Many people still do not know what benefits or advantages sterilization can have on our pets. The fact is that there are many and the cons are very few.
If we look at the kennels and animal shelters, they always give us the animals for adoption already sterilized or neutered, since this prevents serious diseases and transmissions, as well as an improvement in the character and thus avoid overpopulation.
If you still have doubts about whether to neuter or not, take a look at this article on the advantages of neutering a dog and you'll see which is really what we should do as responsible for their he alth.
Neuter or Spay?
Below we will detail the characteristics of each process so that you can assess which one is best for your pet, both for its he alth and for the problems it could develop:
Castration
Castration is the surgical removal of the sexual organs, which causes hormonal processes to disappear and the character of the castrated individual does not suffer alterations, except in the case of being a very territorial dog becoming aggressive due to sexual dominance, then castration will make this behavior much reduced or even disappear. The females will no longer be in heat. In males this operation is called castration (remove the testicles), but in the case of females there are two ways to carry it out, if only the ovaries are removed we are facing an ovariectomy, on the other hand if the ovaries and the uterus are removed The operation is called an Ovariohysterectomy.
Sterilization
On the other hand we have sterilization, this operation is different from castration since in this case the sexual organs are not removed, even if reproduction is prevented animal In the case of males it is a vasectomy and in the case of females a tubal ligation. Carrying out this operation, the individual will continue with his sexual behaviour. In the case of very sexually dominant males, this dominance will not disappear and the females will continue to be in heat, this is due to the fact that the hormonal processes are not modified.
Both one operation and the other are light surgeries that favor the he alth of our pets, their behavior and prevent reproduction and therefore so it helps reduce the number of abandoned and homeless animals.
Even so, we must always keep in mind that it is an operation under general anesthesia, so it is vitally important that it be performed under the control and responsibility of a specialist veterinarian,in an appropriate operating room environment and with the appropriate materials.
In addition to being carried out in veterinary clinics and hospitals, there are protective entities that have the infrastructure and personnel really necessary for this, offering more affordable prices and even in campaigns it can be free.
Advantages and benefits of neutering your dog
Previously we have already mentioned some of the advantages, but below we are going to expose many more, both for your pet, for you and for the rest of the planet:
Advantages of neutering your dog
- It is proven that spayed or neutered animals live longer.
- It will reduce and even eliminate aggressive behaviors that can cause problems due to fights with other males or females.
- Many diseases are avoided, as it has also been proven that unneutered dogs run a high risk of contracting very serious diseases that can end in death.
- Some of the diseases that we will avoid will be those that can be derived from the process of pregnancy, childbirth and lactation, which can leave sequels and even lead to the death of our dog and/or our her puppies.
- For females, it is of enormous benefit to be spayed at an early age, since this greatly reduces the probability of breast, womb and ovarian cancer, including uterine infections. Even if it is not done at an early age, these risks are equally reduced, but the younger the dog, the more percentage we will reduce these risks.
- In males, castration reduces testicular and prostate cancer. The same thing happens as we have said with females, the younger they are, the more the risk is reduced.
- In females, psychological pregnancy is completely avoided, because when they suffer it they have a very bad time both physically and psychologically and it is a long process to solve.
- The behavior that occurs when females are in heat and have a strong instinct to reproduce is avoided, which leads them to run away from home to find a male and unfortunately often leads to their being lost and suffer accidents.
- In the same way we avoid in males this behavior that gives rise to their sexual conduct, because as soon as they detect a female in heat, the instinct will lead them to go look for her and therefore to run away from home, with the possibility of getting lost and having accidents. Also, a single male can impregnate several females in one day.
Advantages for you of neutering your pet
- Your pet will mark the territory much less and therefore will cease, or will do much less, to urinate in the house and in every corner.
- If you have a female dog, sterilizing her will improve hygiene in your home, since she will no longer stain the floor of the entire house with blood every time she is in heat, which is twice a year for quite a few days.
- It will improve behavioral problems such as aggressiveness.
- Your dog will get sick less, since the risk of contracting many diseases, especially cancer, is eliminated. You will notice this economically since you will go to the vet much less for these diseases, but above all you will enjoy a he althier, happier companion who will live longer by your side.
