In an ideal world, every puppy would have a
Sadly this is not the case. Many thousands of
unwanted and abandoned puppies and dogs
are destroyed each year.
No matter what precautions you take, if your
bitch (female dog) is in season she will do
anything to escape and follow her instincts.
Roving male dogs will also do their best to get
a date and accidents do happen!
If your dog does have a litter, you will be
responsible for the care, food costs and
vet's bills of up to nine puppies until you
have found them good homes with
responsible owners. This is no easy task.
Abandoned pregnant dogs and unplanned
puppies who do not get a home may be lucky
and arrive at an NCDL or BADL rescue centre
to await adoption. For the vast majority
however, a miserable and heartbreakingly
short life lies ahead.
A bitch usually comes into season (on heat)
twice a year. This may last for one month and -
as well as being messy and inconvenient - she
will need to be kept apart from male dogs for
the duration.
Even if you confine her to your garden, the
local male dogs will prove almost impossible
to keep out. This will not make you very
popular with their owners.
Spaying is now a routine operation.
Your dog will be under general anaesthetic
and she will have fully recovered after
approximately three weeks. There are no
reasons why you should wait until after
she has had her first litter.
A spayed dog will never suffer the
frustrations of being on heat again or
experience phantom pregnancies. She is
also less likely to contract certain potentially
terminal cancers later in life. As the owner,
many of your worries and concerns will be
removed.
Your dog will not put on weight as long as
she is fed sensibly and exercised regularly,
although you may find that she does not require
as much food after the operation.
Male dogs' behaviour can alter greatly when
a local bitch is in season. They will escape at
any given opportunity and few things
including main roads, railway tracks or even
barbed wire fences will prevent them from
causing a nuisance at the bitch's door.
Once out on a romantic journey, your dog
may cause or be involved in a road traffic
accident - for which you will be held
responsible - get into fights with other
dogs, or worst of all get lost and go
missing - possibly forever.
Even if you do manage to keep your
dog inside, his howling, irritability,
territorial scent marking, bad temper
and occasional destructiveness will be
a lot to cope with. Dogs have been known
to jump through closed windows because
their natural desires are so strong.
Neutering a male dog is another
straightforward operation. As well as
making your dog less likely to stray,
it usually helps to stop him becoming
aggressive. With a sensible diet and
exercise he should not become
overweight and he will recover from the
operation surprisingly quickly.
Neutering your dog is not as expensive as
you may think. It is certainly cheaper than
the cost of an unplanned pregnancy and raising
a litter of pups or the vet's bill following your
straying dog's road accident. Many animal
welfare charities and some local authorities
may even help you with the cost of the operation
if you receive state benefit. Why not contact them
for details of their schemes?
Unless you have a particularly strong reason for not doing so, please seek your vet's advice and have your dog neutered. Not only for its sake, but also to make sure that unplanned puppies do not add to the thousands of dogs that are needlessly destroyed every year.
Neutering is the only guaranteed way of preventing unplanned puppies being born. If you consider the horrific alternative methods of population control of dogs, it really is the kindest cut.
The National Canine Defence League (NCDL) and the Bulgarian Animal Defence League (BADL) exist to protect and defend all dogs from abuse, cruelty, abandonment and any form of mistreatment, both in their countries (UK and Bulgaria) and abroad. The charities seek to achieve this aim through the work of their nationwide networks of rescue centres, education and advocacy work and welfare campaigns. The charities are committed to the belief that no healthy dog should be destroyed and that all dogs should be protected, wanted, suitably homed for life and cared for by responsible owners.
Illustrations by Mike Payne
For more information please do not hesitate to contact us at:
National Canine Defence League (NCDL)
17 Wakley Street
London EC1V 7LT
United Kingdom
Telephone: (00 44) (0)171 837 0006
Registered Charity No. 227523
This brochure has been published on this Internet Site with the express permission of the National Canine Defence League.