Spaying/Neutering Your Dog

Many veterinarians and adoption shelters often recommend spaying or neutering your pets from an early age, but what is all the hype about? Well, spaying/neutering your canine friend can actually result in a wide variety of benefits for them and yourself, as well. Before jumping into the many benefits of it, let’s quickly go over what this means: it is defined as ‘ surgical sterilization’ and, in the case of female dogs, they undergo a procedure in which their ovaries and uterus are removed (spaying); male dogs, on the other hand, have their testicles removed (neutering).

Amongst the many reasons why surgical sterilization for your pets is highly recommended stands atop the fact that you will be helping to control the vast pet homelessness crisis, which sadly leads to millions of euthanized pets per year in the United States alone. It’s quite hard to control your pet’s sexual needs unless they undergo this procedure, and when they don’t, they often find sneaky ways to reproduce that will lead to a litter of puppies.

Not only will spaying or neutering your dog prevent unplanned puppies, but it will also lead to various medical benefits for them. For starters, it highly reduces the risk of testicular cancer in male dogs and breast and uterine cancer or infections in female dogs. In addition, male dogs can get severe prostate infections if he is not neutered.

A spayed female will not go into ‘heat’ and leave unwanted bodily fluids throughout your house or backyard. Male dogs will also stop roaming around your neighborhood looking for female dogs if he is neutered, which will in return reduce the risk of him getting through traffic or getting harmed while out and about. Additionally, the American Society For The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, suggests that male dogs may be less territorial and neutering him can also potentially lead to less urinating as a territory mark. Lastly, male neutered dogs often times reduce the amount of humping other animals and inanimate objects as opposed to those who have not undergone the procedure.

Having your dog spayed or neutered can certainly be cost-effective as well, as it reduces the risks of many medical issues that would rank up in medical bills. While the recommended age to do the procedure is on puppies from six to nine months old, older dogs can also be neutered with very minor complication risks.


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