Archie is neutered but I know a lot of dogs in my neighborhood that aren't neutered and are just fine. I've spoken to them and they told me that their vets said it's OK not to neuter, but usually, it turns on whether they plan to breed or not. Plus, keep in mind that most show dogs aren't neutered. My take on the situation:
The weight thing is a myth. People say that neutering stops the dog from humping...not true! It's a dominance thing, so they might still do it to exert dominance. Also, it doesn't stop them from marking. That's a territorial thing. And as for the testicular cancer thing, yes, having no testicles will reduce the chance of testicular cancer, but on the other hand, having no skin could reduce the chance of skin cancer...
I'd say talk to a vet and get the facts. A lot of animal shelters do neuter to keep the animal population down, and they encourage it. But I think it's best to balance...will you breed your dog? will you show your dog? is your dog a pet? do you let your dog loose a lot? are there lots of other dogs in the neighborhood? what does your vet think? what are the risks of neutering and not neutering?
For me, personally, I had Archie neutered because 1) I didn't plan to breed him, 2) I live in a city where there's a lot of traffic, etc. and I didn't want Archie to run if there was a female dog across the street, 3) I live in a place where everyone seems to have a dog, and I take him to dog parks, etc., so I wanted to minimize the chance of Archie becoming every dog's baby daddy. |