Spay or neuter- have you had your pet fixed?

I have my dog fixed simply becacuse she came from a rescue, and thats' required to adopt her out.
Spaying/neutering have many health benefits and reduce reproductive cancers almost 90% (I think- somebody help me if i'm wrong). Females can get pyometria and uterine and mammory cancer, and males can get prostate cancer.
 
I have never had an "intact" dog before, and that is fine by me. From what I hear, males are more likely to mark in the house, be more aggressive, and want to wander than if they are neutered.
I know for a fact that females that are not fixed can be a bit more "bitchy" all around with other animals and they will be the boss- which can lead to fights (which is what happened with my crew when Sage was alive)
 
Links about spay/neutering:
 
Advantages of Fixing your pet:
[linkhttp://www.vospca.org/archive/spayneut.html]http://www.vospca.org/archive/spayneut.html[/link]
 
Health Benefits of Spay/Neuter
[linkhttp://www.sniksnak.com/benefits.html]http://www.sniksnak.com/benefits.html[/link]
 
Behavior Benefits of Spay/Neuter
[linkhttp://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1570]http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1570[/link]

All eight of my dogs are fixed.  The two foster dogs  are also.
 
Six of  my dogs came from the shelter which is mandatory spay/neuter, but I'd have them done regardless.
 
The two oldest ones weren't neutered until they were 9 and 10 years old respectively because when they were younger, I didn't realize the extreme importance of spay/neuter of non-breeding quality PETS.  It wasn't until they got into a huge same sex fight that could have killed them both that I got my butt in gear and had them done.  It helped tremendously with my two, doesn't always help for all dogs, though as far as same sex aggression.
 
Reasons for spay/neuter:
It is healthier for the pet.  A spayed female has no risk of pyometra, ovarian or uterine cancer, or an unplanned pregnancy.  She also has a great decrease in the chance of breast cancer if she is spayed before her second or third heat.  A neutered male has no risk of testicular cancer and a greatly reduced chance of prostate problems-especially if neutered before older age.  A neutered male also has a greatly reduced risk of perianal tumors-which aren't any fun at all!
 
Spayed and neutered animals have a lower tendency to roam to find mates and a lower tendency to have same sex aggression-though this isn't always the case. 
 
Also, there are thousands of unwanted companion animals euthanized each year (I've held some as they were pts when I worked at the shelter-NOT fun) because people do not spay/neuter their PETS and accidental litters occur, or people just want "fluffy to have one litter..."
 
Spaying and neutering PET quality animals (those that do not conform to the breed working or physical standard, those that do not have necessary tests done-OFA, CERF, etc..., and those that have health, physical, or emotional short comings are pet quality animals) is the responsible thing to do.

I own 3 dogs, 2 males and 1 female and they are all fixed. My reasons are because I don't want to take the chance of them accidently reproducing and because of health reasons. The only time I'd keep an intact dog in my house is if it were being shown in conformation.

all of our pets are fixed (2 cats and 2 dogs). 3 of the pets came from shelters or rescues, so there was no choice. and the other was a stray we took in and had her fixed shortly after. even if we wouldnt have adopted through shelters or rescues we would have had our pets fixed anyways. the biggest benefit to us is no unplanned babies! 

Our two cats are spayed, and our rabbit is neutered (thank goodness!!).  However, Dakota is not neutered.  I've always believed in having pets fixed, but there are a few reasons why Dakota is not fixed yet. 
 
Dakota has a wonderful temperament.  If he has genes like his mother and father, then the reputable breeder might use him as a breeding resource.  Of course, Dakota would have to be tested for everything first.  If he is a Pattern A, then we'll probably let the breeder show him and then let her breed him in the future.  But if we find out (I believe around age two) that he is not a Pattern A, then we'll probably have him neutered if we decide not to have him shown.  We actually bought him as a pet, so breeding and showing him don't really appeal to us.  It's all our choice.   
 
Don't worry.  There is no way that I would ever even consider breeding dogs.  There is a lot to it, so I'll leave it to the pros.  This breeder is a pro.  She has been breeding dogs for decades, and she has her dogs tested for everything.  She rarely has a litter of puppies available.

Intact boys STINK! I'm serious. They smell different than nuetered boys, and I *really* don't like it.

