Should You Neuter/Spay Your Dog?
Ireland: a country of myths and legends. Perhaps the biggest myth of them all (yes, even bigger than the fairy forts and leprechauns) is that if you spay or neuter your dog, it will ‘change’ them somehow. I’ve often wondered what it would ‘change’ them into, a cat, a pig, a creature who can clean up after themselves (if only)?
Look, if you’re reading this article, on this website, then it’s a fair bet you’re an animal lover and if you’re a dog owner, a decent, responsible one, who has no intention of letting their dog breed, you already know the shameful statistics of this country, that we kill (‘humanely euthanise’ makes it sound like we’re doing something nice for them doesn’t it?) somewhere between 10 and 20 THOUSAND (hey who’s counting?) dogs per year. Per year!!!
Just think about that for one second. Imagine 10,000 dogs in a big shed, some cuter than others of course, some big and some small, some young and some well past their sell by date, but all of them living, breathing creatures who can feel pain and suffering, hunger, cold, fear. And now they’re all dead. These statistics of course don’t take into account the puppies and dogs who are poisoned, drowned or killed by other cruel means, simply because they were considered a ‘nuisance’ by their owners who couldn’t be bothered to spay or neuter. Well why would they, it changes the dog you see and we like our dog just the way it is. I mean it barks a lot when it’s locked in that shed but we just let it out for a run and it always comes back eventually. It’s only going off and having fun, doing what dogs do, it’s nature after all right?
To the misguided people that think like this I would suggest a trip to the local animal shelter or rescue group, because words can only say so much and actually being in one of these sad places cannot but shed light on one of the most important reasons to spay or neuter – the thousands of unwanted, unplanned dogs we have in this country.
Of course shelters do their utmost to rehome and they give the dogs love and food and exercise but show me a shelter in the whole of Ireland that is not bursting at the seams, under-resourced and struggling week to week to feed and care for all their dogs, go on show me. You can’t. Because such a place does not exist!
Some people mistakenly think that because their dog is a purebred that it shouldn’t be fixed, after all they paid good money for it and they may want to have puppies some day, the little puppies are just so damn cute. Well, the truth is that many of the dogs in shelters throughout the country are purebred. People get bored and puppies don’t stay small and cute forever. They need training and regular exercise and even if you can’t be bothered to get out of bed, you have to, you made a commitment to your dog. Oh look, the dogs too big now, I’m just gonna take it to the pound, maybe we’ll get another puppy, a smaller one. We’ve just redecorated and we can’t keep the dog because he’ll ruin the solid wood floors and he doesn’t match the sofa and we’re having kids now so we won’t be able to look after it any more. Yes, these are all genuine excuses that people have used when ‘surrendering’ their dog.
The bottom line is that there are more dogs than homes. That includes purebred dogs.
Dogs that are spayed or neutered are less aggressive than intact dogs. They are less likely to fight, and they are less likely to bite. Bitches that do not go into heat are far less likely to roam away from home in search of a partner. Dogs that are fixed have a much lower chance of developing testicular, mammary or uterine cancer. These diseases can be very costly to treat and they can, regardless of treatment, often prove fatal.
If you have a dog that you love and care for and feed and cuddle and enjoy walks with, he or she is neutered/spayed – right? If not, why not? What exactly is your reason? You haven’t gotten round to it? It’s too expensive? (If you are on Social Welfare there are schemes that will help greatly with the cost, just ask your vet.) You ‘might want to have some puppies one day’? You don’t want the dog to ‘change’?
Come on people, this is 2010, there are no excuses. If you can’t be bothered to get it done, you shouldn’t have a dog. If you can’t afford it, you can’t afford a dog. If you think you might want to have pups one day, well I refer you to my earlier paragraph. Go to a shelter, see the dogs, talk to the selfless people that run it and ask them what they think. If you think it will change the dog, then talk to the experts. Your local vet will assure you that this is not the case. If it’s not already done then make an appointment.
Let’s educate the misinformed by asking other dog owners you meet (whether you know them or not) if their dog is done and pass on some of the information in this article. Sure you might get told where to go but on the other hand you might save just one sack load of innocent puppies. As we know, it’s just too easy to get a dog these days; they’re in the free ads papers along with cars, old wedding dresses, electrical goods, etc. Maybe that’s why people think they are expendable and disposable. We know better.
This article was written for Oh My Dog by Tracie Pender, who does some work for Madra Dog Rescue. Her dog Archie is a GSPCA rescue dog and is one of the superstars on Oh My Dog.
