Views on spaying and neutering your animals

Should all pets be spayed/neutered no matter what?

Yes	12.5%	[ 1 ]
No	37.5%	[ 3 ]
It depends	50.0%	[ 4 ]
Total Votes:			[ 8 ]

[pseudocyesis]

Savage Destiny

pseudocyesis

Spaying/neutering always. Always.
I work in a veterinary hospital where we see specialty cases during the day, and ER cases nights and weekends. Open 24/7.
Intact males are more aggressive, have tougher skin (which really only matters because venipuncture and catheter placement are way difficult lol). Also "fun" fact, intact animals are harder to regulate certain disease processes in (such as controlling seizure disorders).
The pros of spay/neuter far outweigh any "cons" for me. The only real "con" to neutering I can think of happened as of late, sugar gliders tend to mutilate their neuter site lol.

edit: I suppose ultimately I'm much more pro-spay because of the myriad of health reasons for females (mammary tumors, cancer, pyometras, etc). Because while there are health reasons for males too (prostate issues, sertoli cell tumors, etc) my main reason would be to avoid aggression.

Being intact has zero to do with aggression. Having testicles does not make dogs aggressive. I have groomed plenty of nasty altered dogs and angelic intact ones.

You should really do some research. There are A LOT of downsides to spay/neuter, not the least of which is much higher instances of joint issues like hip dysplasia and cruciate tears, as well as much higher rates of different types of cancer.

And seriously, stop propagating the "intact dogs are aggressive" bullshit.

You are welcome to your opinions and views, even if I disagree with them.

[Shanna66]

pseudocyesis

Spaying/neutering always. Always.
I work in a veterinary hospital where we see specialty cases during the day, and ER cases nights and weekends. Open 24/7.
Intact males are more aggressive, have tougher skin (which really only matters because venipuncture and catheter placement are way difficult lol). Also "fun" fact, intact animals are harder to regulate certain disease processes in (such as controlling seizure disorders).
The pros of spay/neuter far outweigh any "cons" for me. The only real "con" to neutering I can think of happened as of late, sugar gliders tend to mutilate their neuter site lol.

edit: I suppose ultimately I'm much more pro-spay because of the myriad of health reasons for females (mammary tumors, cancer, pyometras, etc). Because while there are health reasons for males too (prostate issues, sertoli cell tumors, etc) my main reason would be to avoid aggression.

The clinic i work at says the opposite. I honestly dont think i would ever go to a vet that thinks that having balls means a dog will bite people. Or do you mean same sex dog aggression?

[pseudocyesis]

Shanna66

pseudocyesis

Spaying/neutering always. Always.
I work in a veterinary hospital where we see specialty cases during the day, and ER cases nights and weekends. Open 24/7.
Intact males are more aggressive, have tougher skin (which really only matters because venipuncture and catheter placement are way difficult lol). Also "fun" fact, intact animals are harder to regulate certain disease processes in (such as controlling seizure disorders).
The pros of spay/neuter far outweigh any "cons" for me. The only real "con" to neutering I can think of happened as of late, sugar gliders tend to mutilate their neuter site lol.

edit: I suppose ultimately I'm much more pro-spay because of the myriad of health reasons for females (mammary tumors, cancer, pyometras, etc). Because while there are health reasons for males too (prostate issues, sertoli cell tumors, etc) my main reason would be to avoid aggression.

The clinic i work at says the opposite. I honestly dont think i would ever go to a vet that thinks that having balls means a dog will bite people. Or do you mean same sex dog aggression?

That's fine. In my experience and the experience of my coworkers with years more in the field than I have, intact male dogs are more difficult in a veterinary setting. -Oftentimes- more difficult to restrain, and quicker to start snapping at us.
Are there intact male dogs who are sweet as pie and easy to work with? Absolutely. I think being intact makes them more likely to be difficult/aggressive. You can disagree that's fine, everyone can disagree that's fine.
In the same sense that Akitas, GSDs, Huskies, are breeds that are usually assholes. You like one or all these breeds? Okay. But I think they're assholes [usually].

addendum: I know there are really great dogs that happen to be Akitas, GSDs, Huskies (we just don't see any, I think it's usually a case of bad owners that get more dog than they can handle, and don't train them or teach them any manners...).
Funnily enough there are some "aggressive breeds" that I've seen many good dogs from. Rottweilers have been mostly great dogs in my experience, and pitbulls are usually really sweet as well (even the cruelty cases we see).

