should i neuter my pug?

[MrsGreene]

He won't miss them. Honestly he won't. Perhaps it is a cultural thing, Hellas, but there are a lot of myths about the dangers of neutering, too, such as the weight gain. Every single male dog I have ever owned has been neutered, and not a one has been the slightest bit pudgy! All of them lived to be of a ripe old age.

My most compelling reason to have a dog neutered is that it does cut down on the kinds of negative behaviors that cause dogs to end up in shelters--inappropriate marking, aggression, territoriality, wandering. I've seen determined male dogs chew through doors to get to a female in heat, to the point of breaking teeth and bloodying muzzles. The earlier it is done, the less testosterone will flood his system, and the less prone he will be to the very negative behaviors most folks can't tolerate.

My son-in-law told me a story the other day. He had "the best dog in the world" that was his "best buddy." He firmly disagrees with neutering. He then proceeded to tell me about this dog. He spent literally hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars bailing the dog out of the pound. The dog would run off at every opportunity. He could not be contained and found ways to escape, no matter how much they tried to keep him home. He was hit several times by cars in his urgency to run after females. he proudly talked about how the dog "sired hundreds of pups." Eventually, he had to rehome the dog. he was happy to have found the dog a home in the country. Dog continued to run off, and eventually dragged himself home with a bullet in his spine and had to be put down. He was five years old. Who knows how many of the hundreds of pups ended up euthanized due to lack of homes.

Even if you are willing to cope with the behaviors, what happens if you find yourself in changed circumstanced and are unable to keep him? And why would you want to subject your best buddy to a life of sexual frustration? and even if you are very careful and keep him from producing unwanted puppies, can you guarantee that someone else will be as responsible?

I will step down now off my soap box. Having worked in animal rescue for most of my adult life, I have seen way too many tragic situations and seen way too many wonderful dogs with no homes, through no fault of their own. I would get SO frustrated and angry with folks who thought neutering was awful, yet then abandoned the animal due to the intolerable behaviors neutering would have alleviated!

[Snifter]

There are pros and cons. Coming from a European perspective I can see where Hellas is coming from and I am aware that in Scandinavian countries neutering is frowned on unless there are compelling medical reasons.

I agree that the weight issue is a myth.

I don't agree that all entire dogs are doomed to a life of sexual frustration as I live with 2 entire males myself. What is unkind, imo, is to allow a male to mate just the once, as many owners contemplate, as you have then shown him what his bits are for. If you have an entire dog I also think it is imperative to keep him far, far away from females in season. This is not always easy to do. Mine are never let off leash in the park because you just don't know what idiot is walking their in season girl.

I think it is better for the male dog's physique and ongoing health to neuter after growth plates have closed - which I think is by 1 year old; however if behavioural problems are starting to surface earlier might be warranted. Remember that neutering is not a panacea, though. You need to address his aggression/fear with training as well as neutering.

[Cheryl7777]

Boy MrsGreen is right on and said exactly how I feel so beautifully. Please listen to this advice for the sake of future unwanted puppies.

[Wally 'n' Leto]

I agree with Mrs. Green too. Please have the little guy neutered. He won't know the difference.

[DappleDoxieStaff]

**Also, a neutered male will be more prone to weight gain, which can be a problem with pugs in any case.**

In all the years and all the dogs I have had ... never, ever seen this happen. We are in charge of their calorie intake ... and their activity level. My five boys (three doxies and a lab and a catahoula) are all neutered and all at a perfect weight. I have to up their feed in summer :-)

MrsGreene has stated it beautifully.

[Wally 'n' Leto]

I agree with Anne about the weight gain.... It's a struggle to keep our boys at their ideal weight because they're so active.. we're topping them off now so that they have a bit more padding for the winter!!

[MrsGreene]

Male dogs can smell a female in heat up to three miles away. Even if you never allow your dog to "use his bits" they will still be able to smell females from a long distance and will be stimulated.

[Candice07]

All our dogs are neutered.

I have 2 males and a female.

[Hellas]

A vast majority of dogs in Scandinavia are entire, and we do not have any major problems with unwanted puppies. Stray dogs don't exist here. So it's not something that automatically happens just because the dogs are not neutered. I think responsible dog ownership is more important. Bitches in heat should never be left unsupervised outside and should only be walked on a leash. If everybody keeps to those simple rules, most accidents can be avoided.

If a male dog suffers a lot of stress because of his longing to mate, or if he is aggressive towards other male dogs, I agree that neutering can be a good thing. But a vast majority of male dogs don't belong to either category, in my experience. I have yet to meet a dog aggresive pug. One should also be aware, that if the aggression comes from insecurity, this can sometimes increase after neutering.

My male pug, Winston is neutered. The reason for our decision to neuter him was that one of his testicles didn't descend. As often happens, he was extremely fixated on females and we could see that this caused him stress. So it's not that I'm fanatically opposed to neutering. I just don't agree with the philosophy that it should be done as a matter of routine.

[MrsGreene]

In the US, we euthanize between3-4 MILLION unwanted dogs and cats every year. 6-8 million end up in shelters annually.

One in four animals in shelters are purebreds. Most are abandoned due to "behavioral issues." Which, imveryho are 99% of the time the humans neglecting to properly socialize/train the animal.

Also very sadly, that 3-4 million number is way down over the last 40 years.