If you decide to delay spaying or neutering your dog, for whatever length of time or whatever reason, here is something else to consider- Some people just may not be cut out to deal with an intact male or female dog in their household. Here are some caveats and considerations:
1. Female dogs bleed when they come into heat.
Female dogs do not get menstrual periods like humans, as some people mistakenly believe; they come into “heat,” or “season,” once or twice a year – the three to four days in their cycle when their unfertilized eggs ripen. (Though both biological processes involve bleeding, it’s inaccurate to compare a woman’s monthly cycle, which is an infertile time, to the heat in the female dog, which is quite the opposite. Dogs get pregnant while bleeding.) Some dogs cycle every six months; more primitive breeds, such as Basenjis or Tibetan Mastiffs, come into heat only once a year.
Get more facts on dogs in heat at Dogster.com.
2. Female dogs can only get pregnant when they’re in heat.
A dog will begin her heat cycle after about 6 months of age. Some females will show physical signs of readiness – their discharge will lighten in color, and they will “flag,” or lift their tail up and to the side. Others will show no behavioral changes; still others will “stand” and accept a suitor at any time in their cycle, even days before or after they are fertile. If you cannot be absolutely certain of identifying the signs of heat in your female, and securing her during this time, spay her. Intact males are frighteningly persistent in reaching the object of their desires; they will hurl themselves through glass windows, and might even attempt (and succeed) at breeding a female through the wires of a crate.
3. Unneutered male dogs can get forceful.
You cannot leave a female in heat unattended for one moment outside, not even in a fenced yard. Whether or not she is in that narrow window of time when she can get pregnant, she might attract a male, and they might breed anyway. There is no way to predict how a male dog will act when a nearby female is in heat. Though dogs have been mating for millennia, it is not a process that is without risk of physical harm to one or both dogs.
4. Unspayed female dogs will attract stray males – from miles away.
If there are stray dogs where you live, walking a female in heat is asking for trouble. Ideally, have a secure, fenced area where your female can do her business, always supervised by you. If you must take her out in public to walk her, carry an umbrella that you can open to ward off unwelcome males, but know that you still might not be able to keep them apart.
5. Unspayed females need to wear sanitary pads while in heat.
Dogs stay in heat about three weeks, but the female will neither bleed heavily nor bleed every day. Nonetheless, to protect your carpets and furniture, it is smart to invest in “bitch’s britches,” which are dog-proportioned panties that can be fitted with a disposable sanitary napkin.
6. You cannot keep intact males and females in the same house.
If you have an unneutered male dog in your household, and you want to let your female go through one or more heat cycles before spaying her, the smartest and safest thing is to remove one of them for the duration of the female’s heat. It is difficult to describe the stress, restlessness, and sheer loss of sanity that a male dog can exhibit in the face of a female in standing season. It will be close to unbearable for you, to say nothing of him. Plan a vacation for one of them, ideally the male. (And if you plan to use a boarding kennel, females in heat will be too big a disruption there in the event other unneutered dogs are there, too.)
7. You cannot spay a dog while she is in heat.
Once your female has started her heat, don’t change course. Many veterinarians are reluctant to spay females in the middle of estrus; the uterus, preparing for pregnancy, is very vascular, and the risk of internal bleeding is higher. Instead, schedule spay surgery at a hormonally “quiet” time, ideally midway between heats. Depending on the individual dog, unneutered males can be trained through consistency and positive reinforcement not to urine-mark in the house. Ditto for discouraging “humping.” Do not tolerate these behaviors at any time.
8. Unneutered male dogs are always fertile.
As with unspayed females, unneutered male dog behavior must be under your control and supervision at all times. It is the height of irresponsibility to allow them to wander. Unlike females, unneutered males can procreate all the time, and they can create a neighborhood population explosion in no time at all.
9. Intact dogs are less welcomed in public.
Remember that in the larger world outside your door, intact dogs are the minority. By choosing to have an unneutered male (in particular, because he is visually easy to identify), you restrict your options and access to different environments, including dog runs and doggie day care. You will likely be required to explain and defend your decision not to neuter your dog; be prepared, be polite, and have a very thick skin.
