Why should you spay or neuter? View the "In Hope" Video to the right

That means 11 - 16 thousand pets are killed every day simply because they are homeless.  Do you want to be a part of the problem or a part of the solution?

Neutering! - It's not a nasty word.  Neutered dogs are far healthier and better natured than their non neutered counterparts.  The #1 dog most likely to BITE is an UN-NEUTERED MALE

• less roaming, less marking (easier to  housebreak), less fighting with other animals

• less aggressive & more affectionate

• calmer, easier to train, more focused on YOU - not the bitch down the street.

• no enlarged prostate - reduced urinary problems, less risk of testicular cancer

• Your dog will live longer and be healthier

Spaying!  The best gift you can give your four legged friend.  She will certainly thank you for it.

•  Less risk of mammary cancers if spayed before the first heat.

• Healthier, will live longer, eliminates uterine or ovarian cancer risks

• No more risk of uterine infections that occur in unspayed females

• No messy house twice a year and no worries about unwanted pregnancies.  Females in heat can be more aggressive, cry incessantly and display nervous behavior

Neutering your pet won't make it fat or lazy (you will - they can't open the refrigerator).  The only personality changes will be positive.  Your dog will be less aggressive and more affectionate.  For those of you who think your dog needs to experience sex - you are reading too much into this and over identifying with your dog and that's just plain silly.

Miracle of Birth:
If you want your children to experience the miracle of birth, buy the movie.  For every puppy you bring into the world, one dies in a shelter.  It is a fact.  If you want your children to experience the miracle of life - why don't you foster a litter of puppies from the shelter and save their lives.  Share the miracle of changing a life in a positive way and making a commitment to improving a life already here in the world

If you aren't going to breed, your pets should be spayed or neutered.  Its just a no brainer.  If you are in North Carolina or Virginia and need help spaying or neutering your pet, email us and we will try to find you resources in your area.  We would be happy to help you.

Commentary on Breeding:  Probably fewer than 10% of people who call themselves "breeders" know what the heck they are doing. I have unfortunately met and talked to many people who are "breeders" of American Pit Bull Terriers over the past 10 years, and none have impressed me. None have the knowledge, experience, or even common sense to breed good dogs.  None of them have provided ANY health testing and some don't have a clue as to what I am talking about when I mention OFA or Penn Hip or even something as simple as CGC or TT.  How are they able to produce dogs which are free of health and temperament problems and disqualifying faults?  These same people will call their dogs "show quality" in advertisements. Knowledge and experience allow real breeders to consistently produce quality dogs. How do you know if a dog is worthy of breeding? There's a whole lot more involved than the dog's phenotype (what the dog looks like and acts like). A dog may seem to be of "breeding quality," but not be when you poke around in its pedigree (oh, and YES, a dog needs to have a pedigree to be breeding quality). Only by a thorough knowledge of the dog's genetic background -- what its relatives and ancestors are like -- can you predict what the dog will produce in his offspring. A dog can be very nice (pretty and good disposition) but produce low quality offspring because that's what's in the genes. Consider the fact that the nicest dog from a litter can reproduce the worst of his litter. If a dog has excellent hips, but one of his littermates has hip dysplasia, the "excellent" dog could easily produce dysplastic pups because it has the genes for hip dysplasia. Genetic traits can be hidden for two or three generations before they reappear. Unless a dog is an ideal specimen, from a litter of all ideal specimens, out of parents that are ideal specimens, it's a risk to breed. Hereditary problems with the immune system (demodex mange, skin problems, allergies) & physical defects (hip dysplasia, luxated patellas, bowed legs, flat feet, straight back ends) - are things that quality breeders try their best NOT to produce.  Real breeders stay within the standard and don't produce freakish dogs based on head circumference or neck size or too wide and low.  Real breeders breed for quality from quality, not fancy colors.  REAL breeders produce healthy FUNCTIONAL dogs not a 'gangsta wannabe showpiece'.  The standard for the APBT is 60 lbs or LESS with a head proportional to the body.  There are some current "fad" bloodlines that are gaining popularity with those who don't understand those basic concepts in form versus function.

In order to understand what's in a dog's pedigree, you have to know as many dogs in that pedigree as possible. Knowledge about all of the dog's littermates is also necessary to predict what the offspring of a dog will be like. Very few people have this much knowledge about their dogs which translates into - very few people have any business breeding their dogs.

A dog may be a fine specimen. He may be purebred, and be registered with the ADBA or UKC (not those sham registries that sprout up overnight and register ANYTHING). Or with the AKC as an Am Staff.  He may even have "champions" or other titled dogs somewhere in his pedigree. But these things alone do not make a dog "breeding quality." It's what's hidden in the genes that's most important.

Code of Ethics for American Pit Bull Terrier Breeders