Early neutering of large breed dogs can lead to growth issues. Male dogs of breeds prone to hip dysplasia and other joint problems are often neutered around 2 years old as they do indeed need certain sex hormones to properly fill out.
Exactly!
2 years!
I sure hope owners are responsible enough to keep them from breeding.
I don't trust people who don't sterilize dogs or cats they don't intend to breed.
Responsible owners are the key. I would never advocate keeping strays or dogs belonging to irresponsible owners intact. You have to be responsible enough to handle it. And sometimes dogs are crazy and need to be fixed earlier. I read recently of someone breeding Rottweilers and they had a contract not to neuter them before I think two or could've been 18 months. Anyway, one Rott I guess was jumping through windows (literally breaking them, not that rare) to get to females down the road, just crazy and a danger to himself, so the breeder had to ammend the contract and make an exception for this family that they could get him neutered earlier. In cases like that, I can understand but otherwise I think it should wait.
And I don't think it's so black and white. Not everyone with intact dogs is irresponsible and not to be trusted.
Also on the other side, I have a friend who didn't spay their female Labrador until she was 15. They only spayed her because she got mammary cancer.
Prime example of how not everyone is irresponsible and not all intact dogs have litters lol although 15 seems kind of late to have a big surgery like that?
All my furry friends (dogs and cats) are spayed and/or neutered.
Mine are two as were the last ones but the next one I'm going to wait.
Same here!
We even spayed the pregnant queen our heartless landlord dumped at our house in the middle of january. After she weaned her kittens, of course.
Aww that's so cruel
Incorrect. Dogs must be intact to participate in AKC shows. Therefore breeders of show quality dogs sell both adults and puppies intact. That doesn’t make them unethical.
Yeah exactly.
I wouldn't know.
I don't watch AKC shows. I find them stupid and boring.
They can be boring and watching on tv isn't so fun but i like going and meeting breeds and breeders.
There are too many dogs and cats in need of homes to keep adding to the problem by breeding more. Unless you're breeding service or work animals or for conservation.
I used to feel the same way but not everybody wants a rescue or a mix. Sometimes they can come with baggage or bad habits and some people like raising a puppy from the beginning so they can train their way and/or some people like the predictability of certain breeds. I also don't really care what people choose as their companion, not my business, and if the breeder and owner are both responsible people then the dog won't end up homeless or in a shelter. Now, having said that, I know that not every dog in rescue hss baggsge or issues, in fact most probably don't, and that there are plenty of puppies and purebreds in rescues. But I still think my next dog will be purebred. Although that said, Libby and Franklin are both amazing dogs, and I think I will rescue some eventually but I think I'll always have both.
I know absolutely nothing about how breeders of dogs, and shows for dogs, and such work. But I did watch one dog show, it was quite boring, but of course that’s just my opinion.
They can be, i like the dog sports better
Thank you for addressing my points
Sorry I went off on a tangent. I can get heated about this. Like I mentioned earlier, I've dealt with irresponsible owners dumping pregnant animals.
I am pro breeding endangered breeds, service dogs and work dogs such as police dogs or search and rescue.
Show.... mmmm... I probably don't understand enough to get with the program.
It's okay! I completely understand and irresponsible owners are definitely a problem but I don't think that is the dog's fault or necessarily a result of it being intact. Intact or not, animals should not be allowed to roam. And if the owner is responsible, they will keep their animal (dog, cat or otherwise) contained to prevent accidental litters or the animal getting hit by a car, attacked by another animal, shot, poisoned, etc.
And tbh, I'm not 100% show, a lot of breeds have been ruined by the AKC and breeding for looks what wins, theres plenty of articles and pictures of some dog breeds 100 years ago versus now that are shocking. And I think most brachy breeds are cruel even though I love them. BUT. I do think dog shows and purebreds have a purpose. And some people just want a predictable companion or perhaps a performance dog. Most mutts could do any of the performance sports (agility, rally, nosework, dock diving, flyball, obedience, tracking, etc. Or even skijoring and bikejoring) and there are lots of mutts not only participating in these but excelling but to be highly competitive, some people might want a dog that has been bred for competition, who's parents and grandparents excelled, etc. Or they might need a working herding dog for the ranch. Or hunting dog.
