Paws For Life Resources

Shelter euthanasia is the number one killer of companion animals. Spaying and neutering is the only way to reduce or eliminate that.

It’s also better for your pet’s health. And it’s better for you because it will make your life easier if your pet is spayed or neutered. Animals can be miserable -- and make you miserable -- when they are in heat. And then there’s always the problem of what to do with the puppies.

No. Absolutely not. All the medical evidence suggests a dog should be spayed before her first heat. It’s much easier for her then because it’s a much easier surgery at that time.

And the problem with letting your dog have a litter is you’ve just instantly contributed to the pet overpopulation problem. Now you have to find homes for all those puppies. And for each home you find, there’s one less home for a dog that was already born. Plus, you can’t be responsible for what the new owners do. So unless you spay or neuter all the puppies before placing them, the new owners may let their dog breed as well. Now you’ve added even more dogs to the pet overpopulation problem.

Dogs, just like people, get fat when they eat too much and don’t get enough exercise. And that’s something you can control. You can use portion control and take your dog for a walk.

Spaying or neutering is not going to affect your dog’s desire or ability to protect your home or protect you. Guard dogs are trained to be guard dogs. Their behavior is a function of genetics or instinct, environment, and training.

Many, many police canine units spay or neuter their dogs. There’s no correlation between spaying or neutering an animal and its ability to protect you.

But people also need to understand that unless their dog has been trained to be a guard dog, it isn’t a guard dog. Most dogs are naturally protective, but if you truly need a dog for protection, and your dog isn’t trained, you’re at risk.

You really should keep your dog confined. But neutering certainly does decrease the instinct to roam. That’s because unneutered dogs are constantly seeking to match up with unspayed females. It also will decrease your dog’s urge to escape your home or escape your fence. But in this day and age, there’s no reason to allow a dog to freely roam the streets. It’s dangerous.

Neutering a dog will decrease and could eliminate that kind of marking, which is a territorial behavior. That’s what they’re doing; they’re marking their territory to ward off other male dogs that could come into it and get their female. Neutering may eliminate the problem. But there also could be other health issues or behavioral issues involved at this point. So, it’s a really good argument for neutering early, before the animal reaches sexual maturity and the marking behavior has become habit.

Yes, absolutely. In females, it greatly decreases mammarian cancer and completely eliminates uterine cancers and diseases. In males, it eliminates testicular cancers or diseases and can lower the risk of prostate cancer. Generally, spayed and neutered pets live longer, happier lives.