[michaelundinaeichhorn]

As we work as behaviorists as a main job and there has been a lot of communication and research done here in the last years I can tell you that neutering hasn´t got the big behavioural effects as it is meant to have. It only has effects on cases that are only caused by sexual hormons,which are not very many and can be checked in advance by medical castration. before neutering.
And it also can have very negativ behavioural effects!

I think we simply have a very different point of view on treatment of problems in Europe and the USA. We also don´t declaw cats because they could scratch or destroy for example. The use of drugs for behavioral treatment is also of a much lower amount.

If the argument is unwished offspring there is the way of sterilisation which has the same effect but doesn´t change the hormonal status.
I also work for a very big animal shelter and can tell you that we only see very few cases of unwished puppies of German owners. Most litters are of rescued dogs out of countries with stray dogs, where of course like I wrote before neutering is the best way to go (and would be legal in Germany).
I talked of familiy pets in "normal" countries where dogs live with their family and don´t run free, especially not being in heat.
Do you really think it is not possible to find as many responsible people in the USA as in Germany? Do you really think free ranging dogs are such a big problem in cities like New York which is said to have a very high amount of dogs? I think in those cases the real problem is the clean carpet and furniture and the unwillingness of the owner to do some basic dog training. And that is a point of view I find irresponsible.
And even if people in the US are so different it doesn´t mean than that your point of view fits on all other countries.

Ina