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Have you ever thought about why we started to spay and neuter pets?  Mainly, it was a concern for unwanted stray animals overwhelming shelters.  Some pets, like rabbits and cats have seriously impressive reproductive abilities and can create significant populations in a very short time.

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Consider this comparison:

• The female cat comes into heat every 3 to 4 weeks from February to October, with each heat lasting roughly a week.  Cats ovulate after they have mated, significantly improving the chance of a successful pregnancy.  One intact female cat of breeding age (from 4 months to death) and her intact offspring could number 420,000 within 7 years. 

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• Dogs have a fairly short fertility period, just 2-5 days every 6 months or so.  An intact dog and her offspring can produce up to 508 dogs within 7 years. 

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In Europe, dogs are routinely kept intact for their lifetimes yet they do not have an overwhelming problem of stray, unwanted animals.

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When animals are neutered before skeletal maturity, no more sex hormones are released.  The effect is to leave growth plates open and not support the developing joint as well. Legs grow extra long but with thin, light bones, chests remain narrow along with skulls. The loss of sex hormones also drastically reduces metabolism causing a high incidence of obesity in altered dogs.

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This means that bones and joints are 'out of sync with each other and the angles between bones is changed from the normal, sturdy structure - what we think of as good conformation is orthopedic soundness.  A longer tibia puts more stress on the CCL ligament at the knee.  Combine this with an over weight dog and you have knee problems.

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Then there is the cancer consideration.  Neutering your dog early reduces the risk of breast cancer in females and prostate cancer in males - fairly benign and treatable conditions, if they occur.  But neutering significantly contributes to other sudden, untreatable, deadly cancers.

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Behaviour is another common reason for early spay or neuter, yet the studies show that the male dogs with aggression issues are the neutered males.  In fact, early spay or neuter contributes to fear of storms and reactivity.  And neutering a male does not change his sex behaviors.

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The list goes on.  Incontinence, thyroid disease, pancreatitis, vaccine reactions and a host of auto-immune diseases are more likely in spayed or neutered dogs.

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Given all of this information, we must ask, "Is it feasible for the average owner to manage an intact dog for its lifetime?

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How much trouble is it really to keep a dog intact?  It's actually very easy.  Millions of people (especially in Europe) do this without advanced degrees or other training. For females, you will need to manage a day or two of spotting at the beginning of the heat cycle, twice a year.  A few pairs of "culottes" or period panties easily handle the mess.  Just throw them in the wash and reuse the next day.  Our female prefers to stay close to home, even in her kennel on these days.

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Owners of non-breeding male dogs teach their dogs that mounting is unacceptable (puts you in your crate), the same as peeing on furniture or people's trousers.  For breeding males, we teach them that mounting is encouraged in specific circumstances, in the bathroom, with this specific bath mat, so that we can either breed or collect semen.

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No dogs should run wild through the neighborhood, which eliminates unwanted breeding.  If you are walking on leash with your female in heat you will notice nothing - unless there are a LOT of dogs around.  It can be a bit of a challenge at dog shows when the female in front of your dog is in heat - but that happens everyday, since they must be intact to show.  All the more reason to have your dogs trained about what is acceptable.

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What is challenging, even for the best trained dogs and seasoned owners, is preventing unwanted breeding when you keep both male and female dogs intact at home.  This is a difficult situation for perhaps 10 days, twice a year, with crying, scratching, circling, distraught dogs. 

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If you can, send the male to a friend's place for a few weeks. Otherwise, the only safe practice to prevent breeding is to keep 2 closed, locked doors between male and female at all times.  It's not so tough if you have just a couple people and a small, simple layout.  If you have a larger family or regular visitors and a layout with many doors to access the yard, you'll need to be extra vigilant. Dogs can be very stealthy when they notice a breeding opportunity and once they are tied, you are committed.  Morning after medication is not advised, by many vets.

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I feel very strongly that the debate is now over.  Virtually all recent studies exclaim the benefits of keeping your dog intact.  

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