Reasons for leaving an out of standard dog intact

Ok, as I said in an earlier post, I am now going to post my reasons for leaving Muffin intact.

First off, I would like to post a link to a very well written and informative research paper (complete with citations of case studies to offer proof that nothing in this paper is fabricated).

http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

Secondly, I am pulling the following out of the above article, this is a nice little list of the pros & cons of a neuter:

On the positive side, neutering male dogs

• eliminates the small risk, probably less than 1%, of testicular cancer
• reduces the risk of non-cancerous prostate disorders
• reduces the risk of periana fistulas
• may possibly reduce the risk of diabetes

On the negative side, neutering male dogs

• if done before 1 year of age, significantly increases the risk of osteosarcoma (bone cancer); this is a common cancer in medium/large and larger breeds with a poor prognosis.
• increason the risk of cardiac hemangiosarcoma by a factor of 1.6
• triples the risk of hypothryoidism
• increases the risk of progressive geriatric cognitive impairment
• triples the risk of obesity, a common health problem in dogs with many associated health problems
• quadruples the small risk (less than 0.6%) of prostate cancer
• doubles the small risk (less than 1%) of urinary tract cancers
• increases the risk of orthopedic disorders
• increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccinations

Ok, now from my own expierence, neuters are normally only done for a few benefits that are actually not even mentioned above, the first is obviously to leave the dog unable to reproduce.

If your dog is not of breeding quality it should under no circumstances ever be allowed to reproduce. Neutering makes the above impossible, so if a person feels they will be unable to ensure that a breeding never takes places this is a very very good option.

Another benefit is behavior modification. I'd have to say the two most saught after behavior modications are the reduction of 'marking' and the fact that intact dogs tend to be more aggressive towards each other.

The next reason I hear most often is that of testicular cancer, which if you read the case study you will see that a dog actually getting this cancer is low and the ability to cure it is very high... so the actual risk it poses to the dog is minimal.

to address the other two pros above:

anal fistuals are usually found in dogs with a tail that is held to cover their butt. Muffin (as you can see from his pictures) has no tail. Therefore with him, he's not really at risk for that disease.

I'll admit, I don't know all that much about diabetes, but that pro is not throughly tested and may not actually be accurate.

Now let's flash forward to Muffin and my reasons for leaving him intact.

First off, he's only now just over a year... so there is no way he would have been neutered before now. After extensive reading, I believe it best to let a dog fully mature before neutering him(so about 2 years).

Second, he's a very friendly dog. I've had him around a few other intact male dogs and he's been absolutely fine with them. One intact male was even met on Muffin's 'property.' Muffin showed absoulety no sign of aggression, he only wanted to play. This may be due to the fact that Muffin is still not completely mature(as happens very often guardian breeds--when the dog becomes fully mature they may become aggressive towards other dogs).

Third, Muffin is never allowed to 'run around at will.' Is he allowed off leash? yes he is, but only at certain times. If we are in my yard, he can be off leash. If we are the beach and a) we're the only ones there or b) I have already checked in with the owners of any other dog to ensure the dogs get along and that if it's a female they are spayed. If I see a dog approaching that we are not already familiar with when he is not on the leash, he's immediately placed back on the leash till I can check in with the owner.

Being that all the "main" reasons to why you should neuter are addressed with Muffin, I have to consider the cons.... and in his case I feel they outweight the pros. There are a lot of increased risks that I don't like. So in my situation, I do not feel that there are any benfits that outweight the risks. That is why he is not neutered.

Now, I'm not saying that I will never neuter him. When he's around the age of 2 years, I will reconsider my standing on leaving him intact or not.

To be honest, I think for the majority of the population of the US, a neuter is really really a great idea. However, I think each person should sit down and think about their situation, their dog, and weight their options. I will never critize anyone for any decision they make if they can back it up with reasonable thought.