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Dog Owner's Manual › Chapter 7: Dog Growth & Development › Spaying and Neutering Your Dog ›Spaying and Neutering Your Dog
It is the duty of every responsible pet owner to have his or her canine spayed or neutered. Unwanted litters contribute to a vast oversupply of dogs in the United States. Unless you plan to breed your dog (which is not recommended, except in the case of highly valued purebred models), it should be sterilized before reaching sexual maturity. For males this is called neutering (removal of the testicles); for females, spaying (removal of the ovaries and uterus). Neutered males are generally less aggressive, less prone to roam, and less excitable than their unaltered peers. They also suffer from fewer health problems such as prostate troubles and testicular cancer. Likewise, females spayed before puberty have their chances of contracting mammary cancer (an extremely common malady) reduced to near zero. Also, the danger of ovarian cysts, uterine infections, and cancers of the reproductive tract (all very common malfunctions) are eliminated. Neutered and spayed dogs tend to gain weight more easily, but this can be countered by feeding 10 to 20 percent less food and increasing exercise. In most cases, neutering and spaying can be performed at any time past the age of 16 weeks. Chapter 7: Dog Growth & Development
Comments for This Page (12) | Post a CommentFemales should not be spayed before their first heat. Reason - their immune system is not fully developed and they will develop health problems when they're older. Also their physical appearance, in some, may not develop to fully look like the breed they are, they will have somewhat rounded features. And, the younger the dog, male or female, and especially smaller dogs may not tolerate or come through the anesthesia. Do NOT let vets tell you otherwise; they can wait for their money until the time comes. Oh, waiting until after a female's second heat or more, will make little difference as to their health status later in life, but it will make a big difference if done before their first heat. Two to three months after heat is okay; but never spayed during heat, too much of a chance for hemorrhaging and death. Vets should know better. i think iw will not spay my dog.even though she can have mamary cancer or tumors,there are still many diseases that my dog can encounter.for female spayed dogs: osteosarcoma,hemangiosarcoma,hormone-responsive alopecia , urinary incontinence,hypothyroidism,Stump pyometra. for male neutered dogs: osteosarcoma,hemangiosarcoma,hormone-responsive alopecia, prostate cancer,severe geriatric cognitive impairment. My dog is getting done wether or not he likes it. He has the right idea when it somes to his lady friends. For those who do not want there dog desexed, do you realy want someone turning up at your door with a box of puppies saying that your dog contributed? It's happened to us before but with a cat. i had lost a previous maltese at the age 6 months before her first heat. If you have specially small dogs wait till there first heat. my pup was very healthy and i still had no answer why my pup passed away after the surgery three days later. This is just wrong. it is the duty of every responsible pet owner not to allow their dog to procreate recklessly. That means that your dog must be contained such that it remains on your property. It is possible if you are responsible and make the effort. The assertion that there is a vast oversupply or overpopulation of dogs is not true in all areas of the U.S. Many areas are importing dogs from other regions of the U.S. and from foreign countries to fill the demand. No dog should be neutered before full physical maturity which is approx. 1 year for small dogs and as much as 2 years for large and giant breeds. Recent research has shown that neutered males are not made less aggressive or less excitable. Females, on the other hand, may become more aggressive after neutering. The cancers that this article points to are very rare and can be treated if caught early. Bone cancer is a common killer in large breed dogs that have been neutered and is almost always painfully fatal in a short period of time. Neutered dogs also suffer from more joint injuries. There is a lot of good information out there so do your research before you have "that discussion" with your vet. I work at a low cost spay/ neuter clinic and i highly recommend that you get the surgery even if you think that there are too many risks the surgery really is in your pets best interest as well as other dogs in the world with less puppies because it gives older dogs a better chance to get adopted into a good caring home. Unless you are planning on breeding your dog of course. Even though I'm a Dobie/Shepherd mix and turning out to be big (80lbs at 11 months) I was a Jack Russell rescue. I was neutered at 10 weeks of age. I died on the surgery table and then resuscitated. Mommy was told that I can never have this anesthesia again or I will probably go into shock again. Mommy's dog Splash was a Samoyed. I never met him. He died 2 years before Mom adopted me. He was never neutered. His main cause of death was old age (15 very old for a Samoyed which usually live 11-12 years. He also had arthritis. His natural hormones likely helpled him to live longer. Splash had a heart attack at age 12 and lived 3 great more years w/o meds. I can tell I am different than the other boy dogs who lift they're legs on trees. It makes me feel weird and self conscious. I practice lifting my leg just to look like the other dogs when I am in the park. It's important to act strong and cool there. At home I squat because it feels normal to me. Sometimes I get sad looks on my face when I watch the normal boy dogs. I feel it is very irresponsible for the owner of this website to advise pet owners to castrate or perform a hysterectomy on four month old PUPPY. The issue is responsibility for your dog. If you are a responsible dog