The Dogs Bone

The author obviously has not done her homework and presents these comments as fact, which they are not!

What a load of utter rubbish. For starters dogs can not be carriers of HIV (HUMAN Immunodeficiency Virus), in fact only primates can (and not even all primates).
While I am not anti neutering for certain dogs, people should get all the facts and not this sort of drivel that implies there is no down side. You should be aware that it can CAUSE severe behaviour problems including aggression, especially in the more intelligent breeds such as collies, German shepherds etc. where the dog suddenly doesn't know it's place in the pack. On many breeds (eg Labrador) it can cause a tendency to obesity with all the joint problems associated and in most it will significantly shorten the life of the dog.
Have your female dog spayed (AFAIK there is no down side to that) but think very carefully about having a male neutered, your well mannered dog could easily turn into a fear/insecurity aggressive disaster.
I have trained working dogs (mainly border collies) for many years and for myself I would not even consider a neutered male.

Hi Bill and '123'

Thanks for your comments, but I definitely disgree.

I do understand that dogs don't get HIV - what I meant to write (which I will now rectify) was that they can get the canine equivalent thereof (called Canine Brucellosis).

As far as 'me not doing my homework' or 'presenting these ideas as facts' when 'they're definitely not', 123, I invite you to go have a chat to with your local vet, or other professionals. Or indeed, look online at many of the vet sites, such as this one www.uvma.org/Neutering.htm - the article may not be formatted well, but it certainly supports what I wrote.

Bill, I quote from the aforementioned site:
"Behavior: Unneutered males have a constant urge to roam and also to defend their territory. They can sense a female in heat from literally miles away. A neutered dog will be less likely to run away or to get into fights with other dogs. He will be more calm and easier to train because he will not be constantly distracted by his hormones."

Canine aggression is a complex thing, yet all the literature I've read actually supports neutering male dogs with reference to their behaviour. Anyway, if all the dogs a person has ie, in their pack, are neutered, then all dogs will be on an equal footing in terms of what you've spoken of.

With regards dog obesity, the best way to prevent that is in fact being careful what you feed your dog and making sure they get enough exercise. It's pretty hard for a dog to get obese if its not being overfed. Unless of course, its not neutered and therefore roams and escapes a lot more than it may otherwise (and therefore has a chance to eat things outside the control of its owner) ...

Bill, you've trained dogs and you obviously have your own opinions about how neutering impacts on dog behaviour and aggession. For anyone else reading this, I'd also like to point you to the opinions of another trainer, Kathy:

"A male dog who remains intact experiences a huge increase in testosterone in adolescence. At several months of age, the male's testosterone level can be several times that of an adult male! This gives a real jump start to hormone-related behaviors, including urine marking in your house, aggression toward other male dogs, territorial aggression, and escape-oriented behavior in order to roam."

Another thing I find interesting, which this lady points out, is that guide dogs are indeed spayed - and most guide dogs are labradors. Hmmm...

Kathy's article is great - I highly recommend it to those interested in finding out more about this topic: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A...

I tend to agree with Bill on this one im afraid, it is a huge generalisation to make a statement of '' all male dogs should be neutered'' i think it is our responsibility as owners to recognise and address any behavioural problems our dogs may have, having had anumber of working Bearded Collies i have never encountered any problems which could not be rectified by time and proper training, i feel many owners take the easy way out and neuter dogs without giving it the time, in my experience aggression has been seen in all dogs, i have seen bitches dominating male dogs and some of the most aggresive dogs have been bitches, i think it is very ignorant to assume that all dogs require neutering, they must be assessed as idividuals, as like people dogs have very differant personalities, i am not against neutering myself and have seen many dogs with excessive aggresion due to high testosterone levels however aggression in dogs can be broken down into many reasons, fear anxiety, boredom etc., lets not forget that many people choose dogs over bitches for their characteristics, if these are not desired why not have a bitch instead of a dog, many people require their dogs to be territorial and slightly aggresive towards outsiders, i believe that if this behaviour is not what owners require they should evaluate what traits they do require before owning a dog, its a very debateable subject with no right or wrong answers, all i can say is that it may be right for some dogs but not all, and in my experience i have never had to neuter a male dog due to behavioural problems and all my dogs have lived healthy non agressive lifes, some of my dogs have even reached their 20's with no health problems except age related ones.

I hope people do their research and read several more articles on neutering than just this very simplistic one. Especially as there are a few serious errors in this one. One, for example, being the statement that there are no cons or negatives to neutering. Utter rubbish, as Bill said. Any operation has its risks along with the benefits and neutering is not an exception. Many serious health risks have been identified in neutered male and female dogs as well as detrimental behavioural changes. Many of the behavioural problems owners do have with intact dogs are in reality, training problems. As an example,Veterinary research proves that neutered males have higher incidences of prostate cancer. Many prostate problems are reduced by neutering but, sadly, prostate cancer is not one of them. Prostate cancer is actually 4 times more likely in a neutered male than in an intact male. Several other statements are disputed by solid Veterinary research. Here are some research articles to check out if you want to educate yourself on this topic.

Long-Term Health Risks and Benefits Associated with Spay / Neuter in Dogs
Laura J. Sanborn, M.S.
May 14, 2007

Determining the optimal age for gonadectomy of dogs and cats,
Margaret V. Root Kustritz, dvm, phd, dact

You can find others as well, if you care to do your research. As a caveat, there is no doubt that the owner of an intact animal has a much greater responsibility to prevent an unwanted litter. Both articles will urge the reader to consider all points carefully and make up their own mind as to the decision that is best for them and their pet. P.S. I was not allowed to post the URLs to those articles but you should be able to search for them by title or author