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Sterilization—spaying and neutering, or de‐sexing—is currently well established as normal, even preferable, for owned domestic dogs in the United States. Animal protection groups and humane societies advocate dog sterilization, and it is required for dog adoption from many animal shelters. A common argument for sterilization is that it improves the welfare of the individual animal. Another ostensible benefit of sterilization is reducing the population of unwanted animals; however, published evidence of the degree of such benefit in reducing intake of shelter dogs is limited (Urfer and Kaeberlein 2019).

While state laws and advocacy groups often tout behavioral improvements that result from sterilization, such as reduced roaming behavior, reduced aggression, and fewer unwanted sexual behaviors, including mounting (Horowitz 2019), research is conflicting as to these claims. Studies gauging levels of aggression by male dogs, for instance, have found variously that aggression either decreased, remained at the same level, or even increased after neutering (Bain 2020). What is clear is that sterilized dogs have been “deprived of the ability to perform one of the most fundamental natural behaviours” (Rooney and Bradshaw 2014), which, with the health and behavioral effects still debated, may most robustly reflect a cultural aversion to canine sexual practices (Horowitz 2014). Similarly, it is also clear that early removal of the source of gonadal hormones has repercussions beyond the sexual: the hormones are implicated in functions as varied as bone growth, maintaining muscle mass, and learning and memory (Horowitz 2019). Ideally, considerations about sterilization should take into account the breed, age, and sex of the dog as well as the owner’s circumstances and expectations for the dog. See Chapter 4 for further discussion of the physical and behavioral health impacts of spay and neuter.