What are your thoughts on neutering?

My husband absolutely refused to get our German Shepherd neutered. He felt that it would change him too much. I did not fight it because we got our female spayed and our property is fully fenced, so no other dogs in and our dogs only went out with us on a walk.

But in general what do you think?

Are you for one and against the other?

Do you think that people should get their dogs neutered unless they plan to breed?

I prefer neutering to puppy mills, unloved and homeless creatures.. .
Neutering is a low risk procedure with nearly no complications. Veterinarians often advise you to not to neuter a very young pup who is seven months or lesser or a very old dog.
When you neuter your dog it would cause a reduction in his sex drive.
He will not be marking territory which is a annoying behavior among male dogs. I hated it when my Flair did that often.
Neutering a dog, often makes it less aggressive.
He/she will not run away at will in search of a mate.
Neutering helps decreases the population of unwanted animals which are often put to sleep when shelters are unable to find them a suitable home.
Remember there are a few health advantages that come with neutering.
You prevent your dog from getting tumors, testicular cancer or prostate enlargement as your dog becomes older.

The disadvantages are
- it alters a dogs metabolism so they will not burn as many calories as quickly. You need to exercise your dog more and fed him less.
- Your dog could become very docile if he is already mild mannered.
I see nothing wrong with neutering if it is an issue.

I would never do this to my dog, and I don't see how people can justify it. For one, I wouldn't want to change his behavior. Neutered dogs become too docile, and they lose their natural personality. But mostly, it's just not something you do to something you love. I am completely against it.

If it were similar to a human vasectomy, I'd be more open to it. But complete removal is cruel.

All of my dogs except one are fixed. I really think that it's cruel to NOT get them neutered. A male dog is happier and less likely to take off after females in heat (although he may never completely lose interest in female dogs), less likely to get into fights and less likely to mark everything in your house. Female dogs are definitely more mellow and less territorial. They also don't go into heat, which is messy, and the dog won't drive you crazy trying to get to a male dog.

In addition, if you've ever raised a litter of puppies, you know how much time and work it requires. Puppies are noisy and messy. You'll clean up all the soiled newspapers, bleach the floor, put the pups back into the enclosure and when you look again, the floor looks and smells just as bad as it did before you cleaned. You also have to find good homes for the puppies. Even if you sell them, it's still a significant amount of work for little or no profit. Heaven forbid one gets sick, the vet bill can wipe out every bit of profit for the entire litter.

No, no, neutering or spaying is better for both you and your dog.

I wish more people here in Poland would spay or neuter their pets. The homeless dog population problem here is unbelievable. Just on our short street there are 4 homeless dogs right now. At the beginning of the summer there were 6. Two years ago one of the females had 9 pups on Dec 22nd. And of course we all had to deal with finding these pups homes.

Down the road one of our dumb neighbors has a female who had a pup, that pup now runs the streets and of course they don't care and allow her to just keep getting pregnant then tossing the pups out onto the street. There is one local animal shelter but they are over run. People here just don't see it as their job to take care of their pets or the puppies they create.

I find it much more responsible to spay or neuter rather than bring so many unwanted animals into the world that will either starve or die form illness.

I can understand if a dog owner is breeding their dog and they KNOW what they are doing in breeding dogs. But if a dog is a pet, and an owner is not interested in raising puppies then BOTH male and female dogs need to be neutered and spayed. It is only fair.

When our puppy went into heat at 10 months, a neighbor's male dog got her pregnant. We knew little about dogs then and didn't think a dog could go into heat before a year. Did that neighbor help take responsibility to help with her 8 puppies? No! I personally think that neighbor should have helped with the puppy food and helped us find good homes for those 8 puppies. From then on, we got BOTH our male and female dogs FIXED at the earliest possible time possible which is about 6-8 weeks. It is only fair.

A pet is domesticated anyways and people need to realize that un-neutered dogs are more aggressive and don't bond to the owners as much. They are more likely to roam and can become uncontrollable when a neighbor's female dog is in heat. It is the responsibility of owners of BOTH female and male dogs to have them neutered and spayed. It is only fair.

This world has far too many unwanted dogs & cats, & it's a shame to see what their lives have become. I do a lot of online & in person volunteer work & I have seen, read & heard too many horrible things about our homeless animals. They deserve better than to be cast aside, left to fend for themselves in the wild, sold into research or mills, etc. No, we need to spay & neuter our animals & everyone needs to adopt from your local rescues, shelters, etc. as the fate of all the unwanted, then homeless pets, is not at all a good future.

It's a routine surgery & we have had many dogs go through it, when I was a kid growing up, & have seen a lot at the shelters I have been involved in. & with the hundreds & hundreds of dogs I have known, I have never seen a dog's behavior change. Can it happen? I am sure it can, but in my extensive experience with dogs, & animals in general, I just have never seen it affect the dogs in any way, shape or form.

Surgeries are needed for many things in life & this one for dogs & cats is nothing more than routine. 3 weeks ago, I had my 12th surgery, yet I am still here & not one of them hurt me, & 5 of them could well have been the difference in me being here & writing this, & not.

In my not so humble opinion, I see no problems whatsoever with having your Shepherd neutered. Danni. And for what it's worth, most of my friends are in law enforcement & 2 of them are K-9 Officers & their partners, one a Shepherd & the other a Malinois, never had a problem, never slowed down, no changes whatsoever.

Best wishes in whatever you decide!