If you really love your pet - real, genuine want-the-best-for-her-love, you will spay her. By spaying her, you remove all chances of any kind of cancer in those parts later. You also usually have a more easy-going pet. If she is a cat, you will be able to live with her in much better harmony. Cats go into heat and drive everyone crazy with loud whining, crying and weird behavior. Not to mention that both cats and dogs bleed while in heat. Drops of red blood all over your carpet. Nice.
Besides the health aspect, spaying is the responsible - yes I said RESPONSIBLE choice for you and for society. Have you ever toured a humane society? Have you ever witnessed the killing - the murder - of an innocent, healthy pet for no other reason than nobody wants her? The over population of unwanted pets is a huge problem, and everyone knows about it. You may choose to ignore it and say you aren't the problem, you find homes for your puppies. Well, you are continuing the problem when you provide another pet that needs a home rather than those people going to a shelter to adopt a pet already here and days away from death just because they have no one to love them.
I've heard it all..."we want our kids to experience reproduction":...WHAT?? If you want them to witness the cycle of LIFE, you MUST let them witness the DEATH part too. They also should have to go to a shelter and witness the killing of unwanted homeless pets...a whole litter of puppies that are unwanted and never given a chance to live, murdered because they aren't the "right" breed, color, shape, size...etc.
"I've always had shelties" (whatever breed)....they are so sweet (whatever trait)....dogs are like children, just because they are the same BREED doesn't mean they will act exactly the same, have the exact same temperament or be just like the Fido you remember from your childhood. You can take one black lab that is sweet, and calm, loyal and very smart. You can take the same parents and have another black lab and this one is hyper, won't calm down, runs amok, won't listen to a word you say. You can take this for all dogs in general. If you REALLY GENUINELY want a dog for the RIGHT reasons -- to love and to be a companion - you can find that in any good dog. A good loving dog that will fit your lifestyle, whatever that is, at a shelter that needs you more than you can ever realize.
You can find one that has the traits you recall from Fido in your childhood. The loyalty, the fetching, the hunting, whatever you loved so much about Fido can be found in many dogs - if you care enough to look. There are also rescues - you can search for a Sheltie (fill in breed) rescue - they rescue unwanted, abandoned, mistreated, abused, needy Shelties and re home them to people who can step up and do what's right for that dog.
"Well, I'm responsible, I have a boy dog and he wont have pups." What about that one time he slips his collar and finds a sweetie next door in heat and it only takes once. Besides, you also remove the cancer risk in boys as well and they usually settle down more when neutered.
"I can make a lot of money breeding" This is the biggest lie ever!!! If you breed responsibly and do what you should do, and do it right - YOU WILL NOT MAKE MONEY unless you have a huge operation - not just a few dogs. You have to budget for all emergencies, C-sections, or other birthing problems. You have to have them all checked out and vaccinated for at least the 1st puppy combo - some breeds have to have their dew claws removed at 3 days or younger. You have to worm them, you have to make sure they are healthy. You have to be aware that if the mother would die, you have puppies to bottle feed every 2 hrs...for weeks. And that's if you are lucky and they will take a bottle...not as easy as it sounds. If the mother would die in childbirth or refuses to nurse them or has complications - you are in for a heck of a ride tying to keep them alive - and a HUGE vet bill. Even if everything goes perfectly, you still have to have them all checked out, dew claws removed, vaccinated...perhaps travel fees if you are selling them around the country. DON'T let yourself be sucked into the myth that all you do is get the dog pregnant and then boom - pups to sell for big bucks! They can have all sorts of problems too - cleft palettes, hernias, failure to thrive, malnutrition, mom can lie on them - only to name a few.
I've heard them all. I have an answer for all of them too...
"He will be mad at me if I don't let him BE A MAN and make babies"...uh no. They don't care about sex, like men do. Its all instinct and frankly you can take all that away and let them relax if you neuter him. He wont even know what he's missing and won't be looking for a woman all the time.
"They need to go through 1 heat cycle before they get spayed, its better for them" also not true. It is in fact BETTER to spay them before they ever even go into heat once, you prevent all those hormones from ever circulating in their body at all. The sooner around 6 months, catch them before ever going into heat, is ideal.
"She will get fat after I spay her" also not true. If you pay attention to her diet, like you should anyway, and feed her according to her weight and watch treats and no people food, she will tip the scales like any other dog. If you let her eat as much as she wants and feed her a lot of people food, she will get too many calories and get fat, like any other dog.
If you think you MUST have that certain dog - that one breed you love, then go to a shelter FIRST - I challenge you to go there and look at all the unwanted, homeless dogs in their kennels - wishing for a home and a real chance. You look them all in the eye and tell them they aren't good enough because they aren't a (fill in breed). You then go and witness the killing of the animals that didn't make the cut that week...they have reached their limit on waiting, and they are being euthanized only to make room for more homeless and unwanted pets to come and wait as well. If you can do that, and still want to breed your dog, or get that special breed, then I guess you don't have the heart to love a mutt...
My beloved nephews are the light of my life, as is my husband and dog.
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