Castration is a surgical procedure that is performed on many companion animals as a prevention for the development of multiple pathologies, as well as to avoid and correct many behavior problems. However, this intervention usually creates a great debate among keepers regarding the benefits and complications that it can cause in their animals.
If you are wondering what are the complications of neutering a dog, on our site we want to explain the main benefits and possible complications of castration in male and female dogs so you can learn why there are different positions for and against this choice.
What is castration in dogs?
Castration consists of the removal of the dog's testicles or ovaries (and in some cases, also the uterus), unlike sterilization, in which the vas deferens or fallopian tubes are cut. In other words, castrating your dog permanently eliminates the gonads responsible for the production of the gametes necessary for reproduction (sperm or eggs) and the sex hormones that influence the metabolism and behavior of the animal, eliminating the production of testosterone in males and estrogen and progesterone in females.
This hormonal alteration often involves the reduction of sexually dysmorphic behaviors, that is, behaviors associated with each sex, such as marking urinates and mounts on males. Of course, this change occurs as long as the dog has not initiated this kind of behavior prior to castration (usually before puberty or the first copulation), otherwise, the learning carried out could maintain said behavior.
As you have seen, when neutering a dog both his he alth and his behavior are altered because behavior is highly influenced by hormones. This process is not exactly the same in females and males, for this reason, below you will see the main benefits if you are thinking of neutering your dog.
Benefits of neutering a male dog
By neutering a male dog, he permanently loses his ability to reproduce. In addition, this intervention allows:
- Avoid litters of unwanted puppies: Controls the population and therefore prevents even more dogs from ending up abandoned, abused and in kennels. Some people think that by having a male it is not necessary to castrate him for this reason, since it is the owner of the bitch who will take care of the pregnancy and future puppies. Now, we must not forget that, as caregivers, we are responsible for the behavior of our animals and for avoiding this kind of risk.
- Avoid escapes: It is common for unneutered dogs to escape looking for females, especially if they smell a bitch in heat in the area. Obviously, your dog roaming the street poses a great risk to his safety, as he could have an accident and/or get into trouble
- Reduce intrasexual aggressiveness (from male to male): if a dog has aggressiveness problems associated with competition with other males by a female, being motivated as a hormonal response drastically reduces this risk. However, we must avoid having false expectations that neutering a dog implies that he will stop being aggressive, since this behavioral problem is influenced by many environmental factors and by learning. Therefore, in most cases aggressiveness problems are not associated with sexuality.
- Prevent the development of various pathologies: castration serves as a prevention for the development of tumors in the testicles and reduces the risk of developing benign prostatic hypertrophy or hyperplasia, as long as the intervention is performed as soon as possible.
Benefits of neutering a bitch
Neutering a female dog also has a number of benefits, which are as follows:
- Avoid litters of unwanted puppies: Clearly, by losing her reproductive capacity there is no longer any chance of the bitch becoming pregnant. As we have already mentioned, this allows the control of unwanted litters, which, unfortunately, do not always find a family that loves them and treats them properly.
- Makes heat disappear: due to castration, bitches can no longer be in heat, which can be an advantage for those caregivers who are bothered by their bitch staining during this period. In addition, you will avoid attracting male dogs that come to smell your fertility status.
- Avoid pseudopregnancy: castration eliminates the risk of the bitch developing a psychological pregnancy, something that can cause serious long-term he alth problems. We explain it all to you in this other article on Psychological pregnancy in dogs.
- Prevent the development of various pathologies: castration in females is also a method of prevention for the development of mammary tumors (a very common in females). In addition, it helps prevent uterine infections if the uterus is removed during the procedure.
Complications of neutering a dog
In general, this type of surgery does not usually present complications because it is one of the most studied and safest. However, it is true that there are certain risks that can occur during and after surgery:
- Bruises, irritations and swelling: redness, swelling or marathons in the operated area is completely normal, so you should not worry, because as the wound heals it will disappear. Similarly, in neutered dogs it may appear that they still have testicles and swell, but the swelling will gradually subside over the next few days. It is therefore not a postoperative complication of neutering a dog, but it is important that you check the wound frequently to ensure that it evolves correctly and does not have secretionsIn the latter case, you should go to the vet.
