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Neutering Your Dog

What Is Neutering?

Neutering in male dogs is known as castration.

Neutering in female dogs is known as spaying.

Neutering is a routine procedure that involves removing your dog’s sex organs to prevent unwanted pregnancies, pregnancy-related illnesses, and conditions such as testicular, ovarian, and mammary cancers.

The male procedure is called castration, and the female procedure is called spaying.

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What Are The Benefits Of Neutering Your Dog?

OVERALL

Neutered dogs have fewer medical problems, live longer on average, don’t add to the pet overpopulation problem, and make more loving and rewarding pets.

MALE

  • Population control, by preventing him from breeding with females.
  • Prevention of diseases, such as testicular cancer.
  • Reduction of unwanted behaviour, such as indoor urine marking.
  • Retained testicles (cryptorchidism). Sometimes a dog’s testes don’t make it to their intended position within the scrotum, and there’s evidence to show that they’re at higher risk of developing tumours.

FEMALE

  • Spayed females (before first season) are over 100 times less likely to develop mammary tumours.
  • Exercise off the lead in safety, whereas an unneutered dog in season will attract male dogs in the area. This can result in mis-mating & fights.
  • Spayed females are healthier and will have fewer problems such as life-threatening infections of the womb, false pregnancies, & mammary tumours.
  • She will no longer come into the season.
  • Removing your dog’s ovaries means she will never develop ovarian cancer.

When Should I Neuter My Dog?

Most dogs can be neutered at around 6 months old.

It’s important to discuss the timing with your vet because it should always be based on the following:

Breed/size
Behaviour
Weight
Other health conditions

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What Is The Difference In Procedures?

CASTRATION

Castration is the surgical removal of the testicles and is carried out in a minor operation under a general anaesthetic.

Usually, a dog is admitted to the clinic in the morning and collected later the same day.

He may have several dissolvable stitches, which will be dissolved in 3-6 months.

SPAYING

Spaying is the surgical removal of the ovaries and uterus, commonly referred to as “neutering”.

Performed as a routine operation under general anaesthesia, the patient is usually admitted in the morning and is collected later the same day.

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Post Operative Care & Recovery

There are several things you can do to speed up the recovery process.

REST

After the surgery, your dog may still be a bit wobbly from the anaesthesia if you pick them up the same day.

They may be uncoordinated for the first few hours and appear “drunk.” Keep them safe in a small room and keep a close eye on them.

No stairs and no jumping!

MONITOR

Monitor the incision site.

To prevent licking and/or chewing at her incision site, it will be necessary to place a buster collar until the wound is healed. These are available from us at no extra cost.

Medical pet shirts are also available if this is preferred at an added cost.

WATCH

A little bit of blood may seep through the stitches. If it is just a few drops, keep an eye on it and make sure the bleeding stops within a minute or two.

If there is blood oozing out of the incision site that will not clot, come and see us immediately. They may have a bleeding disorder.

PREVENT

Opened stitches should be treated with urgency.

Some dogs may need to go under again to get the area stitched back up. Keep a close eye on your dog for the first few days and keep them quiet; a crate can be helpful.

FAQ’S

What Are The Risks?

Every surgical procedure carries the risk of infection (approximately 10%), for which your animal would need to receive antibiotics. Bleeding and injury to the surrounding structures are luckily rare.

General anaesthetic carries a higher risk of complications for small pets (like rabbits) and also older animals or cats and dogs with long-term conditions (diabetes, obesity, etc). Luckily, serious complications are rare.

Since complications happen even in the best of surgical hands they are not regarded as avoidable events or negligence and treatment for them is charged to the client.

If you have any other questions, our vets and nurses are always happy to elaborate on the procedure in order to ensure you make the best and most informed decision possible for your pet!

Does my dog need to have a season or litter before she is spayed?

Allowing a female dog to produce a litter does not have any benefits. Animals who go through heat cycles and pregnancy are at higher risk for uterine and mammary problems, including mammary cancer, which can be fatal.

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