Well we're not really discussing how easy/hard it is to avoid accidental pregnancies, but the health affects of spaying/neutering verses not spaying/neutering, and when is the correct time to do so.

I have two unaltered females. It is a personal chojce not to spay them. They are always leashed and supervised, regardless if they are in heat or not. The only thing i dont do is bring them over to visit my sisters dogs during their heat cycles and about 6 weeks after they stop bleeding just to be sure. She has an intact male. Even when they arent in heat, they are always supervised around him or any maledogs. It isnt hard to prevent pregnancy even if you choose not to spay your female. It just takes responsibility on the owners part.

Actually, every heat in cats and dogs increases the risk of mammal cancer. so unless it is a breeding dog, always fix before the first heat. <br /> <br /> And yeah that's scientifically proven and easy to google :)

My mother is a vet and I am around a lot of vets and experienced dog breeders. Spay/neuter done before the dog is fully mature affects growing and can increase the risk of related cancers later in life. For females, ideally wait until after their first heat, and for males, talk to your breeder about what age dogs from their lines typically fully mature. If you don't know your dog's breeder, talk to any breeder that specializes in your dog's breed or whatever breed(s) you think your dog is. Most breeders care a lot about the health and well-being of their breed, and should be happy to help you. If you do know the breeder of your dog and he/she either won't respond to you or has no clue, then you should probably try to find someone more invested in the health of their lines for your next pup.<br /> <br /> As for the, "But what if they reproduce?" question. If you keep your male properly confined (ie: fenced yard, walked on lead with you, and/or trained to come when called regardless of distractions), he won't do anything unfortunate. If you have a female and keep track of her behavior and such, it is very easy to tell when a bitch is in heat. At that point, keep her away from any intact males in your household, and don't let her go anywhere loose and/or unattended in case other people have not trained/confined their male dogs. If you have a breeder, you can ask him/her if there have ever been instances of silent heats and such in their lines. <br /> <br /> Honestly, it is not that hard to prevent dogs from reproducing, even with intact individuals of both genders. It just takes a little thought and management, both of which a person *should* have committed to investing when they first decided to get a dog. <br /> <br /> Note: I have owned four bitches, two of which were spayed when they matured, two of which are intact (one intact bitch is almost 8 years old, the other is 1 year old). Our household has also always included at least one intact male, and we have had no "oops" litters. Personally, I think that for the rest of my dogs I will probably wait to spay until they are well into their senior years, at which point the risk of mammary/ovarian cancer and pyometra go up a lot. For the boys, I probably won't neuter unless they have prostate issues. <br /> <br /> My two cents, and as always, your mileage may vary.

I have no experience or done any research on the effects of SN on rabbits, but you bring up good points, Alec. I would think that very strong bones would be important in rabbits because of the shock from running (though I'm not sure if domestic rabbits hop/run a lot).

Although my opinion isn't based on dogs or cats, it's based on rabbits.<br /> A lot of rescues and vets say to alter the rabbit at six months, like most animals, to prevent breeding.<br /> <br /> The problem with doing this to rabbits is these rabbit often have issues with their bones, weight, build and development, as I've personally seen. If you alter a Flemish Giant at six months of age, the rabbit will not grow up to look like a Flemish Giant. Most of these rabbit's body mass is bone, their meat weight is considerably less than most large breed rabbits. Flemish are very large, require a lot of food, and require a lot of calcium compared to other breeds. Without hormones, they don't absorb the calcium they require.<br /> <br /> When you take hormones away from a developing body you increase the chance of bones not developing as strongly as they should, although our pets don't live as long as we do consider the effects on a human female after they hit menopause. Usually they start developing osteoporosis, it can run in families but usually it's the lack or decrease in hormones because they're not absorbing the calcium required.<br /> <br /> If I alter a rabbit, I don't do it until around two to three years.<br /> But I rarely, if ever anymore, do that. I've had rabbits for a long time, even a six year old male netherland dwarf is still developing in body, fur, and build as he ages. Although slowly, you can tell it's all male-related hormones because he gets thicker, blockier, and more filled out. Thus, I don't believe in altering rabbits at all unless it's truly for their benefit like if they're just pets or they have a medical issue. But, it's easy to keep rabbits separated unlike dogs and cats.<br /> <br /> But the development of bones is pretty important, without a rabbit that has good bone how do you expect that rabbit to stay healthy?

Yeah, most dog breeds are done growing at around 1 year, but giant breeds like Great Danes sometimes take around 2 years

Herp... I ws always told that your best leving a bitch until she's had a heat cycle... with males i'v been told9months to 1yr, as most breeds have stoped growng by that point

Yup, you're right Aust. A bitch can get pregnant as soon as she has her first heat, and it's dangerous because she still may technically be a puppy :/<br /> <br /> I understand why shelters S/N that early, and it's a shame they have to. Would be too much of a hassle to chase everybody around with a mandatory spay/neuter contract.. and they could have bred the animal before they're forced to get it fixed ;/

I believe a female could get pregnant before a year and males can defiantly get a girl pregnant before a year, but it is a matter of opinion.<br /> <br /> However, I do believe this:<br /> Around 8 weeks is too early. <br /> <br /> If shelters around my local area get a pup or some puppies, they are always fixed around 8 weeks, about when they are put up for public adoption. <br /> <br /> I get the cause and there's no other way to do it, but I think that is too early since they are still developing and just kids.