Fixing vs. Not Fixing your dogs

[ShrekDawg]

The dogs would probably get wild if none were spayed/neutered and in the same area of the shelter. I could see the people working there having a tough time controlling the dogs if a female in the same wing was in heat. All cramped in a small building.

I totally get that aspect but the ones I was meaning are not old enough to have heats. They’re fixing 8, 10, 12 week old babies. Which, I mean, I do get why but still.

Probably organization policy.. again going back to the money-misson objective. It costs an awful lot to transport animals across the country. Why bother with the expense if you're just shifting the problem to a new location.

Yeah that makes sense, didn’t think about that part, but still. They didn’t used to fix them so early and we still have never had an overpopulation problem up here.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Lots of shelters and rescues around here also do TNR programs. And at least around here that accounts for most a spaying or neutering done on animals under 4 months. In those cases there isn’t an option to wait since the odds of getting the animal in the trap again are low.

 

[Gizabelle]

They’re fixing 8, 10, 12 week old babies. Which, I mean, I do get why but still.

I've never heard of altering a dog at 8 wks, or even 12. Most vets would refuse before 16 wks. Do you have a link to the program/adoption center?

 

[Weeg]

Lots of shelters and rescues around here also do TNR programs. And at least around here that accounts for most a spaying or neutering done on animals under 4 months. In those cases there isn’t an option to wait since the odds of getting the animal in the trap again are low.

I completely understand TNR, but under 4 months?
I get that the age they are caught in the trap is unpredictable, and you really can't control it, but it seems like there should still be an age limit. Of course, this is a tricky situation, I do understand the issues with having an age limit.

 

[jermajay]

In my opinon spaying causes cancer and an early death.
I would just let nature take its course.
Dogs survived for hundreds of years in the wild without vaccines or any medical treatmeant!

No, they didn't. Lol. That's wolves. Dogs are domesticated.

Wild animals also have much shorter lifespans and usually die painfully from preventable illness or injury. No responsible pet owner wants that for their animal.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

I completely understand TNR, but under 4 months?
I get that the age they are caught in the trap is unpredictable, and you really can't control it, but it seems like there should still be an age limit. Of course, this is a tricky situation, I do understand the issues with having an age limit.

I’m talking about both cats and dogs in this case. They do have age limits for how young they will fix but I’ll admit they are very very low. For cats it’s around 2 months and they require them to be over 2 pounds. And yes i certainly agree that it’s certainly less than ideal honestly I find it rather horrifying even understanding why. But unfortunately 4 months is when cats and in rare cases smaller breeds of dogs start going into heat so that’s age when a lot of shelters fix for obvious reasons. Because of this Shelters rarely wait past 6-8 months for dogs and 4 months for cats. Rescues are usually better though because they tend to have fosters which makes it easier to separate dogs and cats vs. shelters where they are all under the same roof. Most rescues I’ve worked with wait until 8 months to a year for dogs and 5-7 months for cats

 

[ShrekDawg]

I've never heard of altering a dog at 8 wks, or even 12. Most vets would refuse before 16 wks. Do you have a link to the program/adoption center?

I don’t have a specific link atm but it’s not just one. It’s most of them now. On Petfinder every single puppy basically is already altered and they’re only 3-4 months old which means it was already done before that. My brother’s first dog they got was already spayed when they got her at 12 weeks old and their third dog was already neutered and he was around the same age as well or maybe slightly older. Maybe closer to 4 but it was already done a while before they got him. The second one from a different rescue wasn’t fixed yet and they waited until around a year but yeah. It’s not a rare thing anymore. They’re all doing it.

 

[Silkie Princess]

I'm going to get my puppy (female) fixed. She has underbite and it wouldn't be good if she passed those gentics on


But if she didn't have it I definitely wouldn't. The dog I had before her wasn't fixed and he was fine. And never "made puppies"

 

[Halfpasthen]

It's easy to knock the very young spay and neuters if you don't have a need for it in your area. But my area is OVERRUN with stray animals. At any given time there are 30plus dogs in the shelter. All rescues are filled up at all times. Don't even get me started on the cats. And the vast majority of them are euthanized. If you have a dog and you are a responsible owner you can afford the luxury of waiting to spay/neuter or abstain from it altogether. I have an unneutered 2.5 year old male dog myself and I will keep him intact unless I get another dog down the road.

But these rescue organizations (at least near me) are treading water. I personally feel it's better to risk the side effects of an early spay or neuter than risk having to euthanize litter after litter of puppies and kittens. If you saw the amount of animals euthanized I'm just 1 month at my local shelter you wouldn't bat an eye at the early spay and neuter policy.

 

[Iluveggers]

But these rescue organizations (at least near me) are treading water. I personally feel it's better to risk the side effects of an early spay or neuter than risk having to euthanize litter after litter of puppies and kittens. If you saw the amount of animals euthanized I'm just 1 month at my local shelter you wouldn't bat an eye at the early spay and neuter policy.

This exactly. I think it’s much more humane to alter 100 puppies than to have to euthanize 100 puppies.