Why should I spay my dog (or Cat)? Won't having puppies help her be a better pet?
I am surprised and a little saddened that "mothers make better pets" is still circulating despite the intense efforts of humane societies and animal shelters over the past 30 years. It borders on being an urban legend since I whenever I discount this supposition I am told about a dog that belonged to a friend of a friend, a FOAF to you urban legendists, who used to be snappy and ill-mannered until she had a litter of pups. Afterwards, she became the perfect well-trained dog as a side effect of motherhood. I don't recommend this as a way to get a good dog anymore than I recommend a teenage girl having a baby as a path to model citizen. There is no validity to this misconception.
But to your first question, there are clear health benefits for spaying your female dog at an early age. The risk of malignant mammary tumors decreases markedly for dogs spayed under a year of age compared to dogs spayed later in life. There's also a major risk of pyometra, an infection of the uterus, in unspayed dogs. A secondary health benefit is that you reduce the risk of infections spread by stray dogs. A spayed female dog no longer put outs the scent of love that attracts vagabonds, scamps and blue-blooded studs from all over the neighborhood, each bringing their own special mix of infectious diseases to scatter about your yard waiting for "the lady" to come outside and play. A spayed dog is less likely to want to roam the neighborhood-the hormonal cues for wanderlust aren't in play. The same holds true for neutering a male dog at a young age. If you neuter your dog under a year of age, the risk of prostatic disease is greatly reduced. Neuter him before he has picked up male characteristics such as the embarrassing embrace of your lower leg in front of company--and chances are he will never develop that habit. He also will not be afflicted by the scents of spring and wander in search of a taboo love-making session underneath the yum-yum tree.
Are there other reasons to neuter your pet? There are more than 20 million, as a matter of fact. Most sources state around 20 million unwanted dogs are living as strays on the streets of America. Some of these dogs were abandoned by thoughtless pet owners, who, for whatever reason, chose to back out of the lifelong commitment a pet represents. Some owners assuage their conscience by thinking life on the streets will be fun for the dog, or that another family will adopt their abandoned pet. A painfully small percentage of animals end up adopted to good homes through humane societies or shelters. The ugly truth is that most stray dogs end up dead on the streets at a young age, malnourished and disease-ridden. Or, they are picked up, held in a shelter for a time before being euthanized. They are unwanted and unloved, and euthanasia is a release from a life without hope.
Spay your dog. She'll be a better, healthier companion, and you can rest easier knowing you did your part to keep one less animal from an untimely death sentence as an unwanted pet.
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