[CrysisMoon]

I most definitely will not call every single owner who decides not to get their pet neutered irresponsible. Because not everyone is. I mean yes, there are people who simply don't care. But there are also a fair number of people who still have amazingly health pets that are still intact.

Aerobe

This I can understand. I've never seen a dog with a staph issue like this, and I understand why you're not going to neuter him. It's the right thing to do, especially since any surgical site can be a b***h to look after if it gets infected. It happened to my cousins dog, just after she adopted her last year, her sutures were almost healed, and then they got infected.

LordFumbleSquid

I am very much pro adoption, but sometimes shelter and rescues are there for a reason, whether it be behavioural or medical. Some people don't have the resources to take in a reactive dog, or a dog that needs to be on a very specific type of diet. Or it's as simple as sometimes people just don't find that connection with a dog in a shelter or a rescue.

pseudocyesis

This is where I have to disagree with you a little bit. I also work in a clinic, and though we're fairly small, we have a number of dogs who are still intact who I sometimes think are better behaved than the neutered ones. I can definitely say from my experience so far, more neutered dogs have tried to bite me than intact dogs have. I don't think intact dogs are more likely to become aggressive, but I do see how they could become more territorial. People need to remember that there is a difference between being aggressive and being territorial.Intact dogs are more likely to make their place known as the pack leader than they are to turn an bite someone.

Any dog can be difficult to restrain. So far I can hands down say I'd rather work with a Husky, GSD, or any big dog really, than a Shi Tzu, Maltease, Yorkie, Chihuahua, or Jack Russle. Those dogs are the true assholes. Generally anything that is under 20kg I don't trust. And well I just don't trust cats in general.

[CrysisMoon]

Also I fixed/changed the poll.

[Shanna66]

pseudocyesis

Shanna66

pseudocyesis

Spaying/neutering always. Always.
I work in a veterinary hospital where we see specialty cases during the day, and ER cases nights and weekends. Open 24/7.
Intact males are more aggressive, have tougher skin (which really only matters because venipuncture and catheter placement are way difficult lol). Also "fun" fact, intact animals are harder to regulate certain disease processes in (such as controlling seizure disorders).
The pros of spay/neuter far outweigh any "cons" for me. The only real "con" to neutering I can think of happened as of late, sugar gliders tend to mutilate their neuter site lol.

edit: I suppose ultimately I'm much more pro-spay because of the myriad of health reasons for females (mammary tumors, cancer, pyometras, etc). Because while there are health reasons for males too (prostate issues, sertoli cell tumors, etc) my main reason would be to avoid aggression.

The clinic i work at says the opposite. I honestly dont think i would ever go to a vet that thinks that having balls means a dog will bite people. Or do you mean same sex dog aggression?

That's fine. In my experience and the experience of my coworkers with years more in the field than I have, intact male dogs are more difficult in a veterinary setting. -Oftentimes- more difficult to restrain, and quicker to start snapping at us.
Are there intact male dogs who are sweet as pie and easy to work with? Absolutely. I think being intact makes them more likely to be difficult/aggressive. You can disagree that's fine, everyone can disagree that's fine.
In the same sense that Akitas, GSDs, Huskies, are breeds that are usually assholes. You like one or all these breeds? Okay. But I think they're assholes [usually].

addendum: I know there are really great dogs that happen to be Akitas, GSDs, Huskies (we just don't see any, I think it's usually a case of bad owners that get more dog than they can handle, and don't train them or teach them any manners...).
Funnily enough there are some "aggressive breeds" that I've seen many good dogs from. Rottweilers have been mostly great dogs in my experience, and pitbulls are usually really sweet as well (even the cruelty cases we see).

Lol i will take an akita over a hound any day. Hounds are our worse behaved clients. They cry and wiggle and n** amd are just horrible to do anything to imo

When i worked at our city shelter it was mostly pits and they were great because they didnt care if they got poked with anything sharp. We only get in a few pits at the clinic, the rest are hounds and fat labs

[Shanna66]

Fallen-Pottery-Angel

I most definitely will not call every single owner who decides not to get their pet neutered irresponsible. Because not everyone is. I mean yes, there are people who simply don't care. But there are also a fair number of people who still have amazingly health pets that are still intact.

Aerobe

This I can understand. I've never seen a dog with a staph issue like this, and I understand why you're not going to neuter him. It's the right thing to do, especially since any surgical site can be a b***h to look after if it gets infected. It happened to my cousins dog, just after she adopted her last year, her sutures were almost healed, and then they got infected.