Emma is spayed. Teenie is not, because I didn't know if she was or wasn't, til she went in heat. I've had a hellishly busy couple of weeks, and haven't scheduled a spay, b/c I want to stay with her for a day after it's done. I get the feeling she's going to be pretty sore. Not sure why, but it's best to listen to my feelings. They're usually right.

The benefits of neutering are numerous. There are behavioral benefits. Neutered boys don't seem to be nearly as highstrung. They don't have the need to mark everything. They don't feel the urge to roam. They aren't as nosey. They don't smell as bad. The medical benefits include eliminating the risk for testicular cancer and drastically decreasing the risk for perianal tumors and prostate cancer.

Trust me, I'm still not entirely sold on the idea of having an intact dog in my house.  Had the breeder and my husband not been so "pushy" at keeping him intact, I personally would have already had the "big snip" done.  In fact, I had already scheduled an appointment with our vet, but then cancelled it a few weeks later because my husband insisted that we wait.  I've lost a lot of sleep over this, but my hands are tied.  So, I have to try to be positive for keeping Dakota intact - great temperament, possibly great genes, breeding resource for the breeder, show dog.
 
Dakota is supposed to be a pet for us.  All I wanted for him since before we got him was agility and therapy work.  So I guess above in my post where I said,"It's all our choice," I actually should have said, "It's all my husband's choice."  And it has nothing to do with my husband trying to be manly and not wanting another male species losing his manhood.  It's for the above reasons listed.
 
For months now, I've prepared for Dakota's "puberty" because I've dreaded it so much.  He's got a wrap that I haven't had to use yet.  In fact, I have yet to see his...um....uhh......."lipstick", but I'm sure it's going to rear its ugly head soon.[sm=proud.gif]  He has in the last week or so started lifting his leg some.  I've stocked up on Bitter Apple too in case he does something pubescent that I don't want him to do.  I do notice that on our walks lately, Dakota is really into sniffing things. 
 
You never know, when Dakota starts his marking garbage, he may "accidently" get into my husband's garage and mark everything.[]  Then I bet my husband will call the vet!! 

I had Willow spayed when we got her and at that time she was between the ages of 2-5.  She did have a little tougher surgery, they needed to give her more pain meds before she left than they would normally do.  But, it was to be expected and she did recover within a few days. 
 
My main reasons for doing it were for her health in the long run and also I didn't want to deal with hormonal mood issues as she had enough temperment issues.  I also didn't want to deal with the actual bleeding in my house. 

I don't show and I don't breed, thus I fix.

Brown and Grey were fixed before I adopted them, but I would have done it regardless. Charlie and Deuce were adopted as kittens, so when they got a bit older, I had them neutered. I don't show, and I don't breed, so everything gets the big snip.

OK, I intended to breed Thor and Sheba...and we did have an opps litter when she was wayyy too young, the two little pups didn't live, and then Shadow.  But from what I learned on idog, we decided that unproven dogs shouldn't be bred, and I'm not about to jump into that snake pit...which is how I see the show ring.  I applaud anyone who has the stomach for it, but I'm not one of those folks.

All of our dogs, cats, ferrets have been spayed and neutered.  Too expensive to have an oops litter and the health reasons for them.  Nigel got fixed as soon as I could (6 months) because I knew that he was going to be a handful and I was counting on the neutering to help lower the testosterone that would be flowing through his pushy little body when he was little even.  Sydney we had to because of the Rescue, but they never did check to make sure that we did it.  Good thing it was in the plans anyway.

Max is a shelter rescue and shelter policy is all intact dogs/cats get spayed/neutered before you take them home.  So even though he was only between 3 & 5 months, he got the big snip.  If it hadn't been policy, I would have had it done anyway - I just would have waited until he was about 3 mo. older. Any dog I've ever had was snipped.  I didn't want the behavior problems exhibited by a lot of intact males (or the related health problems) and I never wanted a dog to have, or be responsible for another dog having, a litter.

every animal that comes into my house is spayed or neutered from my own pets to foster cats.
I'm over 45, less than 50 and I've never ever had a pet reproduce nor shall I let one.
I intend to be a part of the solution not a part of the problem.