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Originally Posted by mommyofsophie  If an animal's quality of life changes due to the consequences of excessive barking, the animal will likely suffer psychological effects. Some things we do for our pet's psychological benefits as well. Spaying/neutering are largely done to prevent reproduction. Decreases in risks of breast cancer in spayed small breeds is statistically negligible. You can find these data in vet medical journals. I researched this and my vet confirmed this with me. Yes, large breeds, such as German shepherds have a greatly reduced risk of breast cancer after a spay, but for Yorkies and other small breeds, the risk reduction is quite minimal. We have our little dogs spayed to prevent reproduction; it is not necessarily for their medical benefit. How many Yorkies have docked tails? Most of the photos on this site show docked Yorkies, yet there is no benefit in docking. Some people think it is inhumane and would like it to be illegal. I'll be candid, I think docking is much less necessary than debarking could ever be. (Yes, Sophie's tail is docked. She was a gift and was docked as a puppy.) |
Again, I said that spaying and neutering have medical benefits where as debarking doesn't. The primary of which is stopping the ability to reproduce and thus eliminates the health risks associated with breeding. It also reduces the incidence of mammary tumors in some breeds and completely eliminates the risk of pyometria, uterine cancers and testicular cancers.
For that reason, I would never ever put spaying/neutering in the same category as debarking.
And for the record, I agree with you on tail docking. Mine came that way from the rescues, but it's nothing I would ever put an animal through.