owner you're not going to get someone showing up at your door with a box of puppies that your dog sired. It's really quite simple. If your female dog is in heat you keep them in your home and on a leash when pottying (preferably in a fenced backyard.) If you have a male dog you don't let it run the neighborhood unattended. How difficult is that? Folks in Europe do not usually spay/neuter their dogs. They have a far SMALLER percentage of dogs being dropped off at their shelters. Perhaps it's due to the mindset that owners need to be responsible for their dogs rather than the mindset "I can't figure out how to watch my dog so I'll just have the vet remove its organs", I can't figure out how to train my dog so I'll drop it off at the shelter", "I didn't do my own research when buying a puppy and bought it from a non-health testing breeder; now the dog has hip dysplasia so I'll just euthanize it." etc. For those that do want to look at the health aspects of spay/neuter, this is an excellent research article: http://naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf Please go to Dr Larry Katz spay & neuter of dogs. Then decide. I took my 2 yr old dog to be neutered and the vet used a Bovine & Horse drug without my informed consent and my dog collasped and died within minutes. No surgery even occurred. It was not worth it. Before you sign and hand over your beloved dog to the veterinarian please read the wording on the waiver form entirely It states that there are risks and one of is DEATH. I am traumatized and every day I cry . My sweet dog MUTLEY is gone forever because of a clinic trying to cut costs, that my friend is substandard care. Oh did I mention that they were owned and operated by a rescue group? I was mislead by their advertisment ,no rescue group was mentioned. My dog lost his life and I am left to grieve . Just think before you sign and leave your dog. It happens and it could happen to you. I once believed in altering, no longer the trust is gone. Also visit Dr Andrew Jones Veterinary Secrets Reavealed. There is also a website called Stopbadvets please visit that one as well. Did you know that your beloved pet is considered mere PROPERTY without any real value. It is true, most states consider your pet to be just that. I just recieved papers from the vet 's attorney in my case, who was responsible for my dog's death and it states that my dog was just property and therefore not of any value. Please do not go into a veterinarian's office ever again before you do your homework. I do not feel that all vets deserve to be called bad but they do exist. I would not want anyone to feel the pain and heart break that I have endured. I only want to enlighen you to the true facts. Make your own decisions but do not think that is a duty to put our pets at RISK. It is an individual choice. You should not tell anyone that they have to or not. I am left severely traumatized from this. My heart is forever broken. I read the naiaonline.org research article and although I think the individual made a good attempt at compiling the information I do believe a number of complications were over or understated. In regard to the cons for males: Including the breeds that are over represented for many of the cancers mentioned (i.e. osteosarcoma), these cancers are not as common as stated in the article. Common would indicate these cancers are diagnosed in any breed of any sexual status at least on a monthly basis at the average vet clinic, not the case in real practice. In reference to cognition generally the older they get the more confused regardless of sexual status. Pros: Many male dogs get teste tumors, few die because thank goodness they are slow to grow and metastasize but that doesn't mean they won't if given enough time. Intact males get Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (80% according to the article). It is not rare to see complications if left untreated. Many of these dogs develop prostatitis (this can lead to blood in urine and/or dripping from penis, straining to defecate/urinate, general discomfort, etc). The only cure and prevention is removing testosterone i.e. neutering. To the girls, this is easier. It is common for your unspayed dog (at least 1 in 2) to develop mammary cancer and/or pyometra (her uterus fills up with pus and is likely to cause death through sepsis if not removed). With both pyometra and mammary cancer the more heat cycles she has the more the risk rises. There is a reason they had difficulty finding geriatric intact females for their cognitive study. You just read it. Regarding the other cancers, see the cons on the boy side. There is nothing wrong with waiting until 1 year of age with at risk breeds and slow maturing breeds (many large and giant). This way you reap the many benefits of spay/neuter and reduce the majority of risk. This article was 12 pages, I need another 12 to cover everything. The other stuff will have to wait another day. If you have questions talk to your vet. They can also put some of this in perspective. My aunt thought it better not to have her little girl spayed too. She contracted a uterine infection cause because dogs don't shed the lining of their uterus like a human does and it built up. She lost 12 lbs in a week and almost died before I could get her to the vet. The only way to fix the infection and save her life was to have her spayed which we thankfull got done on time. Had it gone any longer her kidneys and liver could have shut down from the toxins that they were absorbing from her uterus. I ask you do you really want something that scary to happen with your precious little one? Post a Comment for This Page
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The Dog Owner's Manual is a basic guide to dog care.
I dont believe that fixed dogs gain weight more easily, I believe they are less likely to be as active after puppyhood. Any pet owner should take it upon themselves to know what ideal weight it for their pets and maintain it regardless of energy level and age.