To neuter or not to neuter?

[Heidi & Milton]

Hello All!

I have been holding out on neutering Milton because I find it to be extremely unnatural; however, since Milt just turned seven-months-old, we were give the daycare ultimatum, so it is neuter him now, or he cannot return.  Milton absolutely loves daycare (three days per week), but I feel like as his mom I am hurting him by allowing this surgery to happen.  Neutering Milton honestly reminds me of a human lobotomy, and I can't bear the thought.  Quite honestly, since I made the neuter appointment this morning, I have been very teary-eyed about the whole event.  If we lived out in the country, I would never think to do this, but as a city dog, it is very easy to be banned from many things, simply because you have not been snipped.  Have any of you ever dealt with similar feelings of guilt and regret?

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

NO!  There is 1 un-neutered dog at our dog park and while he is a very sweet boy - he can get attracted to the spayed females and it causes him to be reprimanded.  Not fun for him or the females.  Intact males will go to extreme measures to get to a female dog in heat and can smell them up to a mile away - I know someone who dog jumped through a picture window to get out.  Milton does not need to make puppies (there are too many ones around that are unwanted), he does not need to experience the "act" (what he doesn't experience he can't miss) - and it will not change his personality.  What keeping him intact will do it keep him from daycare, other dog sitters, other pet owners, etc.  The responsible thing is to neuter him - but I just have to ask you - are you hoping to breed him?  PLEASE do NOT go that route.   

[Pauline Rackley]

Also will help prevent prostate cancer which can affect intact males.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I so want to respond to this, but I don't even know where to begin.  I'm sure I won't say this in the most eloquent way, but it is early.  This is a subject that is so near and dear to my heart as I'm sure it is to everyone here.  If Heidi lived closer I would love for her to come spend a day at our local animal shelter.  It is filled to capacity every single day because people feel it is cruel to neuter and spay their dogs.  Every single day there are dogs at risk of being put down because they have not been picked up by a rescue or aren't cute enough or lucky enough to get adopted.  When you walk in there your heart just breaks when you see all the dogs in their cages.  The barking is almost unbearable. The smell, ugh!  Every single day they are pleading on my FB page for the rescues to step forward and take some of the dogs.  It is called the URGENT LIST.   I've said before and I'll say it again, to change this it has to start with the elementary school age children.  When you are raised in a home without a dog or raised by parents with this same mentality you don't know any different.  In the rural area of the Country where I live this mentality is everywhere.  Many think all dogs should be allowed to have puppies.   You think it is cruel and you can't bear to do it.  As Jane said an Intact dog will go to extreme measure to get to a female in heat.  Unless you can have your hands and eyes on Milton 24 hours a day there is no way you can be sure that he will not take off a create a liter of "who knows what" kind of puppies.  In a matter of moments you could be responsible for adding 12 unwanted puppies to the already thousands trying to find homes now.  Heidi, if you are still having doubts after all the responses here, please google "Kill Shelters" and take a look at some of the hundreds or thousands of dogs that are at risk in the next 24 hours of being put down because someone didn't do the responsible thing and have their dog spayed or neutered!  It really is the kindest thing that you can do for the Milt!  Please.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I wish there was a 'Like' button that I could hit here...

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Perfectly said!!

[Ginny Nightingale]

Absolutely!! See my response to J below--in the country where this took place there are dogs everywhere--and most don't live long--so sad.

[Bonnie and Kona]

Very eloquently said. 

[BG and Gavin]

What she said!

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

I heart this.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I "heart" it, too, of course. Here are some numbers that make Sheri's point frighteningly well:

Every day in the U.S., 10,000 babies are born
Every day in the U.S., 70,000 puppies & kittens are born.

If you do the math, this comes to more than 25-and-a-half BILLION cats and dogs per year in the United States alone.
Even accounting for the estimated 10's of millions of free-roaming and feral animals, this is an unacceptable number. Even worse, these numbers are from 2002...

8-10 million kittens, cats, puppies, and dogs enter U.S. shelters each year. My Jack was one of the 54% who made it out alive. That leaves about 4.6 million who didn't.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Hi Heidi, it looks like you have gotten all the opinions you need. I think you just needed a little bit of reassuring that you made the correct choice by making that appointment. I also don't think you intended to "breed" Milton but felt bad that you were somehow disfiguring your little boy. Believe me, it will be over in a couple of days and your sweet boy will be back to his normal happy go lucky self.

Your are doing the right thing for many reasons but mostly for Milton to continue being who he is now.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I think the comments already here are perfect.  As others have said, our dogs don't live in packs in the wild.  We have domesticated them and unless they are being raised as stud dogs it would be "unnatural" in this domesticated world for them not to be neutered.  I really don't think you would want to live with some of the "side effects" of an intact dog....marking, humping, roaming (or attempting to), etc.  My guys are both neutered and I think to them this is "natural".