Veterinarian Services

You may eventually decide to breed your dog.  Please don't take this responsibility lightly.  As dog lovers, let's try to resolve rather than aggravate pet population issues and the possibility of homeless pets.  You must have plans for each and every puppy before the litter is even conceived.

Also, it's overoptimistic to assume that you can recoup your investment or even profit by breeding dogs.  Few people come out ahead by selling puppies, once they have paid stud fees, provided veterinary care and food for the mother and litter and have accounted for their enormous investment of time.

Breeding dogs also has its emotional cost.  Ask a breeder wheat it's like to see a bitch through a difficult birth or cesarean section, or to witness the death of a beloved bitch or her puppies.  Death can play as large a role as life when it comes to breeding dogs, and rare is the litter in which all the puppies survive.

If you decide to go forward and become a breeder, we hope you will embrace the belief that each new litter you produce should represent an improvement over the last.  This means that you don't choose the dog who lives down the street to mix genes with your bitch because he happens to be close by and performs for free.  Try to find an individual whose bloodlines will strengthen your dog's weaknesses and emphasizes his or her good qualities.  The rewards of your discretion will be long-lived.

Should I Have My Dog Spayed Or Neutered?

Your veterinarian should initiate a discussion about spaying or neutering at the time of your first appointment, months in advance of the actual surgery.  If he or she doesn't, then inquire.  It's a good time to start thinking about whether you want to spay or neuter your pet for preventative health care, birth control and to avoid some potentially undesirable behavior.  Remember, however, that these surgical procedures render a dog ineligible to compete in some AKC events.

Many breeders offer pet quality puppies for sale with the stipulation that the dogs be neutered or spayed when they reach the appropriate age.  This is the breeder's way of insuring breed improvement, by only allowing high-quality dogs to reproduce.  You, of course, think your dog is absolutely perfect.  And it is--for you, and as a pet, but perhaps not as a model for future members of its breed.

Spay/Neuter For Health

Possibly the best reason to have your female spayed while she is young (most veterinarians recommend six months of age) is for its health benefit.  Mammary gland cancer is much more common in an un-spayed (intact) female.  If your puppy is spayed before her first heat (at six months, for example), her risk of developing breast tumors is substantially reduced.  The odds are still in her favor, though diminished, if she is spayed after her first heat.  But if you wait until she reaches maturity, say after her second or third heat, the operation will not reduce her risk of breast cancer.  This is why it is important to have her spayed early in life.

Other reasons?  The surgery itself, complete removal of the uterus and both ovaries, is ordinarily quicker and less hemorrhagic in immature females, so the risk of complications is reduced.  Owners are spared the stress of having to confine the female who, when she comes into season, sends out enticing messages to male dogs in the vicinity.  Furthermore, because the reproductive organs are gone, spaying eliminates the possibility of unwanted pregnancy as well as the regular heat period when dogs leave blood-tinged stains on carpets and furniture.  Lastly, the potential infections, cancers and other problems involving the uterus and/or ovaries are eliminated along with these organs.

Diseases of the male reproductive organs related to the presence of male hormones are not unknown, either.  Although neutering represents an advantage as far as prevention is concerned, this is not usually the primary reason owners have their dogs castrated.

Spay/Neuter For Temperament

Most people want their dog to be neutered because they think it helps make him a better pet.  This may be true, for the following reasons:  intact male dogs can act aggressively toward other dogs and people because they are trying to protect and control their territory.  In the male mind, "territory" may be your property, its toys, females in heat, a bowl of food and so on.  This type of behavior is unacceptable to most people and may be strongly influenced by the dog's male hormones.  Neutering a dog with aggressive tendencies at an early age may reduce these problems.  Castration is also recommended for aggressive older dogs, although its chance for success is less certain.

Spay/Neuter For Happiness

A neutered dog has less temptation to roam, too, as well as fight.  He probably won't embarrass you at important dinner parties by seeking romance with your company's legs.  And just as important, he won't contribute to a population of homeless puppies!

Spaying and neutering dogs who are not intended for breeding or for the show ring is simply the right thing to do.  We hope you will choose to have it performed for a happier, healthier pet.

For additional information contact:
American Kennel Club
5580 Centerview Drive
Raleigh, NC 27606
(919) 233-9767