Quote:
Originally Posted by Ellie May  Just realized I probably worded this way wrong.
Population control is not a good reason to spay/neuter in my opinion only means that one shouldn't spay/neuter to let their dogs run loose or so is makes it unnecessary to supervise. There are times like doggie daycare, etc. where the surgery would be important or the dog in heat should obviously stay home (but you may get surprises with a silent heat). For the larger dogs who spend a lot of time outside, it may also be necessary. I just mean in general I would not agree to the surgery because there are "millions of dogs that will be euthanized this year". If an owner is careful, unless there is a true accident, they aren't going to contribute to the population at all. |
I have to agree with you in large part. I had a Collie who lived to be 12 (good long life for a Collie, according to my vet) who was never neutered. The only litters he sired were intentional. He never left my property without supervision. Unfortunately, too often people are not home to supervise their animals or they simply just do not know how to keep a bitch in heat safe from accidental breeding. Spaying is a worthwhile alternative to contributing to dog overpopulation, but if the owner is able to keep the animal confined, I see no reason to spay (my Peke had 15 unspayed pregnancy-, cancer-, and pyometra-free years).
I do not think that mammary and genital cancers are so common in dogs that it warrants invasive "preventative" surgery. Furthermore, I have only known of one case of pyometra in a bitch in my entire life, and I've known a lot of dogs and their people in my 62 years. I am of the opinion that when the pet overpopulation pitch didn't prove to be satisfactorily productive, the pro-spay lobby decided to ditch the "appeal to the responsible nature of the dog owner" approach and moved on to "scare them into cooperating." That is not to say that pyometra and mammary/genital cancers do not occur, but I think their incidence is sufficiently low that spaying for that reason alone is simply excessive and doesn't take other health factors into account...like the ability of toy dogs...especially tiny puppies...to survive these unnecessary surgeries.
I think that if people want to spay their dogs, that is fine. But I also think they should do it with full and accurate information, including surgery risks vs
actual risk of the dog developing cancer/pyometra at a later date, and in no case should the surgery be done until a toy breed has reached her full physical development.