Nurturing dogs is pure animal abuse and it only benefits the lazy owners who want a calm dog next to them. You want to have a dog? Deal with it. It’s such a BS that it’s good for the dog. Did you ask the dog? Are there any humans out there that are willing to surgically remove their breasts or testicles so that they wouldn’t have to deal with possible cancer later in life? Absolute BS . There is the option of vasectomy.
Agreed, it’s like, would you neuter your son or yourself?
I am also happy that I am not the only one who is against this business.
The strength of the immune system lies in the reproductive tract.by fixing your animal you compromise the immune system also making preventative medicines less effective.i personally know several dogs that contracted heartworm while prescribed heartworm medication through their personal vet.even though your fixed animal may not develop ovarian or testicular cancer ,their compromised immune system makes them vulnerable to several other cancers.this info can be verified by searching pros and cons of spay and neutering.fixed animals also tend to become obese and develop health problems leading to shortened life.
I’m surprised by this article. It’s about human inconvenience and irresponsibility. There is so much research through great studies today, pointing to not spaying and neutering. Education, not opinions about inconvenience and irresponsibility would be more beneficial to the audience of the awesome publication.
I have a seven month old, miniature, pure bred poodle boy. My plan is to not have him neutered because my last poodle died of a hemangiosarcoma of the spleen. He was 14 years old but had all his teeth and the energy of a puppy and was raw fed. His tumor was unknown to us and it ruptured one day and he quickly went into shock as we rushed him to the ER. We had to euthanize him within the hour to stop his suffering. Turns out that the main risk factor for this type of common cancer is neutering. Certainly if my new dog develops behavior problems related to not being allowed to breed and he is suffering from frustration then I will consider neutering him but I am very unlikely to do it before he is at least 6 years old. I delayed neutering of another one of my dogs because he was very submissive and would submissively urinate. I decided that leaving him intact longer would mature his brain and his parts and could only help with his submissiveness. I had him neutered at age 2 because I falsely believed that was necessary for his health and behavior. This is before I knew how neutering greatly ups the risk of hemangiosarcoma. He was not having any behavior problems so in hindsight and learning more facts about this issue vs. propaganda, I now regret neutering him. I really did believe that it had to be done. At least he remained intact for two years that did mature his mind and body and resolve a lot of his submissiveness.
At 55, I’ve had both intact and neutered dogs. I believe it is better for the dogs to be neutered. I’ve found that they’re calmer and more easygoing when they’re neutered.
The key word is BELIEVE. If you don’t want to neuter your dog, don’t. If you do, go ahead. Cost shouldn’t be a deterrent…in the US, there are numerous places that offer low cost (and occasionally free) neuter/spay services.
My city had a free “Fix ’em!” event, and I had my girl fixed then. Be careful, though…make sure they’re current on their shots if you take advantage of such an event. My girl came home with a nasty case of kennel cough after that event, so with my next dog, I used the low cost service offered at the Houston Humane society.
My dogs are neutered, and healthy AF. My rottie was neutered at age 3, and lived to age 12. He was a rescue. If I had gotten him earlier, I would have fixed him earlier. Cancer didn’t kill him.
My GSD/rottie/golden/GSD/chow mix was fixed when I adopted him from the shelter. He lived to age 16. Bone cancer that started in his foot killed him. Plus, he was 16, pretty old for a big dog.
My GSD was neutered when I found him on the street. He’s about 5 now…and disgustingly healthy except for the trouble his prey drive gets him into.
My pitty/beagle girl I had fixed after she weaned the litter of six puppies she had when I brought them all home from my office’s business park. She’s we guess around 8 or 9 now and besides a little arthritis, she’s healthy.
We can disagree with each others choices, and have different opinions, without being so GD nasty.
I hate to see that the social discord so prevalent on other sites has infected this site.
