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How neutering dogs became the norm

moosenuggets.substack.com

171–180 of 233 posts

Re: How neutering dogs became the norm

#171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The hundreds of videos of the said dogs attacking people, the detailed news reports and expert interviews are not a source to back an argument?

The correlation is that for some reason trashy people prefer pit bulls, they don’t train their dogs, and then the breed gets a bad reputation. They have immensely powerful jaws, but are no more likely to use them than any other breed. There is an unfortunate increase in damage per instance but this again is no fault of the breed.

Please don't spread lies. Even stats from places without a huge population of "trashy people" (what a disgusting thing to call people) it is still necessary to ban them because they are dangerous. Not all of the world have huge slums, lots of drug dealers, trailer parks, dog fighting, etc. Look at dog ownership in places like Scandinavia and you'll see a completely different pattern - and yet the breed is deemed too dangerous, because it is the breed and not just the owner.

Re: How neutering dogs became the norm

#172

The background information is interesting, but the lack of any base rates and the use of apples-to-oranges comparisons makes the author’s argument seem like one made in bad faith. The author omits that 20% of shelter dogs are still euthanized each year, instead using the overall population as the denominator. And the 5,700 dogs being purchased in auction by rescue groups over ten years is pretty insignificant conside…

Stray dogs living in packs would certainly prefer to have regular meals and a shelter and not to be hunted down by people, but they're just fine without humans "owners". It's the humans who have problems with them.

Re: How neutering dogs became the norm

#174
The article mention that swedes are more responsible with their pets and thus do not have a problem with feral dogs, but I find the actually reason a bit more nuanced.

Sweden did had a catch-and-kill program about a hundred years ago. It is mostly forgotten here, but it had two parts. A law was made that all dogs must be ear marked (today chipped) and listed in the national registry with their owner, and any dog that did not have a marking was killed. When a puppy is sold it must also have a veterinarian checkup, and the first thing any vet will do is to chip it and fill in the register data.

If a registered dog run away and get lost it will likely end up at the police, and the owner will get a bill for housing and handling. If you sell a dog, a breeder better make sure the registration papers get signed or the seller will be held liable. This way there are not much room for a feral dog population to get started.

Re: How neutering dogs became the norm

#175
post #174

The article mention that swedes are more responsible with their pets and thus do not have a problem with feral dogs, but I find the actually reason a bit more nuanced. Sweden did had a catch-and-kill program about a hundred years ago. It is mostly forgotten here, but it had two parts. A law was made that all dogs must be ear marked (today chipped) and listed in the national registry with their owner, and any dog that…

What stops people from releasing unwanted puppies in to the wilds/streets?

Re: How neutering dogs became the norm

#176
post #152
post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My father-in-law had an intact Labrador Retriever show dog who escaped over a high fence and swam across a large river in order to visit a bitch in heat. They found him days later, filthy and with some minor injuries. The instinct to reproduce will drive dogs to do crazy things.

It’s not only dogs. I remember some stupid shit I did as a teenager.

And it's not just you, either. I'm lucky to be alive after the crazy shit I did as a teenager.

Re: How neutering dogs became the norm

#177

I'm faced with this decision now, and am leaning towards not neutering my pup. At the very least, I'll be waiting until he's one year old, when most of his sexual development has wound down. The vets I've been to have both encouraged I do it, at 6 months and at 9 months. And they have the financial incentive to do so. The whole practice feels archaic and somewhat cruel. I understand why people do it, but I wonder how…

I think it's like declawing cats or (human) circumcision. It is just something Americans do and consider normal, while the rest of the Western world considers it pointlessly cruel nonsense.

Re: How neutering dogs became the norm

#178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The correlation is that for some reason trashy people prefer pit bulls, they don’t train their dogs, and then the breed gets a bad reputation. They have immensely powerful jaws, but are no more likely to use them than any other breed. There is an unfortunate increase in damage per instance but this again is no fault of the breed.

Anyone dealing with dogs knows the pit bulls are FAR more dangerous than other breeds. Their physical strength and jaw strength in particular make them potentially deadly. Can a poodle kill you? In some edge cases maybe. Can a pit bull do it? For sure. This is correlated with lower rates of spay / neuter as well. So you have an animal that is naturally MUCH more dangerous, and then you have that correlated with folks…

"Want a .50 cal automatic machine gun?"

IDK where you are, but automatic guns are very hard to buy in the U.S. You may be able to buy a pre-1986 model, but the bureaucracy is exactly as onerous as you wish it to be, as is the price tag.

Or are you confusing automatic and semi-automatic guns?

Re: How neutering dogs became the norm

#179
post #39

I think this author is missing a major piece of dog park social norms where spaying & neutering are concerned -- behavioral changes that (ostensibly) arise from de-sexing dogs, particularly in neutering males. Maybe they should ask these other dog park goers _why_ they are so interested in status of their dog's reproductive organs... In my own anecdotal experience, my male golden retriever (who I've spent considerabl…

My family never had neutered dogs, male or female, but we were living in a rural area where people and dogs had a "culture" of good practices.

Every households had hunting dogs, guarding dogs, shepherd dogs or just, you know, family dogs. I guess their role in this "society" was much clearer than in dense urban areas.

Re: How neutering dogs became the norm

#180
post #89
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty much any mammal that is around 40+ lbs could seriously fuck that unarmed human up if it wanted or needed to. You’re not winning a hand-to-hoof fight with a deer or a mountain goat. The fact is that pit bulls are responsible for the super-majority of dog-attack-caused fatalities, at least in the USA: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_dog_attacks_in... Over a 30+ year span, pit bulls were responsible…

Ha, 40 pounds? My dad ended up in the hospital because of an antibiotic-resistant infection from…our 12-pound cat named Mittens.

I had kind of the same treatment from a mild injury as I was rescuing a starved kitten from a sewer!@#
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