LordFumbleSquid

I am very much pro adoption, but sometimes shelter and rescues are there for a reason, whether it be behavioural or medical. Some people don't have the resources to take in a reactive dog, or a dog that needs to be on a very specific type of diet. Or it's as simple as sometimes people just don't find that connection with a dog in a shelter or a rescue.

pseudocyesis

This is where I have to disagree with you a little bit. I also work in a clinic, and though we're fairly small, we have a number of dogs who are still intact who I sometimes think are better behaved than the neutered ones. I can definitely say from my experience so far, more neutered dogs have tried to bite me than intact dogs have. I don't think intact dogs are more likely to become aggressive, but I do see how they could become more territorial. People need to remember that there is a difference between being aggressive and being territorial.Intact dogs are more likely to make their place known as the pack leader than they are to turn an bite someone.

Any dog can be difficult to restrain. So far I can hands down say I'd rather work with a Husky, GSD, or any big dog really, than a Shi Tzu, Maltease, Yorkie, Chihuahua, or Jack Russle. Those dogs are the true assholes. Generally anything that is under 20kg I don't trust. And well I just don't trust cats in general.

D: but mean kitties are the best! Im way more confident with an angry cat than i am a small dog. Those things wiggle out of my holds so often. Big dogs im fine with restraining at least

[CrysisMoon]

Shanna66

D: but mean kitties are the best! Im way more confident with an angry cat than i am a small dog. Those things wiggle out of my holds so often. Big dogs im fine with restraining at least

Haha oh yeah. little those little buggers sometimes take two of us to hold, so they don't rip whoever has the front end apart. I've discovered I love restraining cats for a back leg blood draw. They can't move once you've scruffed them and have their back's against you're arm.

Yeah, and there's just something about big dogs. It's like they know you can just resort to sitting on them xD

[Skeksis]

Shanna66

Thanks to my shelter background i really prefer it people get their animals fixed, but i understand that its not needed to be a good pet owner

For my own mammals i prefer fixed because i love doing off leash things with my dog and i hate dealing with cat and dog heats

i wish i could have intact ferrets but all the breeders in my area require a spay and neuter contract and all the rescues only have mill ferrets which are desexed way too young.

I end up rescuing most of my animals anyways so the speutering is usually done before i get them

Not sure I understand...why would being intact impact upon having them offleash? Mine are offleash most of the time.

[SmoothSavage]

pseudocyesis

Savage Destiny

pseudocyesis

Spaying/neutering always. Always.
I work in a veterinary hospital where we see specialty cases during the day, and ER cases nights and weekends. Open 24/7.
Intact males are more aggressive, have tougher skin (which really only matters because venipuncture and catheter placement are way difficult lol). Also "fun" fact, intact animals are harder to regulate certain disease processes in (such as controlling seizure disorders).
The pros of spay/neuter far outweigh any "cons" for me. The only real "con" to neutering I can think of happened as of late, sugar gliders tend to mutilate their neuter site lol.

edit: I suppose ultimately I'm much more pro-spay because of the myriad of health reasons for females (mammary tumors, cancer, pyometras, etc). Because while there are health reasons for males too (prostate issues, sertoli cell tumors, etc) my main reason would be to avoid aggression.

Being intact has zero to do with aggression. Having testicles does not make dogs aggressive. I have groomed plenty of nasty altered dogs and angelic intact ones.

You should really do some research. There are A LOT of downsides to spay/neuter, not the least of which is much higher instances of joint issues like hip dysplasia and cruciate tears, as well as much higher rates of different types of cancer.

And seriously, stop propagating the "intact dogs are aggressive" bullshit.

You are welcome to your opinions and views, even if I disagree with them.

Except it is less my opinion and more actual scientific studies which I got all my information from, but go ahead and tell yourself whatever you want.

[Shanna66]

Skeksis

Shanna66

Thanks to my shelter background i really prefer it people get their animals fixed, but i understand that its not needed to be a good pet owner

For my own mammals i prefer fixed because i love doing off leash things with my dog and i hate dealing with cat and dog heats

i wish i could have intact ferrets but all the breeders in my area require a spay and neuter contract and all the rescues only have mill ferrets which are desexed way too young.

I end up rescuing most of my animals anyways so the speutering is usually done before i get them

Not sure I understand...why would being intact impact upon having them offleash? Mine are offleash most of the time.

Just in case another intact animal comes running up. As long as you dont have many oops litters i dont judge what others do. I just meant thats a reason why i would want to spay and neuter

[Skeksis]

Shanna66

Skeksis

Shanna66

Thanks to my shelter background i really prefer it people get their animals fixed, but i understand that its not needed to be a good pet owner

For my own mammals i prefer fixed because i love doing off leash things with my dog and i hate dealing with cat and dog heats

i wish i could have intact ferrets but all the breeders in my area require a spay and neuter contract and all the rescues only have mill ferrets which are desexed way too young.

I end up rescuing most of my animals anyways so the speutering is usually done before i get them

Not sure I understand...why would being intact impact upon having them offleash? Mine are offleash most of the time.

Just in case another intact animal comes running up. As long as you dont have many oops litters i dont judge what others do. I just meant thats a reason why i would want to spay and neuter

What are you worried is going to happen in that scenario?

We meet plenty of intact dogs when we are out and about (many of which approach us and say hi!).

I haven't had any oops litters at all.

[Shanna66]

Skeksis

Shanna66

Skeksis

Shanna66

Thanks to my shelter background i really prefer it people get their animals fixed, but i understand that its not needed to be a good pet owner

For my own mammals i prefer fixed because i love doing off leash things with my dog and i hate dealing with cat and dog heats

i wish i could have intact ferrets but all the breeders in my area require a spay and neuter contract and all the rescues only have mill ferrets which are desexed way too young.

I end up rescuing most of my animals anyways so the speutering is usually done before i get them

Not sure I understand...why would being intact impact upon having them offleash? Mine are offleash most of the time.

Just in case another intact animal comes running up. As long as you dont have many oops litters i dont judge what others do. I just meant thats a reason why i would want to spay and neuter

What are you worried is going to happen in that scenario?

We meet plenty of intact dogs when we are out and about (many of which approach us and say hi!).

I haven't had any oops litters at all.

thats great for you, but i dont feel comfortable doing it. i would rather just have my dog fixed and not have to worry about it

[Skeksis]

Shanna66

Skeksis

Shanna66

Skeksis

Shanna66

Thanks to my shelter background i really prefer it people get their animals fixed, but i understand that its not needed to be a good pet owner

For my own mammals i prefer fixed because i love doing off leash things with my dog and i hate dealing with cat and dog heats

i wish i could have intact ferrets but all the breeders in my area require a spay and neuter contract and all the rescues only have mill ferrets which are desexed way too young.

I end up rescuing most of my animals anyways so the speutering is usually done before i get them

Not sure I understand...why would being intact impact upon having them offleash? Mine are offleash most of the time.

Just in case another intact animal comes running up. As long as you dont have many oops litters i dont judge what others do. I just meant thats a reason why i would want to spay and neuter

What are you worried is going to happen in that scenario?

We meet plenty of intact dogs when we are out and about (many of which approach us and say hi!).

I haven't had any oops litters at all.

thats great for you, but i dont feel comfortable doing it. i would rather just have my dog fixed and not have to worry about it

It was a genuine question, I was just curious. neutral

[Shanna66]

Skeksis

Shanna66

Skeksis

Shanna66

Skeksis

Shanna66

Thanks to my shelter background i really prefer it people get their animals fixed, but i understand that its not needed to be a good pet owner

For my own mammals i prefer fixed because i love doing off leash things with my dog and i hate dealing with cat and dog heats

i wish i could have intact ferrets but all the breeders in my area require a spay and neuter contract and all the rescues only have mill ferrets which are desexed way too young.

I end up rescuing most of my animals anyways so the speutering is usually done before i get them

Not sure I understand...why would being intact impact upon having them offleash? Mine are offleash most of the time.

Just in case another intact animal comes running up. As long as you dont have many oops litters i dont judge what others do. I just meant thats a reason why i would want to spay and neuter

What are you worried is going to happen in that scenario?

We meet plenty of intact dogs when we are out and about (many of which approach us and say hi!).

I haven't had any oops litters at all.

thats great for you, but i dont feel comfortable doing it. i would rather just have my dog fixed and not have to worry about it

It was a genuine question, I was just curious. neutral

I just dont feel comfortable doing that with a dog i own. I dont mean it as anything against you and im sorry if it came off that way

Lots if other people let their intact dogs off leash and have no control over them. If stowrm wasnt fixed i would be worried about her getting preggers and im prolife for personal belief reasons so i wouldnt get an espay unless she was in danger. I just feel its easier to have her fixed and not have to worry about all that smile