There is no substitute for owner responsibility
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Rosemary Miller
Published: September 22, 2008
One of my favorite features is the Friday animal shelter piece by Nancy White. As a fellow animal person and over 10 years as a rescue foster home and volunteer, I’m always interested in what she has
to say.
However this time, on her piece on the Great Pumpkin Walk, I was quite distressed to see the statement “...all the dogs are spayed or neutered, making it safer than walking your dog in a crowded public
place.”
This assumption that spaying/neutering is a panacea for preventing or solving behavioral problems, or conversely that intact (not spayed/neutered) dogs are inherently poorly behaved and aggressive, is
incorrect.
While I strongly support spay/neuter for mixed breeds and most pets, an operation cannot cure bad behavior. Only an owner’s commitment to proper socialization and training will ensure good good
behavior.
I am an evaluator for the AKC Canine Good Citizen program as well as for the Therapy Dog International organization. From my observations a dog’s neuter status has no bearing on if the dog will pass
these behavioral tests. It’s the time and training the owner put into the dog that makes the difference.
Sadly, it seems my dogs and I would not be welcome at the “Great Pumpkin Walk.” Even though I own three certified therapy dogs who visit a local nursing home, are AKC champions of record, hold
many obedience, herding and even water rescue titles, I and my dogs would be unwelcome and even considered unsafe at this casual dog walking event simply because they are intact.
Spay/neuter does one thing very well — it prevents pet overpopulation. However it is no substitute for owner responsibility, proper pet socialization and basic obedience training.
ROSEMARY MILLER
Manassas
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Reader Reactions
Posted by ( pwc-aac ) on October 02, 2008 at 7:28 am
I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that your event will be successful. By attending, you won’t change my mind because I already believe there will be very good dog behaviors on hand, even though these dogs are unaltered. The problem that still exists is that there are unaltered dogs that are not as behaved and not trained. These are the dogs that cause issues at our events and are one of the reasons we have the rule about spaying and neutering. I appreciate the invitation but I will be preparing all weekend for our event the following weekend and cannot attend. I am sure you can understand.
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Posted by ( Rosemary Miller ) on October 02, 2008 at 4:28 am
I have an idea. Why don’t you come to an event where there are intact dogs to see for yourself? Specifically 1,712 dogs entered in 145 different breeds in West Friendship MD (Fairgrounds) on Saturday Oct 11? I’m also going Sun Oct 12 if that is a better day for you.
You are more than welcome to ride up with me and my dogs, enjoy a day at the dog show, and do your own observations. I am only taking two dogs, so there’s plenty of room for a passenger.
If you are in a leadership role in dog welfare, I strongly believe you need to have a wide variety of dog behavior experiences. A day at the show will not only be a educational experience, but a fun one as well.
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Posted by ( pwc-aac ) on October 01, 2008 at 4:14 pm
I support any effort you endeavor to help train others to be better pet owners. Our community lacks the resources needed for pet owners and everyone suffers. However, while I believe we see eye-to-eye on the training issue, I stand firm on having only spayed or neutered pets at our event. Ours is not the only animal event held nationally with these stipulations, which are in place to help avoid aggressive animals. Again, this is no personal attack on your animals, which are clearly doing great things in the community. We have safety obligations and, additionally, we are walking to promote spay/neuter, so it is not unreasonable to expect all participants be actually spayed or neutered.
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Posted by ( Rosemary Miller ) on October 01, 2008 at 11:09 am
The statement that “you seem to miss a very important point that your dogs are the exception, not the rule” is incorrect.
As I have stated before, I am a behavioral evaluator for AKC Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog International as well as performing the Volhard behavior protocols for puppy temperament testing for litters. In this role, I attend several events every year to perform behavioral evaluations. In years past these have ranged from events put on by Fairfax County 4-H, regional dog clubs, kennel clubs, training clubs, the Humane Society of Washington County MD and various private sessions. I’ve evaluated over 70 dogs this year alone.
As a member of the Board of Directors for two regional breed clubs, and member of four national purebred dog clubs, as well a member of our local (and excellent!) Mount Vernon Dog Training Club, plus over 30 years training dogs, plus being a rescue foster home (for two rescues) for over 10 years, and competing fairly extensively in both conformation and working events, I think you might agree I’ve seen a lot of dogs and quite a range of canine and human behavior. I also hold a Ph.D. in psychology (the human kind) but have made it a personal quest to learn all I can on dog psychology/behavior as well.
My experiences are not limited to my personal experiences with my personal dogs.
I have seen many well trained dogs. I’ve seen many dogs that were deeply in need of training. I’ve seen many humans that should never own dogs, and a few that I think would be better for having a dog in their life. While I always encourage spay/neuter for pets that are not active show/working dogs to avoid unwanted litters, I also encourage everyone who believes the only good animal is a neutered one to take a look around at a dog show where nearly all the dogs are intact and observe canine behaviors there, review the research in this area with a critical eye to errors in methodology, look at spay/neuter and dog ownership practices in Europe, and then revisit the question with what you’ve learned.
