- Neutering may mean lower licensing fees. In many communities, license fees are lower for neutered dogs.
- Neutering reduces leg-lifting. Unneutered males, driven by testosterone, tend to lift their leg everywhere to mark their territory. The higher their urine is sprayed, the more “impressive” they appear to other dogs. Dogs who are obsessed with marking territory will tow you toward every tree and telephone pole. Some dogs will even mark inside your house.
- Neutering reduces dominance and aggression. However, as mentioned above, a neutered male still has some testosterone, and if he also has a bold or strong-willed temperament, or if his exercise needs are not being met, or if his socialization and training have been improper, neutering by itself won’t be enough. It’s the best first step, since testosterone fuels the fires of many unwanted behaviors, but all of the other causes for dominance and aggression still need to be addressed through Respect Training.
- Neutering reduces the risk of your dog being attacked by other males. Even if your dog isn’t aggressive himself, being unneutered makes him more of a target for other unneutered males who might see him as a potential rival.
- Neutering helps re-focus your dog’s attention from other dogs to YOU. Unneutered males often pay too much attention to other dogs, as they are always on the lookout for potential mates and rivals. Neutering can break your dog’s over-focus on other dogs, while Respect Training will teach him to re-focus on YOU.
- Neutering reduces sexual behaviors. Unneutered males are more likely to lick their genitals excessively. They may hump other dogs, pillows, stuffed animals, and sometimes people’s legs or ankles. These behaviors can also stem from over-excitement, lack of exercise, and the dog not being taught that these behaviors are unacceptable. But neutering helps, too.
- Neutering calms your dog around unspayed females. Unneutered males often treat every female as a potential breeding partner, climbing all over her and embarrassing everyone. And when a female is in heat, an unneutered male becomes extremely agitated – whining, drooling, pacing, sometimes escaping their house or yard. Females in heat give off chemical pheromones that can be scented from a mile away. Your unneutered male may feel compelled to find her and end up lost or hit by a car. Neutering puts an end to all that.
- Neutering reduces the risk of prostate disorders. I don’t mean prostate cancer, which is uncommon in dogs. Rather, neutering reduces the risk of enlarged prostate, prostate cysts, and prostate infections. Enlarged prostate occurs in more than 80% of unneutered male dogs past the age of five. Some dogs with an enlarged prostate have difficulty with urination or bowel movements. Fortunately, if you neuter at that time, the prostate will shrink quickly and the problems will resolve. Prostate cysts and infections, though, can be harder to treat.
- Neutering prevents testicular cancer. About 7% of unneutered males develop a testicular tumor. Fortunately it seldom spreads and has a cure rate over 90%. But neutering prevents it entirely.
- Neutering reduces the risk of perianal fistula. This painful skin disease, where infected boils and carbuncles develop around a dog’s anus, is extremely difficult to treat. It can appear in any dog, but is mostly found in unneutered German Shepherds, Irish Setters, and Leonbergers.
- Neutering prevents your dog from breeding. How would you feel if your dog got loose and bred with someone else’s female?
*Now more puppies will be added to a world in which there are not enough homes. Any puppies created by your male dog will take homes away from dogs who are already here.
*The owner of the female will have to raise those puppies. What if it’s done poorly? It takes a lot of time, work, and money to produce a healthy litter, to nurture and socialize puppies and find good homes for them. Those would be your “granddogs”, so to speak.
*What if your male dog passed along genes for a health problem? It is ethically irresponsible to allow any dog to breed who hasn’t been tested and cleared of certain health problems known to be hereditary. Imagine a puppy who must live with a painful or debilitating health problem because your male dog was allowed to breed.
