If i hear one more idiot tell me that they don’t want to have their pet neutered or spayed because it will change the dog’s personality, take away their “man-hood” or they simply do not see the benefits; i may scream.

Medical benefits of having your dog neutered and spayed is the significantly reduced risk of cancer. Cervical, ovarian and testicular cancer are extremely common in dogs nowadays due to changes in diet, environment and genetics from modern breeding practices. The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is especially susceptible to testicular cancer and is often a tragic end to a dogs life from as young as 5 or 6 years old due to owners not being able to afford treatments to cnacer that quickly spread to other parts of the body. So let’s prevent.

Keeping an entire dog or bitch, particularly in a low income household, is simply a temptation waiting to become a disaster of an “accidental” litter sold on the cheap to friends, family and neighbours or online to make a quick bank deposit. A successful litter of pups can be produced and profit making within 17 weeks as long as no complications occur such as the loss of the mother’s milk. A microchip at 8 weeks, solid puppy food from 5 weeks and worming and flea treatments throughout are a minor cost compared to the potential income from selling a puppy online, and most backstreet breeders don’t even bother with these minor care points. Despite 2 new laws in 2016 stating that:

(1) all dogs must be chipped from 8 weeks old by their original owner

and (2) dogs can only be sold be rehoming organistions and licensed breeders,

…the policing and enforcement of these laws is flakey as remaining anonymous, multiple identities and a lack of public awareness means most backstreet breeders and puppy mills are never recognised by buyers, let alone reported and brought to justice.

Now your neighbour illegally selling the “accidental litter” is one thing, the puppy mills across the country using family homes as fronts to sell puppies is another large scale, huge profit making industry that is beginning to creep into the light of the public eye. However, the demand for the supply of puppies in the UK is relentless. Puppies shipped in illegally from Europe and Ireland are being bought for as little as £20 each and sold online for up to £750 and puppy mills hidden on farms deep in the countryside in the UK are selling these unhealthy, mentally frozen and emotionally damaged pups into respectable family homes across the country. Even when people do realise the dog is not in a well state, they often feel they are saving that puppy or simply want the pup more than they want to make a scene, and then forget to report the address of the backstreet breeder later.

These dogs with no social skills and often health issues, frequently end up being passed family to family through online sales or “free to good home” adverts due to behavioural issues. Eventually, they will be surrendered to a rescue or shelter, left at a boarding kennels never to be collected or dumped on the streets to be left unclaimed on doggy deathrow…

For every puppy being born and bought, there is a dog of 18 months upwards, waiting in a foster home or worse, behind a kennel door. A dog who like the puppy you are considering buying was ever so cute and now has separation anxiety, or dog aggression, or maybe is aggressive to men….

Spay and Neuter your dog. There are many reasonably priced veterinary practices, PDSA branches and annual free neutering events across the UK.

#AdoptDontShop #18DogsADayUK

To Today’s 18: Sleep Tight Little Ones, Run Free Over the Rainbow Bridge