Dog Issues: To Neuter or Not to Neuter?

One of the first questions that you should consider asking your vet when you have a new dog is whether or not you should neuter it. Of course, there is no sense in asking that question if you are planning to breed dogs as a form of business or merely for the reason to have more dogs. More people today actually consider neutering their dogs in order to change certain behaviors and calm them down.

A dog does not need to breed

Other than the natural fact that a dog breeds to have puppies, a dog really has no other reason to breed especially if you only intend to keep one dog to guard your properties. It is also not true that your dog will be less of a "man" if you have him neutered. In fact, it won't make a dog better if it does breed and if it has the capability to but can't because you won't let it, you will only end up with a dog that suffers with a longing to breed; thus making it more aggressive and more difficult to manage.

Do it early

Neutering your dog early will help you manage the dog easier as it grows up in your household. It will not long for the companionship of a female and it will minimize any aggressive behavior. It is best to have your dog between the ages of 2 to 6 months old. Younger dogs manage the surgery much better than older dogs do and will heal much faster.

The consequences of not doing it

Not neutering your dog in a situation where it would have better off neutered will result in all sorts of situations. Your dog will end up urinating on almost anything that it sees. If it's in the house it will pee on all the furniture, drapes, shoes and articles of clothing that it will assume as its property or territory. Another problem of not having it neutered is that if it already has mated with a female dog, its behavior may become worse in the future especially when it can sense a dog in heat that is nearby but out of reach. Dogs will go through great lengths just to be able to breed with female dogs and at the time a female dog is in heat, a male dog will be more aggressive than usual. In fact, it may become so aggressive that it might opt for another male dog, which is both a dangerous and embarrassing situation. A male dog that cannot get to a female dog in season will also cry and howl for weeks on end. This behavior is very irritating and something that will drive you mad for weeks too. A strange smell also emits from a male dog that wants to mate with a dog in season. The smell is not very pleasant at all and there is no way of masking it no matter what air freshener you end up using.

All of these behaviors can be avoided if you have your dog neutered. There are more than enough reasons to have it done as soon as possible too. If this is an activity that you feel is not humane that you may want to consider having your dog breed on regular intervals or you can always adopt a female dog that will cause you less hassle in the long run.