To neuter or not?

[Jeanette]

This is something i often ponder about! I mean if i have a healthy well adjusted dog that is secure ie doesnt roam the neighbourhood impregnating bitches and i dont have any female dogs at home to worry about do i have to castrate? I wouldnt like to just because the vet says its necessary. Or am i being silly? My partner said NO when i told him the vet had already mentioned castrating Charley when older when he was 8 weeks old, and i kinda think well if i didnt have a reason to, they why remove his manhood?   

I didn't    Molo is still entire, shows no distress when he smells nearby bitches in heat, and makes no attempt to leave the garden (even when the neighbours bitch broke in!)

We had Bonnee spayed when she moved in; and Molo still has his neuticles intact    It does exclude us from rescuing dogs from some organisations, and we are considered irresponsible by some - but like you, I don't see any reason to put him through surgery just for the sake of it 

I thought it was one of your worries that Molo would run off if he smelt a bitch in season when I posted about the timescales for letting Indie off-lead 

Neutered or entire, my fear that he *may* run off if an in-season bitch was exercised in our usual walking areas would be exactly the same (neutering gives a false sense of security, imo).
Even though he never has run off, I am not naive enough to beleive that he never would 

I see your point, during the two weeks prior to Indie coming into season, both neutered and unneutered dogs were paying her attention so some of the unneutered dogs (not all though) hadn't lost the urge - just the ability to reproduce. 

[emilyjw]

We have two bitches who are both neutered. I think I'm right in thinking that there is more medical evidence to support the spaying of a bitch, but may be wrong.  I couldn't relax at all when Bracken was having a season and it stopped us being able to do some of our normal activities.. For piece of mind I prefer to know that an unexpected litter won't be appearing.  She also went through a temprement change when she was in season and when she had her phantom.

[Jeanette]

We have two bitches who are both neutered. I think I'm right in thinking that there is more medical evidence to support the spaying of a bitch, but may be wrong.  I couldn't relax at all when Bracken was having a season and it stopped us being able to do some of our normal activities.. For piece of mind I prefer to know that an unexpected litter won't be appearing.  She also went through a temprement change when she was in season and when she had her phantom.

Thats the very reason I am getting Indie spayed to prevent any health issues as she gets older, the inconvenience of being in season and she has just had a mild phantom pregnancy which didn't last very long - she seemed to come out of it very quickly but I don't want to put her through any of this again.   Not so sure if I had a boy that I'd be quite so worried about health issues.