To Fix or Not to Fix?

The topic of today's blog is one I've been thinking about for a while now. It's a fairly serious subject, and it's one that, I believe, should be considered by every pet owner.

Spaying and/or neutering your pets.

Some of you might cringe at the notion (particularly those of you reading who are males), but it's an important topic that has consequences beyond your own particular pet.

Spaying or neutering your pets has quite a few benefits to your companions health. The ASPCA's website details a few of the reasons why it's important for pets health. Some of those reasons include:

• It will help your pet live a longer, healthier life because fixing your pet helps prevent uterine infections and breast cancer. These diseases are fatal in 50%of dogs and 90% of cats. 
• By neutering your male companion by the age of six months,you can actually prevent your companion from getting testicular cancer.
• By spaying your female companion, you stop the animals heat cycle, preventing her from leaving blood spots all over your house!
• A male dog who isn't neutered will do just about anything to find a willing mate, including running away from home. By neutering your male, the chances of him roaming away from home are reduced drastically. 

There are other reasons for spaying/neutering your pets, and you can go to multiple websites to go over those reasons before you make a final decision. 

But this blog is focused on pitbulls, and I believe pitbull owners should have an entirely different reason for spaying or neutering their pits.

Pitbulls are currently the most bred dog in the country. The website, The Truth About Pitbulls, tells us that there are approximately 3 million pitbulls now living in the United States, but only 1 out of every 600 of those pitbulls will have a "forever home", meaning they won't end up in a shelter, or euthanized.

All across the country, there are shelters, some that are designated no kill, but most of them not, that are overflowing with pitbulls who are in need of a good home. Pitbulls can be especially hard to adopt out because of the undeserved stereotype that follows them. As a result, the breed known as pitbull fills animal shelters more than any other breed of dog. An example of this can be found on the website, Pawnation, which tells us that in Chicago, pitbulls make up 40% of the animal shelter population, the breed also represents 2/3's of the dogs that are euthanized each year. These are troubling numbers, and that's only in one city.

In other cities in the U.S., still more pitbulls are euthanized. Every year about 3.4 million animals will be euthanized at shelters in the US, and of those, 1 million of them are pitbulls.

There are shelters that are designated as no kill shelters, where they do not euthanize the animals in their care. Such places are expensive to run, and space is extremely limited. It can be very hard to get a dog into a no kill shelter.  While most shelters are well run by people who care deeply about animals, there are shelters that do not take great care of the animals in their custody, and some pitbulls live in places where they are hungry, cold, and starved for affection.

In either case, whether a dog is in a well run shelter with people who care or not, animals deserve to be in a home, with a loving family. But when there's an overabundance of dogs, like we have now with pitbulls, the chances of that happening start to get slim. 

I stated on my About page that this blog was not going to focus on abuse/adoption stories, and I still feel that way. However, given this topic, I will share that my Concobar is a rescue. I'm sure that many of you readers also rescued your dogs. We know how easily our pitties could have had a worse fate. 

Responsible pitbull parents should be dedicated to making sure no more pitbulls end up in shelters. We can do this by spaying and neutering our pitbulls so there's no chance they can reproduce and make more puppies. Puppies that can end up in shelters instead of homes.  

I realize cost can be a factor in whether some dog owners fix their pets, or not. If you are in a situation where you cannot afford to take your dog to the vet, I encourage you to do some research. There are organizations all over the country that have established programs so that low-income families can get their pets spayed or neutered. I live close to Milwaukee, WI, and a group called The Brew City Bullies Club, or BCBC, has such a program. They also offer training, socialization, and several other resources for pitbull owners in their area.

The ASPCA has a tool on their website that will search for such a program in your area. 

Getting your companion fixed can be a big decision for some, and if you're not sure if it's the right thing for your dog, you should definitely do some research, call a vets office and ask questions, and talk to other dog owners who've had their pets spayed/neutered. In the end, I hope that you make the choice that's not only right for you, but also for your dog, and it's breed, as well. 

Failing the Well Behaved Dog Guidelines and Why it Doesn't Matter

I have heard from many different experts that dog owners should not treat their dogs like children. That seems like sound advice, and relatively easy to follow, as well. And It makes sense, your dog is your pet, not your flesh and blood, right?

However, if any of you lovely readers are like me, your dog is kind of like your baby. You're bonded to him/her almost as intimately as you are to your own children. Your dogs mood affects you; if your dog is happy, playful, and smiley, you become happy, playful, and smiley. And your moods seem to be reflected in your canine buddy. I know when I'm sad and weepy, Con comes to me and snuggles, and it makes me feel better.

So in the opinion of many dog experts, some famous, some not, my pittie fails, in an extraordinary way, their well behaved dog guidelines.

Those guidelines include things like:

• Not allowing the dog onto the living room furniture

Con loves, loves, loves laying on the couches! She's so spoiled about comfort that she, literally, will not lay on the floor without some sort of cushion. She's been known to drag a blanket off the couch, and work it with her paws until she's satisfied with the comfy lump she's formed on the floor. Then she lays on it and takes a nap. 

Con, the Queen of Comfort, sleeping on top of pillows on the couch. 

• Not allowing the dog to sleep in the bed with you

Again, the Queen of Comfort, as I affectionately call Con, loves her soft and comfy bed, A.K.A. my bed. While she usually won't go lay on the bed until I call it a night, she races me up the stairs and is waiting, not so patiently, for me when I reach my bedroom. Her favorite place is underneath the covers, so I spend a portion of my night  holding the covers up as she goes back and forth between going under the blankets, and laying on top of the blankets. I think she gets a little toasty under there after a while and needs to come up for air!

• Not allowing the dog to play tug-of-war

Yeah, tug is the only game Con really likes to play, and during the winter months it can be the only exercise she gets. Without regular exercise my pitbull turns into an explosive bundle of energy that drives me crazy. So I think tug stays.

• Not allowing the dog to lay on your lap

This no-no actually makes sense to me. The theory is that your dog is claiming ownership of you when he/she lays on top of you, therefore stopping anyone else from getting too close. Since Concobar gets a tiny bit jealous when anyone, and I do mean anyone, tries to hug or kiss me, I can see the truth in this theory.

That being said, I still let Con lay on my lap. We have cuddle time. I like it. Sue me!

• No "baby talk" allowed when interacting with the dog

While I don't really use the cutesy baby talk tone when I talk to my pittie, I do find myself saying, "Who's my good girl? Con's my good girl! Yes she is!" I think she likes it, I think it makes her feel special. Okay, maybe that's me projecting on my dog, but does it hurt her? No, then baby talk continues! 

The point of all this is simple. My co-worker and friend, Cheryl, really put this into words for me one day while we were discussing this topic. Her comment was, "It's all about what YOU find acceptable. If it doesn't bother you, then what your dog is doing is just fine." 

Wow. Imagine that! All those experts, and it comes down to what I want? Now there's a new concept! 

But Cheryl was right. If you don't mind your dog being on the furniture, then let him/her on the furniture! If your dog is as well behaved as you want, then you've done a good job. If he/she listens to you when you order them off the couch, then all is well in doggie/pitbull parent land. Being happy with your dog is what matters. That's the beauty of being the owner, you get to decide what you're going to train your dog to do. If you don't want your dog sleeping in your bed, then don't let him/her in the bed. Done deal.