[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by SirTeddykins

Didn't want to post but I feel compelled - science is my drug


Research does not seek to verify what we want to or wish to believe. Sometimes, truths are not what we thought they were because our truths have been handed down to us from society. Science does not take sides with our collective consciousness.


Emotively, is it true that MOST pet owners are completely unequipped with the knowledge to responsibly deal with an intact animal? I think - yes.


Scientifically, should ALL animals be spayed/neutered because it is good for them? In the absence of owners, I think - No. There is just no way to justify this scientifically. Evolution does not give females mammary glands so that the majority of them suffer from cancer. That would be anathema to reproduction so cannot be the truth, as a whole, applicable to all animals and all breeds.


Stats online are ok as guides but they are by no means complete and they are by no means unbiased. I would use anything I found online with extreme caution. If anyone wants to know how to access 'real' research, they can contact me. Access usually involves a membership to an educational body or a fee.


Pet owners, which include gemy, all make good points here which we should all consider. However, let us begin by admitting that none of us know everything and there is no one-size-fits all approach to all situations. It should not be an 'us and them' debate. Science doesn't have friends.

That's why it is a perfect occupation for me. I'm a loner

No one is debating science. I could come up with just as many study's and articles to prove spaying and neutering is important and necessary. I think actual life events can count as more then study's that millions of things come into play with. I have seen a rise in poymentra in small dogs many of which did not make it even after the surgery. It's certainly not something I would risk or think anyone else should risk. I can tell you straight from comparing my dog who was spayed before her first heat to a dog who was not that when spayed before there first heat that the mammarys do not develop and you can not get cancer in something you don't have. The rates of cancer in dogs that could be avoided due to spaying and neutering is on the rise because people are being told things that the facts and things are being twisted on. As well as health issues the millions of dogs who are put to sleep every year matter there lives count and matter to!