Question for dog owners.

[dramaqueen]

When it comes to spaying and neutering, which costs less or is it about the same?

[Laki]

Neutering is less invasive and thus, less expensive.
Females need surgery then follow up care by surgical assistants.
BUT if you're thinking of this before picking up a puppy, I reccomend going to a shelter and picking up a recently fixed pup or getting one through the shelter that is younger, they usually give good rates on future fixing if the animal is adopted from them.

[dramaqueen]

I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do. This is still a ways down the road. I'm wanting a purebred dog but my brother said to get a shelter dog.

[eatmice2010]

spaying- females

neutering- males

Ya spaying is more expressive because of the surgery part but it also depends on where you get it done

[registereduser]

25% of shelter dogs are purebred.

We got a toy poodle from the shelter and my friend got a gorgeous Bassett Hound. I have even seen Newfoundlands and Saint Bernards.

DQ, check out petfinder.com and type in your location, you will be shocked at the gorgeous dogs people dump at shelters!

[kfryman]

Yeah sometimes you will be surprised what you can find at shelters. You could always ask them if they have a purebred first. It would probably be much cheaper getting it there then at a breeder. Then if you go to a breeder you should be seeing if their dogs are all medically checked and healthy, they have certificates (Look up online as some certificates are easy to get and "backyard breeders" can get them) good care in the home, and also if they are breeding more than 3 types of dogs, don't buy from them as it is too hard to find all the bloodline info, health check ups and all that.

What breed of dog were you looking at getting?

[pittipuppylove]

I'm fairly sure spays are more expensive than neuters at the practice I work at, but I'm not positive.

Maybe a compromise could be a breed-specific rescue? Most don't always have really young dogs, but they may be able to put you on a wait list to adopt a puppy when one comes along. Shelters and rescues also typically include spay/neuter and sometimes vaccinations with the adoption fee.
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[Laki]

Omg there are hundreds of breed specific rescues and tonnes of purebreds in shelters. For the rescues you can put your name down for the next puppy, I know the beagle rescue here does that. There's never a shortage of idiotic people breeding their dogs for profit, or accidental litters that are surrendered. I have been watching a French Mastiff rescue in the States somewhere who recently rescued a mama mastiff who gave birth.
The health and background are not always guaranteed on rescued animals but knowing you made a difference is pretty important. Also, the volunteers for these organizations can make sure you get a lot of play time and experience in with your breed of choice to see if they fit your lifestyle. Fostering is another way to do this.

Out of curiosity, what breed were you interested in?

[Tikibirds]

Check out petfinder.org
I could not find the breed I wanted locally so I ended up getting him from a breeder. I lived in Alaska and it's not like I could drive 2 hours to another city because there was NOTHING North, East and West. Anchorage was 400 miles south. Almost all the shelter dogs I seen there were former sled dogs which are kept outside 24/7 even when its -50F with about 10-30 other dogs. Each dog is on about a 4 foot chain attached to a dog house.

[dramaqueen]

I'm thinking of getting a Labtador Retriever. I don't want to get a dog that someone else messed up from abuse.