I also didn't have the option to neuter my dogs since they were adopted they came fixed. Southern California has a ton of chihuahua mixes so there is always dogs a ton of dogs looking for homes. The girl and I are buying a house in the country in two years and plan on starting a foster, taking a dogs balls is a tough thing to do but it must be done to prevent irresponsible breeding.

Thanks man, I saw yours in the other thread and he looks pretty cool as well.

grunch;
A) we are hypocrites
B) Neutering is not always a bad thing, I think we should neuter some humans as well. You can't expect nature to fix her own **** after we've invaded it and put 100000 kittens on the planet.

Lol, you're grunching a 27 post thread. Let's put your hairy ass in a kennel or chain you up at least.

If you fed these "coming and going as they please" animals, they wouldn't be going anywhere. They would stick around because you're feeding them. They're not a bunch of Americans taking a year off before college to backpack through Europe for a year, staying in various hostels overnight then moving on.

OP, dogs LIKE to be domesticated. It's in their genetics. They CRAVE structure in their lives, with rules, and routines, and status in relationship. They function much. much better when those are present. It is not a punishment to have a dog on a leash, or to keep it in a crate at night when it sleeps. It appreciates these boundaries being set.

Dogs are different than us. They value comfort and security, and what you view as them having to give up certain "freedoms" to attain that, well, they just don't view it that way.

I agree with you on the apartment thing, but truth is as long as the dog has ample opportunity to do dog things (gets enough walks, exercise, outside time, exposure to other dogs) then an apartment is fine, since most dogs actually sleep most of the day.

The gf and I rescued our pit bull a year ago, after she was found by a rescue agency in the streets, with dozens of cuts all over her body, her front legs broken, and lactating. She had more exposed skin than fur. She was about 25 pounds. She had infections. They think that she was probably a bait dog, and was left for dead. She healed for a few months at a clinic, and when we brought her home, she couldn't have been happier. There isn't a doubt in my mind that these creatures live in a sustained state of deep gratitude when they are rescued and rehabilitated.

We live in an apartment, but walk her 4, 5 times a day and usually once a day either do a long 2 hour hike with her or take her to the dog park for a couple hours. Then she comes home and crashes on any number of couches, or her dog bed, or our bed. When we eat out, we'll bring her if we know that they have a patio.

All things considered, her life is probably better than most people in the world. This is not so much a brag of us being good owners, but an indictment on how terribly off our own species is. The main point though is that she is WAAAY happier than a dog in the street that might have "freedom". For me, there is no moral dilemma here.

Obligatory dog pic: