Spaying or neutering your dog
Thursday March 31st, 2011
Many people think of their dog as a member of their family, a companion and a friend. As you look at your wonderful friend, take a moment to think about the millions of dogs that animal shelters have to euthanize every year. You can do your part to curb the spiraling dog population by having your dog spayed or neutered.
Both male and female dogs are capable of reproducing between the ages of six to nine months.
Female dogs go through a heat cycle, called estrus, every six months. She will have proestrus, or a bleeding cycle, before her true heat cycle during which she is very receptive to the advances of male dogs. This heat cycle lasts for several days up to three or four weeks. Some female dogs will undergo personality changes during this time, the most common changes being anxiety and irritability.
Spaying, known technically as an ovariohysterectomy, is a surgery that removes your female dog's ovaries, fallopian tubes, and uterus. The procedure will completely eliminate all heat cycles for the rest of her life, as well as end the bleeding cycles and behavior problems.
Spaying your female dog also helps protect her from uterine infections and other diseases, as well as difficult or dangerous pregnancies. If your dog is spayed before her first heat cycle, her chances of developing mammary cancer later in life is greatly reduced.
Most male dogs are ready and willing to reproduce any time between six to 12 months of age. They can breed throughout the year or any time they find a receptive female. Male dogs can smell a female in heat from a great distance and think nothing of escaping the confines of their yard to track the female down. Since other male dogs are doing the same, the chances are good that he will wind up in a fight or possibly become the victim of a road accident. Male dogs will also mark their territory, by urinating on furniture, walls, shrubs, etc.
Surgical neutering of male dogs, which involves the removal of the testicles, known as an orchiectomy, eliminates reproductive behavior and reduces the desire to spray. Your boy will still have his own unique personality, but he will be less likely to roam and get into fights.
Humane Societies across the country are implementing mandatory spaying or neutering before someone is allowed to take their new dog home and the procedures are being done with great success on dogs as young as eight weeks old. You should talk to your veterinarian about the best time to neuter your dog.
Source: Adapted from the American Animal Hospital Association
Why spaying/neutering is important
March 31st, 2011
Many folks hesitate to spay or neuter their pet, fearing that it's painful and wondering what the actual benfits are. Here is a discussion of the procedure and why you should consider it for your dog....
Myths and facts about spaying and neutering
March 31st, 2011
MYTH: My dog will get fat and lazy. FACT: The only way your dog will get fat and lazy is if you do not provide enough exercise and feed him too much. MYTH: It's better for my dog to have one litter...
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My baby Duke is getting neutered today and I am very worried about him. I hate when he is in pain. over 1 year ago by Anonymous |
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UH Confused here got rescue dog was told shelter's vet sprayed her but she in heat Can a spayed dog go in heat? almost 2 years ago by Anonymous |
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How long after my dogs first heat should I wait before I spay her? about 2 years ago by Anonymous |
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Cleo my little dog is getting neutered today. All my dogs where fixed at 6 months as I do not what to add to the over crowding of the dog world. over 3 years ago by Anonymous |
Recent conversations on these topics
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help please!
i have a 5 year old male staffordshire bull terrier. he has not been neutered and up until recently we have never had a problem with other dogs. bitches he is fine with, but on two occasions he has shown dominance towards another dog with has led to him becoming aggressive towards them. we are responsible, we keep him on a lead and if need be let a fellow dog owner know he is not very good with them. however if another dog off leash approaches him he goes into fight mode and recently a stray akita ran towards him and my dog flipped it over and grabbed a mouth full of fur. my dog will not get the exercise he needs kept on a leash and i do not wish for him to wear a muzzle. will neutering my dog eliviate the problem? we do not stud him and we have only had him for 18 months but because his temperament has always been brilliant, especially with our children we never felt the need.
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Neuter
My dog is an Australian Shepard and Blue Heeler he is approx. 8 years old he is not neutered we had no problems until we moved to the country and there is all sorts of dogs running loose. Now my dog is acting like he wants to run with the dogs and whines all the time I thought it was because his brother passed away about a month ago but now I am thinking it is because he is not neutered. Can someone give me some insite on this? Will it be safe to have the surgery done with him being 8 Years old? I would call my vet but it is saturday night.
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My lil man after neutering
I had my male dog neutered about 2 wks ago. I also have a female who is in heat now. The male dog is acting 10 times worse than he ever has, not eating, and when he does, throwing it back up and whining all the time. Is there anything I can do? He is driving me nuts.
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Neutering my Cocker Spaniel
We have a wonderful, playful sweet Cocker Spaniel who will be three years old on St. Patricks Day. Around Thanksgiving we took him and our 11 year old Cocker to the groomer. That's when the problem began. Murphy, 11, is neutered and was crazy before he was. However, Riley was never agressive, peeing or humping until he came from the groomers. He was bothering Murphy for two weeks at which time we separated the two. Now Rileys at it again. I don't want to change his wonderful personality but I cannot put up with this behavior. Do you think he will change from his sweet playful self to a lazy, slow moving cocker, devil may care dog? We love both our dogs so much, but can't supervise this behavior all the time. Murphy has always been grumpy but Riley is the life of the party. Please help me !!!
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