Breeding With Muffy?

By Dr Woof 

So you think letting Muffy and Fluffy have a litter might be a good idea! Well, think long and hard. Thousands of unwanted dogs and cats are destroyed each year across Australia by various councils and welfare organizations, usually as the result of unwanted matings. The last thing you want to do is to add to this problem.

If you believe that letting Muffy have a litter will make her a better pet, there is no evidence to support this. Whilst you may hear anecdotes such as Aunt Sally's dog being better behaved after she had pups, remember she may have become better behaved anyway.

Similarly, if you think that having Muffy desexed will make her fat, research shows that female dogs fed the same amount of food before and after the surgery do not gain weight, though their appetites will increase. However, I have never seen a female cat get fat after desexing.

There is no 100% safe or 100% reliable contraceptive for female dogs or cats. It is possible to put female pets on 'the pill' and there is a 'morning after pill', but these can have detrimental side effects and should only be used as a last resort.

Having Muffy or Fluffy desexed is the best option. The procedure will be a full ovario-hystorectomy (where every part of the reproductive tract is removed) and usually requires the animal to be in hospital for a full day. Costs will vary from practice to practice.

Medically, there are major advantages to female dogs being desexed before puberty. Roughly one in four female dogs will suffer from mammary cancer. If they are desexed prior to their first season, the risks are reduced twenty fold. Desexing will also prevent endometritis and uterine infections and save the hassle of having a pet on heat several times a year.

As a money making venture, breeding pets for profit is destined to failure and shows no regard for the animal's welfare! Some people do some very simple multiplication - six puppies for $250.00 each. But that $1500.00 has to cover extra food, worming and vaccinations and veterinary costs (vaccinating a litter of six puppies may cost around $200 and if needed, a caesarean may be around $500).  

A recent survey found gays are more likely to own a pet than straights. In the study, 78.5% of gays respondents owned a pet, compared to 62% for the general population. With 8,831 respondents, the Gay/Lesbian online consumer census by GLCensus Partners is the largest study of its kind yet undertaken.