Responsible pet owners understand that spaying or neutering their dogs is important and has many medical and behavioral benefits. This surgical procedure prevents females from becoming pregnant and males from having too much testosterone. On top of that, the procedure can also prevent a few serious illnesses, which we’ll detail below.
In America, millions of homeless dogs populate and roam our neighborhoods. Sadly, countless of these adorable animals are euthanized due to overpopulation and lack of suitable homes every day. Let’s go over a few other reasons why spaying and neutering are important.
When Should it be Done?
Like humans, your dog’s body changes with age. Our pet doctors recommend spaying and neutering around six months of age. Their recovery time is shorter if they’re young.
Spaying
Spaying can prevent female dogs from experiencing serious health issues such as:
- Mammary Tumors (breast cancer)
- Ovarian Tumors
- Cervical Tumors
- Pyometra
- Perianal Fistulas
Treating these diseases can be costly, and watching your furry loved one experiencing them is heartbreaking. Avoid this by having your female dog spayed. Spaying also ends the estrus cycle, commonly known as being in “heat”, which can last two to four weeks or so.
Neutering
“Intact” (non-neutered) dogs tend to be more aggressive and dominating, unless these behaviors are learned or inherited. With so much built-up testosterone, your dog can also experience health problems. Testicular tumors occur in around 7% of intact males but are non-existent in neutered males. Other medical problems that intact males can face include:
- Perianal fistulas
- Prostate disorders
- Issues with urination or bowel movements
Again, these treatments can be costly and emotionally difficult to deal with.
Helping Your Community
An overpopulation of dogs can be hard to deal with. How often have you driven through your neighborhood or city and seen a few strays wandering here and there? Although dogs can be very lovable animals, cities and municipalities have to control their numbers in some way. Tragically, like we mentioned above, many caught strays are euthanized if they’re unable to find a home. By spaying or neutering your dog, you’ll not only be giving them a healthy future, you’ll also be doing your part in controlling the pet population!
Schedule an Appointment
Our veterinarians at Valley Animal Hospital are fully aware of the health benefits that spaying and neutering can bring. If you have a dog that you feel would benefit from this procedure, then bring them by for a physical! Valley Animal Hospital is conveniently located in Pharr, next door to McAllen and easily accessible by our neighbors in San Juan and Alamo. We treat all of our clients’ pets like they’re our own, so know that your pup will be well taken care of and loved by us!
Since non-neutered dogs can be more aggressive and dominant, you’d definitely want to do the procedure in order to calm them down and avoid other problems. This could help you be able to control your pet better so that they behave and don’t get into any fights or other problems. In order to keep them safe, you’d probably want to find a vet in your area so you can get the neutering done by a professional who is nearby, so you can get to them quickly and then be able to take your pet home quickly so they can be more comfortable.
Spaying and neutering is important for your pet dog as gives your pet dog a longer and healthier life, control the overpopulation of dog and also give a less stressful environment. Generally spaying is usually performed when your pet female dog is at the age of six months and it is the process of removing the reproductive organs including the ovaries, Fallopian tubes and uterus where as neutering is usually performed at the age of 8 weeks and 6 months and it is the process of removing the testes of your pet male dog and it is also known as castration.
My brother gave me a pug named Byron for my birthday last week, and I’m worried that he’ll be aggressive toward my neighbor’s female dogs. I’m glad you said that neutering can reduce a dog’s dominance and aggression. If Byron lives up to his namesake, he’ll be very dominant, so I should probably get him neutered.
Recently, my fiance and I bought a puppy that we named Boomer and we were wondering if we should get him neutered. We don’t want Boomer to be an aggressive dog or have any medical issues. It is probably a good idea for him to be neutered sometime in the near future.