I CAN UNDERSTAND EACH PERSONS PERSPECTIVE ON THEIR DOGS AND CATS. JUST LIKE THEIR ARE DIFFERENT OPINIONS ON HOW TO RAISE YOUR CHILDREN, TREAT YOUR SPOUSE AND INLAWS.  PEOPLE DO NEED TO BE ABLE TO MAKE CHOICES (GOOD OR BAD) BUT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE I DO HAVE AN OPINION. I THINK THE BITCH (FEMALE DOG CAT OR WHATEVER ANIMAL, (FEMALES) SHOULD BE SPAYED. THIS ALONE MIGHT CUT THE WHOLE PROBLEM IN HALF. MAYBE THEN THE PRICES OF THESE HOMELESS, SHELTERED, ABUSED ANIMALS WOULD BE MORE REASONABLE AND MORE ANIMAL LOVERS WOULD BE ABLE TO FILL THE VOID IN THEIR HEARTS WHEN THE SAD EYES OF ANIMALS LEAVE AN IMPRESSION IN YOUR MIND THAT IS REALLY HARD TO ESCAPE FROM. AFTER ALL (UNTIL RECENTLY) THE FEMALE  WAS THE  ONE RESPONSIBLE  OR IRRESPONSIBLE FOR CONTROLLING THE POPULATION. THEN IF YOU WANTED TO HAVE YOUR MALE NEUTERED OR NOT  IT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE. BUT BE SURE AND RESEARCH ON THE BEHAVIOR CHANGES IN YOUR MALE WHATEVER YOU DECIDE.                & nbsp;       &n bsp;       &nb sp;        SUZAN MULLICAN

Dogs can be taught to not mount as effectively as they can be taught to not bite, that is, they will mind their manners unless they are under both stressful circumstances and without owner guidance.  I'm not sure why your dogs are so short lived madkow2747, but dogs the size of Boxers should be living into their teens.  The giant breeds (Great Danes, Irish Wolfhounds, etc) tend to be shorter lived within the range you stated, 10-12 years. 

The majority of dog owners are responsible and do sterilize their pets.  Statewide research estimates that two thirds already sterilize their pets and more would do so if they could afford it.  That's why programs for low-cost or no-cost spays and neuters are so important.  A friend recently spayed her female dog and even with a Humane Society voucher (she's retired, fixed income) she still had to pay a couple hundred dollars.  Have you read "Redemption" by Nathan Winograd?  I recommend it.

You may be able to teach your dog some manners, but a majority of the unintended puppies come from animals that are unsupervised in some way.  And when an unsupervised, intact male dog comes across a female dog that is in heat- I guarantee those manners are going to go right out the window.  It isn't very expensive to adopt a dog that has already been spayed/neutered.  If I remember right, I paid $95 to the THS for each of my dogs- neutered, first shots.  Adopting a dog from a Kern Co shelter is $60.  That doesn't seem unreasonable to me.  Plus licensing fees for altered animals are much cheaper.

From what I can find online, it seems the estimated lifespan for a Boxer varies between 8-12 years.  They are subject to hip problems, cancer, allergies, and heart problems (seems they often drop dead unexpectedly from Boxer Cardiomyopathy).  Makes you wonder why people keep breeding in all these problems...  I'll take my nice mutts anyday :)  I don't care if they don't have papers or AKC whatever.  They're much healthier and the genetic problems are less likely to continue through the generations (hah, not that they'll have any future generations, being neutered).

It's a fallacy that mixed breeds are healthier.  Hybrid vigor (breeding two purebreds of different breeds, now known as Designer Dogs) has not tracked consistently.  Purebreds have national parent clubs which track health and medical developments within the breed.  Mixed breeds have no such registry or committed club.  Therefore, a purebred club will send out questionaires and gather stats on a certain health problem and when the stats are published it makes mixed breeds look healthier since no such study was done on them.  Also, when any medical research for canines is done it is usually funded by a breed club or the AKC.  The inference is that purebreds need the research.  The reality is that the medical advances used for mixed breeds was sponsored and funded by the people who love all dogs and are committed to purebred dogs.   

I don't need studies to tell me my Heinz 57's are healthier and have lived longer lives than my purebreds. My mini-dox will be the last purebred I ever own. When she goes, it will be pound puppies for us. My Newfie-mix is now 13 years old. The vet comments everytime he sees her about her age considering her breed and size.

But hurray for Uno!!! The first Beagle to ever take top dog in the big show!!

The fact that mutts are healthier is a matter of common sense.  Purebred dogs are being bred on a limited genepool, which amplifies any defects they are prone to having in the first place.  Mutts have a nearly endless genepool, which makes defects far less likely to appear.  I'm not talking statistics- I'm talking genetics.  You don't have to be an expert to know that inbreeding causes problems.  That same breeding that is used to isolate desired traits to create breeds, then used to continue the traits into their offspring, will also keep the bad genetic side effects isolated.

I thought of something I should have mentioned a while back: my dogs were the result of an un-spayed female (who was properly enclosed in her yard) and a large intact male (who jumped the fence into the yard).  The foster parents who were taking care of the female dog were very responsible, but when they took her in to get fixed she was pregnant.  Goes to show that even the most responsible parents can't always keep unintended pregnancies away.