The following information was compiled from a survey of 1,000 residents of the Capital Region of New York State. The purpose was to create a profile of those who do not spay/neuter their dogs. Because small sub-populations were selected for this purpose, a few of the results here are not statistically significant; meaning that quite likely some of these non-significant differences may be due to random variation rather than a valid trend or demographic difference. These results are shown anyway since they still provide useful information on possible underlying trends. Any statistically insignificant results are marked with an asterisk. All other results can be assumed to be significant at the 5% level using at least one type of statistical test.

• When asked a free response question regarding the primary reason for not spaying/neutering their dog, the most common response was breeding followed by cost and concern that the procedure was "mutilation" (see table below).

• About a quarter (27%) of respondents who did not spay/neuter their animal reported that cost was a factor in their decision.

• Of those who reported that cost was a factor, about half would spay/neuter their dog at a cost of $45 dollars, and about four out of five would spay/neuter their dog at a cost of $20 (see figure below).

• Among people who did not spay/neuter their dog, cost was more likely to be a factor for those without a college degree (40%).

• Among respondents who did not spay/neuter their animal, female respondents (50%) were more likely to report that cost was a factor than males (13%).

• Cost was more likely to be a factor for younger respondents, with one third (33%) of respondents under 45 citing cost as their primary reason for not spay/neutering the animal, while this was never given as the primary reason by older respondents.

• Dwellers of single family home most frequently gave "breeding" as their primary reason for not spay/neutering their animal (43%), while those residing in multi-unit residences never gave breeding as their primary reason.

• The percentage of people who cited "breeding" as their primary reason for not spay/neutering their dog went up with the level of education, while those without any college were more likely to give "the dog does not go out" as their reason for not spay/neutering their animal (see figure below).

• Rural respondents (9%) were less likely than urban (43%) or suburban (46%) respondents to report cost as a factor in their decision not to spay/neuter their dog.

• Urban respondents were more likely to say that "concerns about mutilation" (29%) were the primary factor in their decision not to spay/neuter while they were less likely to report that "breeding" (14%)* or "wanting to have puppies"(0%)* were the primary factors in their decision (see figure below).

• In terms of family size, two thirds (67%) of people living along said that cost was a factor in their decision not to spay neuter, compared to 20% for two-person households, 23% for 3 or more person households.

• The frequency of breeding being cited as the primary reason for not spaying/neutering a dog went up as family size increased*.

• For higher income people, breeding was the most common primary reason cited for not spaying/neutering a dog while for low income people, cost, concerns about mutilation* and wanting puppies* were the most common primary reasons cited (see figure below).

• Not surprisingly, cost was more often cited as a factor for lower income people (57%) than for higher income people (9%).

• Of those who did not spay/neuter their dog, most 58% report that they were likely to change their decision if they had the option of a chemical spay/neuter process that involved an annual shot rather than surgery. (Note: Such an option is not yet publicly available but is currently in the experimental stage).

• Respondents who did not spay/neuter their animal were much less likely to license their dogs as required by New York State law. While most respondents over all reported licensing their dogs, only 14% of people who did not spay/neuter their dogs reported that they did license their dogs.

• People who did not spay/neuter their animal were more likely to be male than their counterparts who did spay/neuter their dog.

• People who did not spay/neuter their animal we more likely to hold lower levels of education relative to their counterparts who did spay/neuter their dog.

• People who did not spay/neuter their animal paid a lower average price for their dog relative to their counterparts who did spay/neuter their dog.

• People who did not spay/neuter their animal were more likely to live in a single-family home than their counterparts who did spay/neuter their dog.

• The best predictors of which dog guardians will leave their dogs unfixed were sex and education level in that order. In fact, 92% of respondents who did not fix their dogs were male or did not have a bachelor’s degree (compared to 75% of the total population of respondents).

• When additional background information was included in the survey that stressed the important link between spaying/neutering dogs and euthanasia at shelters, respondents did show significantly higher willingness to consider spaying/neutering their animal in the future (see table below).

* Result reported but not significant at the 5% level.