For those of us which have spent any time at all in an animal shelter, it is heartbreaking to watch dogs, which are put down just because they cannot find a home. There are more than 21,000 pets put down each day in the US alone, which totals 6 to 8 million deaths per year. This is due to the fact, their owners decided they could not or would not keep them.
There is an old belief, that if you let your female dog have just one litter of pups, she will be a calmer and more gentle dog, this is not so. In order to have a calm and gentle female dog, it will take training by the owners and maturating of the dog.
Another belief that we have all heard is, if you spay or neuter your dog they will become overweight, this is not so. By the time your dog is spayed or neutered they are around 6 months of age, by this time they are not growing at such a fast pace and their metabolism is slowing down. If you keep your dog on a healthy daily diet, without an overabundance of doggy treats and they get sufficient daily exercise they will maintain a healthy body weight.
When your dog is sterilized some health issues will be eliminated and it will reduce the risk of other health issues. Sterilization will spare your family emotional and financial stress caused by an illness, as well as sparing your beloved pet the pain of disease.
Spaying eliminates the chance of ovarian and uterine cancer, in female dogs, along with reducing the chance of breast cancer, the surgery needs to take place before the females first estrous (Heat) cycle.
Neutered male dogs will not have the risk of testicular cancer or prostate disease, due to the removal of their testicles.
Dogs which have been spayed or neutered, will make better companions, they are less likely to bite and be aggressive toward humans and other dogs. You will not have to worry about taking your pet out for their daily exercise when your female dog, does not come into heat.
Before choosing a dog, think about visiting a shelter and checking out their dogs, shelters usually have a varity of dogs to choose from and you might be saving the dog from being euthanized as well.
It is wise to let the whole family be involved in choosing a new dog; it is not uncommon for the dogs in a shelter to choose their new owners. The shelter will have all the information you will need to make sure, the dog you choose will be suitable for your entire family.
Apart from being a veterinarian, Susan Wright is a freelance writer. Find helpful advice on being a caring pet owner and good neighbor on this website.
