Hello All! I hope you had a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July, enjoying family, friends, barbeques and of course, your pets.

I think it’s time to discuss spaying and/or neutering your pets. Animals may like to run and play and socialize with other animals, be very cautious of how much you let them out of your sight. Every year millions of animals are euthanized due to the speed of reproduction in our domestic pets; unfortunately not everyone can find homes for the little puppies and kittens. 

When spaying your female pet, or neutering your male pet, you will find they may become much calmer and not so hyper active. In a female it will eliminate the heat cycle, and will stop any discharge from staining anything in your house. Spaying will also reduce the risk of breast cancer, and the risk of uterine diseases as well as uterine cancer. Spaying your pet can also eliminate mastitis – breast inflammation, ovarian cysts, miscarriages, and delivery complications. 

When neutering your male it will remove the mating drive, so the younger you get them neutered the better off you are; when you get a male neutered young sometimes it will remove their urge to mark their territory all over your house and yard. The earlier you neuter your pet the less of a chance they’ll have of mounting everything they possibly can. Males also have a habit of roaming when they are not in tact, neutering them will help reduce that urge as well. As your male gets older if they are neutered the risk of developing enlarged prostate glands  and prostate cancer is reduced, as well as eliminating testicular cancer. 

Some Myths You May or May Not Have Known:

Spaying and neutering costs too much: 

Spaying and neutering your pet is cheaper in the long run than caring for unwanted litters and the medical problems that can occur when an animal is not spayed or neutered. 

She should have one litter first, to settle her down: 

Having a litter won’t improve her health or permanently change the animal’s personality. And she could be irritable and tired while caring for and nursing her puppies or kittens. 

I want my children to see the miracle of birth: 

But will they? Many pets hide when giving birth. Even if you find good homes for the entire litter, you may be denying homes to animals who’ve already been born. Visit your local animal shelter to see all the stray and abandoned animals. 

If I neuter my dog he will stop being protective:

False. Neutering an animal does not change or alter his instinct to defend his turf. In fact, he will be less likely to wander away. 

Only females need to be fixed, since the litters are their owner’s responsibility: 

But how do those pets get pregnant? A male pet can easily father 750 offspring in his lifetime. 

Keeping animals from having litters is interfering with nature: 

We have already interfered. Domesticated dogs and cats mate more often and have larger litters than their wild ancestors, but cannot survive on their own. 

Spaying or neutering makes pets fat and lazy: 

No, that’s caused by overfeeding and lack of exercise. Spayed or neutered pets require less calories. Cut down on the meals and make time for a walk or play. 

The 2 other very other important animals that have made a huge impact on my life recently is this trouble making pair of siblings, Carley and Smokey. Born in the same litter, these two English Springer Spaniels love to cause a ridiculous amount of trouble in or out of the house. They’re cute and young so they seem to get away with a whole lot around my household. As you can see by the picture above (Carley on the left, and Smokey on the right) these two are the most adorable puppies ever. Carley feels as though she is the princess of the household, while Smokey thinks he runs things, until Carley reminds him that he does not and indeed she does. Almost a year old, they’re both very fast learners, create tons of mischief and want to play outside all the time regardless of weather or temperature. Their favorite outdoor activity is digging up the entire yard, including all the flower bulbs from previous years and the gardens all around the yard.

Both Carley and Smokey attended some puppy training classes and they graduated with flying colors. They have both now surpassed what they learned in their class, though Carley seems to enjoy training with her mommy much more than Smokey. Carley has learned many tricks such as shake, sit pretty, kiss, shake (with both paws), jumping through a hoola hoop, and she is slowly working on learning how to roll over. Smokey on the other hand seems to learn from watching Carley doing all these things, and he only does it because he seems jealous that his sister is getting more attention than he is. Since they recently moved into the same house Smokey has started doing kisses, jumping through the hoola hoop , and learned to shake with both paws all just from watching his sister. I find it really funny how animals can learn things so quickly from just watching and observing one another.

Over time you will see Carley and Smokey, as well as Riley and Jasmine, more and more often in my stories.

What about your pets? Who are they and how do they play a role in your life? I would love to hear from everyone who has a special pet.

Be well,

MumblesMom