Should dogs been nutered at birth??
By SuzyLong
@SuzyLong (775)
May 6, 2009 10:45am CST
I have 2 dogs and neither of them have been done yet as I don't think they should be until they have had the chance to be a mum and a dad.
I'm waiting for mine to have their first litter before I get them done so that they have experienced being parents but I don't like the idea of people who are proper breeders constantly breeding dogs for money.
Do you agree?
1 person likes this
5 responses
@Seraphine (385)
• Finland
8 May 09
The only responsible thing to do would be to spay/neuter them and not let them get it off once. Getting to be a mum and dad means nothing whatsoever for dogs. It doesn't matter that you have homes lined up for the puppies. If your friends can't be hassled enough to go through the paperwork, home checks and all else that is required when adopting a dog from a shelter, then perhaps they are just not suitable for owning a dog.
There's a whole lot more to breeding than to put two mixed breed dogs together. What about health tests (hips, eyes, heart, etc)? What about if something goes wrong and the female has to have a c-section? What if she rejects the puppies and you'll have to feed the pups every 2-3 hours for the first month of their lives? Then there's the high-quality food, vet checks both for the mom and puppies, vaccinations, deworming, etc, until the pups are at least 8 weeks of age (pups should really not leave their mom before 10-12 weeks). Do you really have time and money for that?
If you had two purebreds that were champions of the breed with a correct temperament and had passed all health tests, there would be nothing wrong in letting them have a litter, but in the cirumstances you're describing it's purely wrong and unethical. But it seems like you've already made up your mind so nothing anyone says will make a difference. That's just my opinion though. It is however extremely saddening that there are so many people who think like you do and let them have that one litter because that is one big reason there are so many unwanted dogs in the shelters.
@Seraphine (385)
• Finland
9 May 09
I'm sorry if it seemed I was assuming things about your finances but more often than not people get into breeding just for the heck of it without thinking what the cost of it will be.
Anyway my opinion still stands. The shelters do turn people down for a reason. If your friends are rejected, then perhaps they just need to accept that this is not the best time in their lives to get a dog and try to fix the reasons the shelters are turning them down and try again. Or get a purebred dog from champion lines and appropriate health-tested parents/grandparents from a show breeder would be another alternative. I simply do not ever support mixed-breed dogs to get a litter. The one and only valid reason to get into breeding is to improve the breed itself, and with mixed breeds you cannot do that.
@SuzyLong (775)
•
9 May 09
Same breed dogs have more wrong with them than mixed breed dogs. We wanted to get a bulldog at first but they have so much wrong with them that not even our wages would have covered vets bills. My boyfriend's dad has a shar-pai and it has to go to the vets once a month to get all sort of bills and checks done. I have had my labrador cross for 9 months and my staff cross for 3 and the pair of them have only been to the vets once for a check up and I was told they were both fine. I'm not sure what they are crossed with but it must have been a good choice because they are both extremely healthy.
My friends have been refused for stupid reasons like me, I was refused because we live on a main road, one was refused because she didn't have a garden big enough for a dog to be exercised in even though she lives near a huge park that she was going to use for exercising the dog and told them that as well, one was refused because she'd been buying things for a dog for a while so that she had everything she would need when the dog did come and she'd brought too many toys and was told she would over pamper the dog, she wasn't going to give the dog all the toys in one go, she wasn't going to give the dog all the toys at once but was still refused. Are you trying to tell me that these are valid reasons not to give someone a dog??
@SuzyLong (775)
•
9 May 09
I'm sorry, when did I say that I didn't have the money?? You seem to have the impression that I don't have any money, my wages alone cover all of our rent and bills with extra left over and then my boyfriend works as well from home. Both my dogs are fully insured and the vets is only down the road, if they are shut, the vet lives a few streets away. We've discussed it with her and she said that she will give us her mobile number when my dog is pregnant and need her out of office hours. I also know someone who is a dog breeder that doesn't live too far away and said that if I have any questions, I just have to call, he's even offered to come round when the puppies are being born to make sure everything goes ok. If my dog rejects the puppies, then I will be here for night feeds and my boyfriend is here for the day feeds. We aren't going into this blind you know.
Most of my friends have tried to get a dog from a shelter and they have all been turned down, they were heart broken to not be able to have a dog. My best friend, 2 couples and my cousin have all had dogs before but were still turned down. If the shelters would actually let good families have a dog, there wouldn't be so many dogs in shelters.
@rosekiss (30414)
• Eugene, Oregon
8 May 09
Both my dogs were spayed at the age of 4 months, before they could even go into heat.There are enough dogs running around, and I think as a responsible owner is it up to us to make sure they are fixed. I think, you are doing a disservice by letting them have puppies. The whole idea of getting them fixed is to cut down on the pet population. I could never ever do that to my dogs. That is being very irresponsible. It is up to you what you do, but I don't think you should let them have puppies, as there are enough dogs running round as it is. If you would be breeding them to sell the puppies, that might be one thing, but just to do it so they can be parents, isn't right. Have a good day, and happy mylotting.
@SuzyLong (775)
•
8 May 09
Read what I've put above, the puppies are all going to be going to good homes, people that I know as they are friends or family because they are being turned down by animal shelters. My cousin got turned down last week because she has 2 kids and they didn't think she'd be able to afford a dog or have the time for one, she's a stay at home mum with a husband that works full time in a great paying job. My dogs get to get a litter and my friends and family can finaly have a dog to complete their families. There wouldn't be so many shelters full of "unwanted" pets if they actually let people have a pet that really will look after them and love them.
@ellie333 (21016)
•
6 May 09
Hi SuzyLong, I have a dog and he is not yet done but I am waiting until he is fully grown and then will have done. In the UK where I live there are so many unwanted dogs that I don't think it is right to bring more into the world, I feel the same with cats. Yes in an ideal world it would be lovely to let them experience being a parent but as long as they are living in a loving home I do not feel it a necessity for the reasons I stated earlier. If people stopped buying designer dogs etc from breeders the demand wouldn't be there and that would put a stop to a lot of it in it just for the money factor, these days you cannot even buy a cheap mongrel as it is now labelled a spollie or labradoodle, ridiculous. I canunderstand how you would love a litter first though as if I had a b*tch rather than a dog it would be tempting. Huggles. Ellie:D
@jugsjugs (12967)
•
6 May 09
I have got three dogs.One of my dogs have been sorted so she can not have pups,the other two are male and female,she is three years old and he is four.I wanted to breed them just the once,but it looks like that will never happen as she sits down when he go near her and to be honest i dont think he has a clue what to do as he gets on her the wrong way round.lol.I do agree with you that they should be allowed to have a set of pups,however you have to ensure you have homes for them as well.
@SuzyLong (775)
•
7 May 09
Oh yeah, I have plenty of friends who want one of my puppies and now some of my cousins wants one as well so if there's less than 12 pups in the litter, there's going to be a lot of disappointed people lol But I think it's good to have that many people wanting the puppies in case it turns out that one of the can't have one, there's someone else that can.
@diamania (7011)
• Netherlands
6 May 09
If they get a litter will you keep them yourself or give them away? If the latter applies you could better not let them be parents as there are already enough homeless dogs in the world. And having them experienced being parents is not a valid reason in my opinion to let them have puppies. Neutering them also prevents the male dog from making other dogs pregnant... I don't think you want your neighbor on your doorstep complaining he suddenly got a litter thanks to your dog whilst he doesn't want one. :P
Btw, I hate breeders for the reason stated above... there are already enough homeless dogs... just adopt them and stop breeding to make sure the number of homeless dogs have increased dramatically...
if you catch my drift... ;)