Personality traits are what they are. If your dog humps before spaying it probably will after. I come from an era when dogs were rarely spayed. We bred Collie roughs. The male fought sometimes with other males, but not always and you could always stop him and he never injured any of them, he was always the winner, and once that was shown the other dog skulked away. same with the females, They sometimes fought with eachother, but females never fought the males. And none of our dogs ever humped unless it was the male humping the female when she was in season. They also never wee in the house. Also then you vaccinated your dogs as puppies and that was it. the only other time you went to the vet was if your dog was chronically ill broken its leg or you were putting it down because it was so old, couldnt walk and was deaf and blind. The vet didnt sell 20 different versions of dog foods or various other treatments (poisons). Dog treats barely existed, you didnt give your dog food to make it sit or listen to you, dog parks didnt exist and hardly anyones dog wore a collar or was on a lead. No one tried to convince you that rubbish out of a packet was better for your dog than fresh food. All dogs got table scraps, and wed never heard of dogs with anxiety, thyroid problems, diabetes, pancreatitus or even cancer and most dogs made it to at least 10 and up to 17. Wind the clock forward 40 years, now most dogs are spayed, and given poison by way of packet food and flea tick and worm treatments and get booster vaccinations every year, and what do we have? Males fighting females and males, and dogs dying from everything from Hyperthyroidism, cushings disease addispns disease, diabetes and various forms of cancer from sarcomas, lymphomas Tumors hemangisarcoma etc and at 2 to 5years old…geez…i wonder why thats happening? Could it be because we remove bits of them at 6months old and continually inject them and feed them poison for their entire lives. if you put it in perspectove its more amazing that some pf them do actually manage to make it to old age at all. Use your brain people…humans are difficult to when they go through puberty and we are the most overpopulated of all so are we going to start spaying our children when the get to 13 so we dont have to deal with bad behaviour and unwanted pregnancies?
As a European I am quite amazed by some of these arguments. In some Scandinavian countries as few as 5% of male dogs are neutered, bitches in season participate in dog sports and the Netherlands now have no stray/unhomed dogs, and this is not due to euthanasia. Castrating males is cautioned against for those who have “problem” behaviours related to fear and anxiety and if neutering is considered it certainly wouldn’t be before the age of 18 months, a lot older for slow-maturing breeds. I’m confused as to whether decisions are being made for the dog in front of you or this is about trying to make up for the ignorant and uncaring actions of some people.
I’m very disappointed that the Whole Dog Journal would publish this… responsible owners have no problem with intact dogs. And if spay or neuter is desired, there are options that allow the hormones to stay intact. It’s also different for every breed based on research. Altering affects development, soundness (if done too early), health, and behavior. And have a bitch in season is NOT a big deal. This is just an article that perpetuates myths. As for unwanted pregnancies… well… that’s an owner responsibility issue plain and simple.
I took my Yorkshire Terrier Male to the vet to be neutered! My vet actually told me not to spay him because it would cause issues later on and he was already a great dog, physically and his temperament and he didn’t want to change that! He is now 8 and is the best dog! I have a 2 year old female also now and she is not spayed either. I have no issues when she is in season. Its called sensible ownership! My male has never even tried to mate with her, however my female does try to hump the cat when she is in season! 😂
The risk of testicular cancer isn’t especially high, neither is prostate cancer (depends on breed). And the fact that people are saying we should remove essential organs and using the risk of cancer as an argument as to why we should remove them is absurd. Based on your logic we should also remove their ears, because then they cant get cancer there. Maybe we should also remove their eyes because of the risk of cataract or cancer in the eye. And the balls are necessary for the same damn reasons as it is necessary for humans, one being testosterone production. Testosterone aids in fighting a plethora of diseases, and is necessary for the dog to have healthy bones, big strong muscles like the big boys, and many more that I couldn’t possibly name off the top of my head. And finally, you don’t have to give them a girlfriend if they aren’t neutered, just let them hump his toys, don’t get mad at him for his rated R behavior, he just doesn’t understand that masturbation is a private matter.