Not Enough Homes.....

Rescue Centres all over the UK are packed full of unwanted dogs and puppies. All of these dogs are desperately hoping for a new home.

In the UK alone, thousands of unwanted healthy dogs and puppies are destroyed every day, simply because there are not enough homes for them.

So why neuter or spay your bitch?

A bitch comes in to season every six months. Each season lasts for three weeks. When your bitch is in season, she will attract unneutered male dogs. A male dog will be extremely persistent for a chance to mate. If your dog is outside you may well need to use physical force to fend him off!
Bitches that have not been neutered or spayed get frustrated as it is their instinct to want to mate. Bitches are commonly known to scale high fences or dig their way out to find a male with which to mate. Many of the strays brought into rescue centres are bitches in season.


"But I can make easy money selling the puppies"

This all too common scenario is spiralling out of control. People think that breeding from a bitch is easy and a good money spinner.
Breeding from a bitch is time consuming and expensive. Bitches can have anything up to ten puppies in each litter. Whilst pregnant the bitch will need two or three times the amount of food she would normally eat. Once weaned, the puppies will need to be fed four times a day. They will need toilet training. Then there are vets bills. Is there as much profit as people think? Your bitch (or the dog) may have a hereditary illness or ailment that will be passed onto her pups, thus degrading the breed.
What if you cannot sell the pups? You have a litter of seven and you manage to sell three, what happens to the other ones? They end up in a rescue centre and you end up out of pocket.



Medical reasons to have your Bitch spayed or neutered.

An unneutered bitch is at a much higher risk of developing mammary tumours. Neutering your bitch also eliminates the distressing condition known as 'phantom pregnancy'


An unneutered bitch is also at risk of developing a common, life-threatening condition called pyometra. This is a potentially fatal infection of the uterus which fills up with pus. Undiagnosed, the uterus can burst leading to peritonitis and death.




(The healthy uterus is shown on the left.
On the right is a uterus with pyometra. You
can clearly see that is is filled with pus). Image courtesy of Celia Hammond Animal Trust.



"But it's interfering with Nature"

By domesticating dogs in the first place, we have already interfered with nature. By feeding and caring for them, we have helped ensure their breeding success and longer life.

Wild dogs live in packs. The pups that survive stay with their pack for years. So is it natural for a domesticated bitch to have pups, only to have them taken away when they are only eight weeks old? Animals grieve for their young as humans do.

Is it natural to have to 'destroy' thousands of surplus puppies and dogs purely and simply because they have no home?

Also it is a myth that a bitch should have a season or a litter before being spayed. There is no medical evidence to show that doing this benefits her in any way, or makes her a more affectionate pet.

Click here to read a short message that we received from a dog owner who never considered getting their bitch neutered. It's a sad story which highlights the responsibilities we have as animal owners.


Please be a responsible owner - Arrange to have your bitch neutered.