Is spaying/neutering really necessary? Some things to consider

As game show viewers know, Bob Barker always ended “The Price is Right” with a message about the importance of spaying/neutering your pets. But is that always necessary? We take a look.

Spaying/neutering is very important in keeping the population of stray and feral animals down.

According to Dr. Jamie Richardson, Medical Chief of Staff at Small Door Veterinary Clinics in New York City, spaying/neutering is the right choice in the vast majority of cases when it comes to our pets, though it is a personal decision that should be discussed with your local vet. (For more on Small Door, see their website.)

However, it’s an obvious no-go if you plan on breeding your dog, such as those intended for the conformation ring or the agility course.

And there is certainly a place for responsible breeding of purebred dogs – many endangered breeds can be saved that way, and it follows in the grand tradition of those eminent dog people like Albert Payson Terhune.

But it’s also an immense amount of work, time and expense to adequately care for animals in a situation like that. For more info, we recommend reading one of the Howell Dog Books series like The Complete Samoyed or The Complete Shih Tzu.

Wesley’s family had a purebred Australian Shepherd named Sport that could have been registered, but there didn’t seem to be much point as his job was to be a family pet (didn’t quite work) and guard dog (he excelled at that).

So he was neutered when he was around eight months old, which significantly cut down on his puppy antics, which including a lot of jumping and accidental knocking down of little kids.

Sport’s longtime little sister Sunny the Beagle mix had two very large litters of puppies during her lifetime, 21 of which lived (another five or so were stillborn). Spaying her cut down significantly on her antics of escaping through the fence and roaming the neighborhood, though she found new ways to trespass as time went on.

Besides the obvious reason, there are also many secondary benefits that come with the procedure.

“In addition to population control, spaying/neutering reduce the risk of certain cancers and diseases,” Dr. Richardson said in an email to Dog O’Day.

Other benefits include reduced or eliminated aggression, mounting, roaming and urine marking behaviors.

Dr. Richardson recommends spaying/neutering small breeds at around six months old, but waiting on larger breeds so that the growth hormones work as they should.

So, basically, there’s a lot of good reasons why spaying/neutering your dog is a good plan, but it’s not always the right solution. Talk with your local vet before deciding anything.