- Vomiting and diarrhea: Due to general anesthesia, your dog will be slightly dizzy and his metabolism will be altered. This usually manifests itself with vomiting and diarrhea, so you will have to keep an eye on your dog. However, if this state lasts more than 48 hours after surgery, you should quickly go to the vet.
- Possible Remaining Ovarian Tissue: Some bitches sometimes have a physical constitution that makes it difficult to remove the entire ovaries. In these cases, there is the possibility that a little ovarian tissue may remain, which can be reactivated and become functional again, returning the female to heat even years after the operation. For details, see this article: "Can a spayed dog be in heat?"
- Risk of infection: The risk of your dog getting an internal infection is minimal. However, it is very important that you do not allow him to lick the wound, for this reason it is common to use an Elizabethan collar so that the wound cannot be reached. On the contrary, if your dog licks the wound, it could open and get infected.
- Poorly healed wound: Similarly, if your dog licks the wound there is a risk that it will not heal or not finish do it properly. In addition, you should not put any ointment on it that has not been prescribed by the veterinarian, as it can also seriously harm the healing process.
- Death: This is undoubtedly one of the risks that most owners fear when they think that they will have to subject their can to general anesthesia. However, it should be noted that multiple studies have shown that the mortality rate of this intervention is negligible, specifically 0.03% 1
Consequences of neutering a dog
Castration is a very common surgical procedure that has few complications, as we have seen in the previous section, and a very low mortality rate. For this reason, if you go to your trusted veterinary center you should not worry that anything bad could happen to your dog.
Now, castration does have subsequent effects associated with your dog's he alth that you should be aware of. The consequences of neutering a dog, which are not always negative, are as follows:
- Increased risk of obesity: there is a certain tendency in neutered dogs to gain weight more easily. However, it is a myth that all neutered dogs are obese, as this pathology is caused by excess food and lack of exercise, which means that the dog cannot burn these extra calories. For this reason, a dog is neutered or cannot be obese if his habits are not the most appropriate. See How to prevent obesity in dogs.
- Increased risk of urinary incontinence: In the case of females, unwanted urination can occur due to an imbalance caused by lack of estrogen in the blood. For this reason, this is one of the most common consequences of castration in dogs.
- Possibility of suffering from hypothyroidism: there is also an increased risk of developing this pathology, which can be correctly regulated with the appropriate medication.
- Increased aggressiveness in females: A female dog that has not been neutered maintains a balance between the level of male and female hormones. However, as a consequence of castration, the level of female hormones is decreased, so there is more testosterone. This can have repercussions, above all, in cases of females that previously presented aggressiveness problems, so that the behavior increases and worsens. For this reason, castration is contraindicated in females with aggressiveness problems.
- Possibility of bone fracture: When a dog that has not yet fully developed its bones is neutered, the possibility of bone fracture is increased. that these fracture in case of injury, as sex hormones influence bone development. This is one of the consequences of castration in dogs caused by malpractice, which is why it is so important to castrate the animal at the appropriate time and follow the advice of a trusted veterinarian. In this other article, we explain what the ideal age is: "What is the best age to neuter a dog?".
When do you notice the effects of neutering a dog?
There is no specific period of time when you start to see changes in your dog's behavior, since, to a large extent, depends on what age the intervention has been carried out For example, if you have neutered your male dog before he developed behaviors such as mounting or urine marking, he will hardly perform them because there will be no physiological response in the body for it. Conversely, a dog that has been neutered past puberty may already have learned these behaviors and maintain them (or take a long time to stop performing them), depending on how long he has been performing this behavior and, therefore,, has been consolidated as a habit.
What must be very clear is that the effects on behavior are not immediate, since there is generally a period of between four and six months to assess whether castration has really affected their behavior. Thus, the consequences of castration in dogs will not be seen in a short period of time.
