How neutering dogs became the norm

pit bulls are dangerous dogs, unlike most other breeds.

source:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pitbull+attack

Edit:

https://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics-fatalities-2019...

69% of fatalities due to dog bites were caused by the same breed.

It's hard to conclusively draw a connection between "displays homosexual behavior" and "is homosexual" in animals, but homosexual behavior has indeed been observed in dogs (as well as lots of other species).

Interestingly, among giraffes, male-male sex is actually much more common than male-female sex, some studies found that up to 90% of giraffe sex was male-male. (One bit on Wikipedia says giraffes are occasionally described as "especially gay", which I found amusing)

I did not get the sense that this is a balanced perspective.

The author does have a point that not sterilizing your pet will likely lead to criticism, even though it's a more nuanced situation.

But still — the solution to all of the sourcing problems is "do your research, and get an individual, not a breed".

If there's an actual shortage of adoptable dogs in your area, talk to the shelters about it, and also consider _not getting a pet quite yet_, rather then taking random advice from the internet and telling people to breed their pets.

Personally I'm in France: much less neutering here, but also there's a serious feral cat problem in my village, and also too many puppies. And toxoplasmosis infection rates are massive... it seems like a much more obvious choice to sterilize free-roaming pets, but still many don't.

pretty much any large dog can seriously fuck you up if they have a mind to. I've seen a chesapeake bay retriever crush a deer's head with his jaws. in the vast majority of cases, a properly socialized dog will not attack a human unprovoked.

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 considerable time socializing and training since adoption at 8 weeks), started to display some territorial and dominance issues around the 18mo mark. This behavior was particularly apparent around other intact males of equal-to-larger sizes than him, and culminated in a defensive fight with another (intact) lab mix.

I made the choice to schedule his neutering that day.

Since then (~6 months ago), his behavior has mellowed out considerably -- far more so than what I would otherwise attribute to maturing. I try not to judge people that harshly who make the choice not to neuter in the area (urban US city), but at the same time believe too many minimize an intact Fuffy's higher (IMO) propensity for dominant and aggressive behavior in social circumstances. Too often have I heard, 'he's a , obviously he wouldn't hurt a fly!' and it really grinds my gears.

Having an intact dog in a denser area is a huge responsibility (beyond potential offspring) and good owners should recognize this..especially if they're bringing these dogs into semi-controlled environments with strangers -- who, I'd posit, are more concerned about a harder-to-control Fluffy stepping over the line and their dog getting injured or worse, rather than causing an unexpected pregnancy.