Should I Neuter My Dog?

Ask any Vet. He will almost certainly tell you to neuter your male dog. Unfortunately, it seems their motivation is profit, and not the health or temperament of your dog.

They will tell you that neutering controls dominance and eliminate unwanted puppies. Under very specific circumstances these can be valid considerations. What they don't like to tell you is that neutering will only have an effect on dominance and aggression if its done between 6 and 9 months of age.

SPAYING YOUR DOG

Often times, prey drive is mistaken for dominance and aggression. They are not the same, and neutering your dog will not diminish prey drive. It's unfortunate, but no surprise, that the same people who drug their children into zombie-like submission because of "ADHD" also want zombie-like dogs.

These people should not own dogs.

Aggression towards family members is often the catalyst behind neutering adult dogs. The fact is, neutering adult dogs has little or no effect on dominance or aggression. These actions towards the dog's family or handler are the result of a lack of a clear hierarchy in the pack, and neutering isn't going to change this - no matter what your Vet tells you.

These problems need to be corrected by establishing a social structure within the pack with you as the leader. Through obedience training and subtle body language cues that establish your dominance, most behavioral problems attributed to non-neutering can be corrected.

So what dogs should be neutered?

Older dogs that develop prostate problems, as this may prolong their life significantly. Inexperienced owners adopting strong, dominant breeds like Rottweilers, Akitas, Chows, and Pit Bulls IF the dog is solely to be a pet should consider neutering the dogs at 6 months old to help tame the dominant temperament. With that said, my 5 year old Rotti is intact. He is not shown and is not a working dog....but I'm not an inexperienced owner. Working dogs that are born with one testicle should be neutered but not until after they are 2 years old. If these dogs are not neutered they run the risk of developing testicular cancer around 5 years of age.
And that's it. I firmly believe that neutering is uncalled for in most cases, and it is often detrimental to the dogs.

But what about all the poor, unwanted pets in the world?!?!

Please. Spare me.

The fact is that most unwanted and abandoned dogs came from intentional litters. Yes, you read that right - intentional. These dogs were allowed and encouraged to breed, had pups, and the pups were either unable to be adopted out or were adopted out, and then given up by their new owners.

Accidental breedings do occur, and they are 100% the fault of the irresponsible owner. If you take the time to train your dog, keep him or her under control, and don't allow intact males and intact females to interact unsupervised, you won't have any barking little accidents running around your kitchen.

Neutering is a barbaric and often unnecessary practice. It is not a decision to be undertaken lightly. It has significant psychological and physiological consequences for your pet, and will greatly affect their sexual maturity.

You owe it to your dog to do your research before sending him under the Vet's knife.

Should I Neuter My Dog?

Brian Webbe, a professional dog trainer and former police officer, has over 7 years experience training dogs in a variety of disciplines. In addition to training dogs, Brian maintains two dog training-related websites: http://effectivedogtraining.net featuring a wealth of articles on dog training, and http://dogtraininglibrary.net a free online directory of the best the internet has to offer on all dog-related topics.

SPAYING YOUR DOG