- You will avoid unwanted litters which, probably, you will not be able to take care of since a female dog can have litters of many puppies at the same time and twice a year, it is a matter of making numbers.
- You will avoid feeling bad and having problems due to the possible future that awaits the puppies that you give away for not being able to attend to them. What if later you find out that something unthinkable has happened to them? That will be, in part, your responsibility.
- We must think that it is an operation with a very low risk and that since we have our pet under general anesthesia we can take the opportunity to perform some other operation or treatment if necessary. For example, a mouth cleaning in case of having accumulated tartar since very serious problems can arise. Taking advantage of anesthesia is he althier for our friend and cheaper for us.
Advantages for society, living beings and our planet
- By spaying or neutering our dog or bitch we are preventing unwanted litters from being born and therefore those puppies from ending up on the street.
- You give an abandoned pet a chance to find a home.
- You avoid the unnecessary sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of puppies due to lack of homes and owners to take care of them. We must be aware that just a female dog and her first litter without spaying or neutering can procreate, for example in a period of 6 years, and bring 67,000 puppies into the world.
- Thanks to this, the saturation of the protectors and associations dedicated to caring for and finding a home for abandoned dogs is reduced. Most are exceeding their maximum capacity.
- Neutering is the only real way to reduce the number of abandoned pets.
- By reducing animals in the streets, we also reduce the risks that there are abandoned animals both for them and for the inhabitants of a population, since sometimes a stray animal defending its space or being frightened can defend and/or attack.
- The management of shelters, associations, municipal kennels and other similar entities, generates an enormous economic expense, sometimes private, but often it is public money. So by sterilizing our pets and therefore reducing overpopulation and avoiding the saturation of these entities, we help reduce economic spending.
- In this way we promote the right to live of all living beings, we teach it to people who decide to listen and learn, but above all we instill it in children.
Disadvantages of neutering your pet
In addition to all the advantages and benefits that we have seen before, there are also possible drawbacks of spaying or neutering of a dog. Obviously, some of them can occur but it is not very frequent since the operation is very simple and easy to recover. So, as long as everything is done under veterinary control and in optimal he alth and condition, there shouldn't be any of these potential problems:
- The operation is very simple, but as in any surgery something can be unexpected and get a bit complicated, so the process can take longer.
- Sometimes it takes longer for patients to fully wake up from anesthesia or sedation and feel well, so disorientation or vomiting may occur for a few minutes or hours after the procedure.
- If there is a bad postoperative period and the wound from this surgery does not heal properly, it can become infected and, therefore, we must treat this problem so that our dog's he alth does not worsen.
- In addition, sometimes dogs that are recovering from an intervention or if they are unwell because an infection has occurred after this surgery, can change their behavior and become somewhat surly and/or fearful due to the discomfort or pain they feel. But this is something temporary, until in a few days they feel better.
- If we neglect the fact that, after this intervention, our dog will have different nutritional needs and energy expenditure and we continue to offer him the same food and do not exercise him enough, it is likely that he will end up gaining weight.
- If a female dog is spayed before the age of 3 months, it is believed that there is a risk of developing urinary incontinence. Specifically, it is estimated that between 4-20% of female dogs undergoing this operation at too early an age may suffer from this problem. But, really, it is very unusual for a veterinarian to decide to sterilize a puppy so soon, since the safest and most common thing to do is to do it after 6 months of age.
Myths about spaying and neutering
There are many myths and false beliefs related to spaying and neutering our pets. Finally, here is a list of some of these outdated beliefs that have been dismissed by science:
- “My dog will get uncontrollably fat and lazy”
- “To be he althy for her, my dog must have a litter before she is neutered”
- “As my dog is a Pedigree breed he must continue with her offspring”
- “I want a puppy just like mine, so the only way is to breed him”
- “My dog is a male and it is not necessary to castrate them since I will not have the puppies”
- “If I castrate or sterilize my pet I deprive her of her sexuality”
- “Instead of neutering my pet, I will give him birth control medication”
Dismissing these false myths, do you dare to sterilize your pet? give him a full and happy life by your side, because realistically your dog doesn't need anything else.
