Reasons for Neutering Your Dog

[livingdustmops]

Looking at the Facts of Neutering Your Dog
Adapted From: Dog Health & Nutrition For Dummies

Every year in the U.S., millions of unwanted dogs — both mixed-breed and purebred — are put to death. The reason: supply and demand. More puppies are born than there are lifetime homes available. Some unwanted litters are produced by accident (many dog owners don't realize their dogs can start having puppies by 5 or 6 months of age); some litters are just the result of well-intentioned but misinformed people. A common reason given by the people who fall into the latter category is that they want their children to see the miracle of life in person, by allowing their dog to have a litter of pups. But what they may not think about ahead of time is the fact that the birth of puppies is not always a beautiful experience, especially if a puppy or the bitch dies in the process.

How your dog benefits
The only way to be sure your dog doesn't produce puppies is to get your female dog spayed or your male dog castrated. Intact male dogs and bitches in heat have an uncanny way of finding each other, and breeding can occur in a snap.

Spaying involves the removal of both the uterus and the ovaries. Castration refers to the removal of a male dog's testicles. The term neutering is a general term to describe either spaying or castration (but you may hear the terms neutering and castrating used to mean the same thing).


In addition to preventing unwanted puppies, neutering your dog has many benefits:

Female dogs who are spayed prior to their first heat cycle (which usually occurs between 6 and 9 months of age) have a significantly reduced chance of developing mammary (breast) cancer compared to dogs who have had even one heat cycle.
Spayed females can't develop pyometra, an infection of the uterus that can be quite severe and can even result in death.
Spayed females tend to have more even temperaments and do not go through the hormone-induced mood swings that intact bitches sometimes have.
Neutered dogs often are better behaved than their intact counterparts. Not only are they less likely to roam (visiting neighborhood females is a major reason for roaming), they are also less likely to mark their territory by urinating in the house (testosterone is one of the major drives for this dominance-related activity). In addition, neutered male dogs are much less likely to be aggressive toward other male dogs. These behavior benefits are particularly true if you castrate your dog between the ages of 9 and 12 months, before he becomes sexually mature and develops bad habits.
Neutering prevents the development of prostate problems often seen in older dogs.
A neutered dog won't develop testicular cancer, a common cancer of older, intact male dogs.
Male dogs who lift their legs to urinate don't leave urine burns in the middle of the lawn, because they usually urinate on trees, fence posts, and other vertical objects around the perimeter of the yard. If you prefer that your male dog lift his leg rather than squat to urinate, wait until this habit is well established before getting him neutered.

Many people think their dogs will get fat if they are spayed or castrated, but this isn't the case. Neutered dogs frequently don't need as much food as their intact compatriots, but there is a simple solution: Don't feed them as much.


Depending on your locale and the veterinarian you select, it costs between $50 and $120 to castrate a male dog and between $75 and $140 to spay a female dog. For people on public assistance or with lower incomes and for seniors on fixed incomes, spay/neuter clinics are held in most towns and cities. These usually are sponsored by animal shelters and veterinarians as part of their ongoing effort to control the local pet population. To find out when these clinics are held in your area, contact your local animal shelter.

The gory details
Neutering a male dog involves surgically removing the testicles with a relatively simple operation. When you make an appointment to have your dog castrated, your veterinarian will ask you not to give your dog any food or water after 8:00 the night before the surgery. (Keeping your dog from eating or drinking decreases the likelihood of the dog regurgitating during surgery.) The veterinarian will anesthetize the dog and make a tiny incision in the skin just in front of the testicles. The testicles are then slid up under the skin and removed through this little slit. The skin is sutured with three to five sutures. Your dog is then allowed to wake from the anesthesia and to rest overnight — either at the veterinarian's office or at your home — after the surgery.


Spaying a female is more involved than neutering a male, because it involves opening the abdomen. As with any general anesthetic, the veterinarian will ask you not to give your dog food or water after 8:00 the night before the surgery. After your dog is anesthetized, the veterinarian will make an incision in the center of her abdomen. He will find the uterus and ovaries and cut them out, first making sure that all the blood vessels are clamped off so they don't bleed. In a young dog, the blood vessels are tiny and are easy to clamp off. After a female has been through a heat cycle, however, the vessels are larger and require special attention so they don't bleed. This is why spaying a dog after her first heat is usually more expensive. If a bitch is pregnant, the vessels are very large and are full of blood to feed the growing puppies; therefore, some veterinarians refuse to spay a pregnant bitch (sometimes requested to prevent the birth of puppies) because of the danger of postoperative bleeding. After removing the uterus and ovaries, the veterinarian sutures the abdominal incision and the dog wakes up. She then may stay overnight at the clinic to make sure she rests and doesn't stress the incision in the early stages of healing.

For the first couple of days after surgery (whether for castration or spaying), your dog should rest and should only go outside to the bathroom. For the next week, mild exercise such as on-leash walking is all right. About ten days after surgery, the veterinarian will check to make sure the incision is healing properly and remove the sutures (or check on self-dissolving sutures).


http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/Dumm...e/id-1924.html

[txshopper73]

Thanks for posting this!

[tigerfan]

Thanks for posting this! Tiger is being neutered tomorrow and it was very helpful.

[livingdustmops]

Robin,

I know that you are a little worried but it is the best thing for your little one. My vet let me be in the room for this surgery for all of my rescues and it was amazing how fast it went. I hope they are checking his teeth at the same time so if any of his baby teeth are still in there they can remove them at the same time.

We will all be thinking of you.

[red98vett]

Thank You SO MUCH FOR Posting this - too often on this site I've been seeing posts by someone saying don't spay and neuter and it just sends the WRONG signals - this is so important for ALL pet parents -

Anyone who has a pet they plan to take in public should know this IS the way to go - It's not expensive and the surgery usually is just a day or 2 down time for your dog.....

and If they had questions ...I wish they could read about my neighbors UNspayed little terrior who was attacked and had puppies just recently - they didn't think it could happen - but it did.

livingdustmops is right - My Cheri went in at 7am and they were done & calling me by 9:30 am- the longest part was the wait to bring her home that day at 5. Which is a good thing because they watch them very closely after surgery

[rrosenberry]

Spay TODAY.. Save a life tomorrow!..
( Peta slogan, I can't take the credit)

[Yorkieluv]

Wow! This is a great post with lots of information!

[Zeus' Mom]

Thanks for posting! I couldn't agree more. My little Zeus went through this with flying colors and I am so happy with out decision to neuter him. Though he may beg to differ!

[JCarlson2004]

GOOD POST!