Unless it's part of the all too pervasive idea in our culture that spaying/neutering is taking something away from an animal. That they are aware of no longer being intact and feel shame/resentment/less then whole. It makes me so mad because if people realized that animals have no conscious mental tie to their reproductive abilities, we could drastically reduce overpopulation, stray/feral populations, and the number of animals killed because they don't have a care taker. - Heather

I watch "It's Me or the Dog" and on at least 3 episodes people have expressed the desire to breed a dog that they have no behavioral control over. They love their dog, so they think that must mean it's a great example of the breed and it would be a service to the world to produce puppies. One guy thought his dog would be healthier if she had puppies. Guys think their male dogs will be sad or something without balls. These people look at the animal from their own, human, perspective but fail to have any interest in the science behind the dog. - Heather

In rabbits (which is very different, but it's about spaying) a female rabbit has an 85% chance of getting reproductive cancer. 85% risk of cancer. In dogs there's nothing that drastic, but people assume being intact is natural and therefore best. And then they do things like make anthropomorphic jokes against spay/neuter and continue that little voice that floats around saying "Maybe we should let him/her have puppies." - Heather

Pet owners love to anthropomorphize their pets. I'm not sure pets would work as well as company surrogates if they didn't. Of course, what you're mentioning would be among the unfortunate side effects. - Eivind

In dogs for females you are decreasing by a few percent a risk of cancers, but only if you spay in the first 2-3 years. You are also increasing the risk of some other illnesses by a few percent - and messing with the hormonal balance. So it's a legitimate choice to not spay, especially since it is fairly easy to prevent pregnancy in a dog - keep her under control and under surveillance. - Iphigenie

For males, again, unless you let them run loose, it is easy to prevent a dog from producing puppies. Not let him near females in heat. The neutering of dogs is a thing of convenience - some dogs are harder to manage, pee more on things, and can be more aggressive. It's just incovenient to modern life (and it does, i hear. change personality, so best done early) But it can be controllable, after all, breeders have many dogs that aren't spayed or neutered and manage to control very strictly what breeding occurs. - Iphigenie

Iphigenie, it's not that straight forward. Male dogs have an urge to roam. They try to escape more often the fixed males. They also are more dominant, and more dog aggressive, and more territorial, and tend to hump (everything). Female dogs go into heat, which takes a toll on their body and is a mess to deal with. They also attract male dogs to the area, which may cause problems in the neighborhood of they may try to get into your house. Not to mention that they also tend to be more calm and less dominant and aggressive. And saying "it is fairly easy to prevent pregnancy in a dog." Yeah, because if they are spayed/neutered then you never have to worry about it. - Heather

And the fact that breeders own intact animals is no justification. Way too many breeders are backyard know-nothings with terribly behaved dogs. There are also deplorable puppymills. I would say those two vastly outnumber the reputable breeders. And if a small group of knowledgeable, well trained, professionals justify the actions of ordinary people then why don't we all go ahead and buy that tiger we've always wanted. - Heather