Kind of a different subject to talk about with Scouts. But we are asked to discuss this question in requirement 6f of the Dog Care Merit Badge.

Found online at animalleague.org here are a few benefits to spaying or neutering your dog. Of course, you will not want to alter your dog in any way if you are planning on breeding her or him.

Benefits of Spaying (females)

• No heat cycles, therefore males will not be attracted

• Less desire to roam

• Risk of mammary gland tumors, ovarian and/or uterine cancer is reduced or eliminated, especially if done before the first heat cycle

• Reduces number of unwanted cats/kittens/dogs/puppies

• Helps dogs and cats live longer, healthier lives

Benefits of Neutering (males)

• Reduces or eliminates risk of spraying and marking

• Less desire to roam, therefore less likely to be injured in fights or auto accidents

• Risk of testicular cancer is eliminated, and decreases incidence of prostate disease

• Reduces number of unwanted cats/kittens/dogs/puppies

• Decreases aggressive behavior, including dog bites

• Helps dogs and cats live longer, healthier lives

Top 5 Reasons for Spaying or Neutering

1. It helps to reduce companion animal overpopulation. Most countries have a surplus of companion animals and are forced to euthanize or disregard their great suffering. The surplus is in the millions in the United States. Cats are 45 times as prolific, and dogs 15 times as prolific, as humans. They do not need our help to expand their numbers; they need our help to reduce their numbers until there are good homes for them all.

2. Sterilization of your cat or dog will increase his/her chance of a longer and healthier life. Altering your canine friend will increase his life an average of 1 to 3 years, felines, 3 to 5 years. Altered animals have a very low to no risk of mammary gland tumors/cancer, prostate cancer, perianal tumors, pyometria, and uterine, ovarian and testicular cancers.

3. Sterilizing your cat/dog makes him/her a better pet, reducing his/her urge to roam and decreasing the risk of contracting diseases or getting hurt as they roam. Surveys indicate that as many as 85% of dogs hit by cars are unaltered. Intact male cats living outside have been shown to live on average less than two years. Feline Immunodeficiency Syndrome is spread by bites and intact cats fight a great deal more than altered cats.

4. Your community will also benefit. Unwanted animals are becoming a very real concern in many places. Stray animals can easily become a public nuisance, soiling parks and streets, ruining shrubbery, frightening children and elderly people, creating noise and other disturbances, causing automobile accidents, and sometimes even killing livestock or other pets.

5. The capture, impoundment and eventual destruction of unwanted animals costs taxpayers and private humanitarian agencies over a billion dollars each year. As a potential source of rabies and other less serious diseases, they can be a public health hazard.

https://www.animalleague.org/get-involved/spay-usa/benefits-spaying-or-neutering-pets/