The Importance of Spaying and Neutering Dogs

Do you know that a single male and female and their offspring can produce thousands of offspring in six years? Think, a female can have a litter as young as six months and then have one every six months after that. Each litter can have an average of six offspring and each female offspring will be able to breed at about six months of age, the math can be mind-boggling! A male dog can impregnate as many females as he can get to in a day.

Sit down and really play around with numbers... It gives me a headache... And just because a puppy is cute, does not mean it will find a home. Every year, tens of thousands of dogs and puppies, purebred and crosses are euthanized in shelters. More die on the streets or live shortened lives of neglect, abuse and horrors.

Risks Associated with Breeding

If this has not convinced you, let's look at some risks associated with breeding. What you see on Lassie and Disney with a loving mother dog (or cat) and her fat, healthy brood is Hollywood. Reality is that there can be serious risks involved with breeding. The mother may develop complications and require immediate medical intervention. Mothers may abandon puppies leaving you to hand rear.

This include feeding a special formula every two hours, round the clock, stimulating the puppies to eliminate, checking weights daily, maintaining proper temperatures and humidity, etc. Even puppies whose mother cares for them may require supplemental feedings. Puppies can be stillborn or born horribly deformed. I know one breeder whose female gave birth to puppies that were no more than sacks of tissue and visible bone.

Are your prepared to deal with things such as cleft palate, hydrocephaly or other problems some breeds may be prone to? Are you willing to face the fact you could have to euthanize puppies? Are you willing to make certain the mother is up to date on all inoculations and have the puppies get theirs as well before going to homes? Diseases such as Parvovirus can kill puppies fast. Are you willing to risk your wonderful female becoming a biting terror as she protects puppies? Are you willing to risk the life of your pet?

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