it's own merits.

J.

We had Amber sprayed when she was 6 months and it never caused her any problems. We are having a male puppy soon and when he is old enough we shall have him neutered.

Don't forget that Dogsey members represent the minority of dog owners. The average person doesn't have a clue how to train or handle an intact dog. I absolutely dread the (thankfully few and far between) intact dogs around here as they are totally out of control. Persistently humping my neutered male, licking him, following us (often with no owner in sight)...all of which leads to a totally spoilt walk by ignorant tits that won't/can't be bothered to train and get their dogs neutered.

I think it depends on dog, home and enviroment... none of mine are neutered... Codee will be spayed after her second season, once she is fully grown. Because I basically worry about pyo and I am not breeding from her... but I won't be neutering my boys, not unless its for health reasons, as Scorpio said the setters coats are ruined by neutering and my boys are not dominant, aggressive or over sexed... having a girl in heat around them only affected Deacon for a little while and Jamie wasn't bothered by her at all... he was more interested in Deacon
Both Remy and my last setter girl Tess were speyed and had wooly coats!

i personally think all dogs, who wont be bred from, should be spayed/neutered. any dog i have had or will have, will be neutered or spayed. too many dogs die every day through overpopulation, and unless a dog is spayed/neutered then there is always a chance of them breeding an unplanned litter and making the problem worse. even the most responsible people could have their dog breeding a litter. spaying and neutering are the only way to 100% make sure that cannot happen. i personally, think that any entire dog should be kept onlead all the time.

tad extreme Lozzi

castration/spaying should not be used as the lazy option imo.

how is that a lazy option? for many dogs, if they smell an in season bitch no amount of training will bring them back under control.

For me personally it's about health risks, not convenience. I'm not one for whipping a dogs internal organs out just to make my life easier (not saying that all those who neuter automatically do). That said I'm not irresponsible enough to end up with accidental litters anyway so I can afford to leave my dogs entire if needs be.

For bitches the health risks of being left entire without being bred are high and the resulting diseases are often fatal, therefore any bitch I own would be spayed eventually.

Dogs on the other hand are left entire unless their behaviour starts to cause a problem. From what I remember when I read up on the subject, having a dog castrated doesn't really decrease the dogs risk from disease (apart from testicular cancer obviously, which is relatively rare anyway).

I'm more in the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" camp with neutering personally.