Let's not compare neutering and spaying our pets to having our boys circumcised - or thinking about removing part of our children's reproductive systems.
This is not a good analogy --- The reasons we might neuter our male dogs - would not apply to our sons. We're not worried about our sons running around the neighborhood getting little girls pregnant..and the babies ended up in a people pound because there are too many unwanted babies in the world. We aren't worried about them getting loose and roaming or running away and getting lost - or running out in the street and getting hit by a car. We wouldn't neuter our son because we're afraid he might get testicular cancer later in life....or to keep him from marking or humping everything in sight.
I agree with some of the reasons some of you have chosen not to neuter or spay your pets -- but I wouldn't go so far as to compare them to our children. Other than the health risks - I do think that we can usually get away with not neutering and spaying our little dogs because they are house dogs and are more closely monitored 24/7.
But - I still occasionally read posts here about "my dog accidently got pregnant." However, I think most of us can fairly easily keep this from happening if we work at it.
But - again - how do all those unwanted puppies end up in the pound. I think they are probably more often the result of larger dogs that spend more time outdoors - and, don't we know that a lot of these dogs get loose once in a while..... I see dogs running around loose all the time -- but rarely small house dogs.
Carol Jean |