I do believe Prince William County would benefit to encourage responsible dog ownership by offering at the very least Canine Good Citizen testing and information available at events like the Great Pumpkin Walk. A tie in to the AKC Responsible Dog Ownership Day would also serve to assist the community in learning about being good pet owners. By excluding the local community of conformation showing people who could actively help with these events simply because our dogs are intact, the PWC SPCA is missing out on utilizing people who have the knowledge, skills and certification to supply these tests as well as a broad spectrum of canine training and behavioral experience that they could share with the public, as we have done for other organizations. The ones who lose are the community dog owners. What I believe Ms. Korzuch may not realize is we are both on the same side – we both want to ensure the health and safety of animals in Prince William County.
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Posted by ( pwc-aac ) on October 01, 2008 at 7:01 am
You seem to miss a very important point that your dogs are the exception, not the rule when it comes to animals. Many people in our community don’t train their animals and they certainly don’t have them altered. Safety has to do with behavior and the intact status of dogs. One of the reasons vets and animal experts recommend having pets neutered is to decrease the chance of aggression, in addition to the number of other benefits. I never stated that all neutered dogs were safe, just less likely to become aggressive than their unaltered and untrained counterparts. All animals can be unpredictable and have bad days just like humans. That is why at all of our events we excuse any animal showing signs of aggression. Will all incidents be avoided? No, but we have an obligation to take any steps necessary to make sure they do not take place.
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Posted by ( Rosemary Miller ) on October 01, 2008 at 4:55 am
I am now even more concerned.
As a mother of three, I certainly would not say to my children “that dog over there is neutered, feel free to run up and play with him, he’s sure to be safe!“
Safety has to do with behavior, not intact status. To assume all neutered dogs are safe (“for the safety of our walkers, 4 and 2 legged…“) is as big an error as assuming all intact dogs are aggressive. Both statements are wrong.
There is absolutely no well conducted research (in a peer reviewed journal with a control group) I am aware of that supports the view that intact dogs are any more “aggressive” than neutered dogs. My years of experience with the behavioral evaluation of dogs points to the same conclusion.
I invite anyone to attend a local AKC dog show. There are many in our area, the closest being at Prince William County Fairgrounds every year. Depending on the show, you will see hundreds, if not thousands of intact dogs. These dogs are in very close quarters, walking past each other, sitting side by side, coming face to face. Aggressive behavior is quite rare, and in several years of showing dogs I have witnessed only ONE actual dog fight. If the assumption that intact dogs are aggressive—or even have more of a tendency to be aggressive—were correct, these events would be fraught with danger. Instead, you will see the best behaved, best groomed and nicest dogs anywhere.
I find it ironic that I and my (intact) dogs were invited guests at the Humane Society of Washington County (Maryland) “Canines on the Canal” dog walk event in support of the shelter and spay/neuter initatives. We provided a service to encourage responsible dog ownership—Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog International testing. Many dogs (both neutered and intact) were certified as “Good Citizens” and “Therapy Dogs” that day. I’d like to see these services offered to Prince William County dog owners as well, but I can’t do it for you because all my dogs that are pre-certified to perform the “meet a friendly dog” exercise for both tests are intact.
I am certainly NOT against spay/neuter—every rescue to leave my house has been neutered. I encourage everyone who’s pet is not an active show or working dog to neuter his/her pet. However, we must all be aware that neutering is not a replacement for training - an operation is not a magic wand waved to remove aggression, house soiling, humping, and over-excitement with people and other animals. Only through training and socialization will you have a safe and enjoyable pet.
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Posted by ( pwc-aac ) on September 26, 2008 at 7:04 am
The Great Pumpkin Dog Walk is being held specifically to raise *awareness* for spaying and neutering. It is entirely reasonable to expect the dogs that walk to be altered. The bigger issue that needs to be addressed is safety. Ms. Miller is correct in saying that spay/neuter is no substitute for owner responsibility but fails to realize that for every responsible pet owner there are 100 more who are not. The rule that no intact dog may walk is for the safety of our walkers, both 4- and 2-legged. Unaltered dogs are more aggressive than those that are spayed or neutered. Are all intact dogs aggressive or do they all pose a risk? No, but until irresponsible pet owners take the steps needed to properly train their animals, we all suffer, especially Ms. Miller’s dogs who will be unable to attend this event. Ms. Miller can still certainly come to the event. I am sure with her long experience with rescues that she would be able to find a spayed or neutered dog that would be ecstatic to walk.
Melissa Korzuch
President, Prince William SPCA
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