To snip or not to snip - the neutering debate

Here at 4Paws Outdoors we don't have a blanket ban on accepting unneutered dogs. However almost without exception we find entire male dogs that visit have some antisocial behaviours. Most typically these are the following:

• Aggression
• Marking indoors on furniture
• Mounting/Humping
• Straying
• Excessive barking/howling when stimulated

Depending on the severity of these behaviours we may allow an unneutered dog to continue visiting us. All too often however, these behaviours are unsettling for the other dogs in the group.


Nowadays most responsible dog owners are aware of the benefits of neutering as soon as a dog hits adolescence. By doing this you not only reduce the risk of your dog developing a number of diseases you also reduce the risk of him developing undesirable habits such as those listed above.


Despite the overwhelming evidence in favour of neutering male dogs there remain some owners who are against it. Typically these people have old fashioned views as to why their dog shouldn't be neutered, among the most common are:

• My dog will lose his personality
• My dog will get fat
• I want my dog to have a sex life
• I want to breed from my dog
• I wouldn't want to be neutered

All of these arguments show a lack of understanding of canine development and behaviour and are the mark of an ignorant owner. Dogs have developed over time to be in a permanent puppy like state - this is what allowed them to co-exist with humans unlike wolves for example. Consequently allowing a dog to be unneutered is a bit like having a permanently hormone fuelled teenage boy around. The domestic dog is never going to be able to develop beyond this state.


Similarly the arguments that neutering produces a fat, dull dog are unfounded. Neutering itself will not make a dog put on weight, only too much food and too little exercise can do this. A neutered dog will also not become a dull, characterless shadow of its former self. A neutered dog is a calmer more rounded animal without the constant ups and down that raging levels of testosterone can produce.


The owner who says they want their dog to enjoy a sex life is again failing to understand a fundamental difference between dogs and humans. Dogs, like most animals, are incapable of controlling their sexual urges and do not get gratification in the way that humans do. By encouraging your dog to have a sex life you are merely increasing the likelihood of unwanted puppies and putting your dog at risk of disease and ill health.


Many owners have a vague notion that they would like their beloved pet to produce a litter of puppies. Few however are aware of the dangers and difficulties involved in breeding. While your dog may be the apple of your eye are you sure that it has no hereditary illnesses? Are you willing for it to undergo the relevant screening to establish that it is healthy enough to breed? Breeding is an expensive, emotional process and not something that should be entered into lightly. Plus there is no guarantee that you will manage to produce a dog as lovely as your own - that possibility is more in the realms of cloning!