Dog Service Network, LLC » Neutering / Spaying

Male Dog Neutering And Female Dog Spaying: When Should It Be Done?

Dog Service Network — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:43:59 +0000

In this article, “Male-Dog Neutering And Female-Dog Spaying: When Should It Be Done?”, we look at the importance of spaying or neutering your dog as well as the benefits that such a procedure can have on your dog’s health (in addition to behavior).Every year thousands and thousands of cats and dogs are euthanized because they lack a home and family to adopt them. We humans are to blame for this situation. Every year the newspapers are full of articles submitted by the S.P.C.A. relating to the number of animals they have had to kill.

As responsible pet owners we have to make the decision whether or not we want to contribute to the problem or do our part to keep unwanted pets out of the shelters and off the streets. So when do we need to neuter or spay the animals? We need to decide by the time our pet is 6 to 8 months old whether or not to sterilize him/her.

Being a responsible breeder is no easy task and there is no profit to be made. Breeding is done strictly for the betterment and continuation of the breed. The costs of the stud service, the buying or making of a whelping box, the veterinarian bill for the care of the mother dog, possible fees for delivering the pups, puppy food, veterinarian checkups for the puppies, eye exams, worming, fees for docking of the tails, vaccinations, etc., etc., quickly eat up any profits to be made. Then there are the countless sleepless nights waiting for the moment of birth, worrying about the newborn puppies, the noise from yelping puppies keeping you awake. It’s simply a labor of love for a responsible breeder.

Whether or not you have a mixed breed or a purebred dog you need to take the precaution so that accidental breedings do not happen. If you have an unspayed female dog you dog will every 6 to 10 months go into heat that lasts about 3 weeks. A heat is also known as an oestrus period. During this time the female will have menses or a period, where she will secrete blood from her vagina. This is a messy situation for a house pet. There are protective garments that may be purchased to contain the mess, but also help deter unwelcome entry from male dogs. Also during this time your dogs behaviour may change and she will be less obedient.

Unsterilized (un-neutered) male dogs can become aggressive and may show overt sexual behaviour when there are in-season females nearby. The male dogs will mark territory in the neighbourhood or in the home by urinating small amounts. Adolescence, is a trying period. Your male dog and you will likely have confrontations over whom is the alpha personality. Now is the time to remember, that you love your dog, but you are the master.

To spay a female dog, a veterinarian removes it’s uterus and ovaries. A male dog is neutered when the veterinarian removes the dog’s testicles. Both operations are usually safe and require one nights stay at the clinic.

The benefits to sterilizing your dog not only include unwanted off-spring, avoiding temperament problems, but also can benefit your dogs health. Having your pet sterilized will decrease the risk of developing tumors in the genital area. Males can develop problems with the prostate gland. Females can develop problems with the mammary glands. Consult your veterinarian before your pet becomes 6 months old. Take a trip to your local S.P.C.A. and take a look at all the homeless cats and dogs before you decide to leave your pet unsterilized.

Reprinted with permission by Terrie Simpson, www.k9klearup.com/19726. Terrie has been involved in the dog world for over 28 years and has achieved numerous awards with her Springer Spaniels in tracking and obedience. Over that time, she has amassed a good amount of knowledge about how to keep a dog healthy. She is now happy to give back by sharing her experience with other dog owners.

Get the best of the canine world right to your inbox – Signup today for the K9Kourier weekly newsletter at www.k9klearup.com/k9klearup/19726 and receive a FREE 41 minute MP3 download on “Natural Ways To Care For Your Canine”.

Spaying and Neutering

Dog Service Network — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 01:32:01 +0000

What Your Vet and the Rescue Centres May Not Tell You

Spaying and neutering can make for a better and more affectionate family pet. It is a medical fact that spaying and neutering can prolong the life of our pets and may reduce the number of health problems in later life. Females can benefit from spaying by reducing the incidence of uterine, mammary, and ovarian cancers. It can also reduce the incidence uterine infections such as Pyometria.

Neutering a male reduces the risk of prostate and testicular cancer. They are less likely to develop unwanted behaviour’s such as marking, sexual aggression, and mounting, they are also less likely to escape, roam, or fight with other dogs.

Some vets recommend that our dogs are spayed or neutered anywhere between 5 to 16 months. In America some are being done as early as 8 weeks and they routinely spay or neuter at between four and six months. Many of the Vets, Trainers and Behaviourists in both America and the UK are recommending this course of action, without understanding the numerous problems this advice will create.

Many rescue centre’s such as Battersea Dogs Home and the RSPCA/ASPCA often spay and neuter as a matter of course, whatever the age. I have some very serious reservations about this advice and practice.

There have been many scientific studies on the beneficial outcome of spaying and neutering especially on a physiological level, but none I can find on a psychological and behavioural level.

Whenever I book a behavioural appointment, I always ask a series of relevant questions. One of these questions is, “have you had your dog spayed or neutered” and make notes that if they have, then at what age?

I noted some six years ago, that the incidence of frustration, lack of attention, and puppy like behaviour, appeared to be far more prevalent in dogs that were neutered and spayed at a younger age, rather than those that were allowed to mature naturally before attempting this operation.

As behavioural consultants and obedience trainers, I find that we are treating many more cases where dogs are displaying (paedomorphic) tendencies. That is puppy like behaviour’s in adult dogs, which I believe is related to the incidence of early spaying and neutering.

I have also observed that bitches spayed too early may be far more interesting to intact males; unwanted male attention may cause the female to become aggressive and protective of this attention in adulthood.

I asked the members of PAACT “The Professional Association of Applied Canine Trainers” to start to monitor the dogs they were treating and to record the time they were spayed and neutered. Their feedback appeared to bear out my initial findings.

When should we spay and neuter?

With regard to neutering, I believe that males should not be castrated until they have been cocking their leg for at least one month, and should be at least 10 to 17 months of age (depending on size and breed). The larger the breed then the later they mature,. therefore something like a German Shepherd would be much later than the 10 months stated. Unless of course there are medical or serious behavioural issues to take into consideration.
In females, I believe that they should have at least one season; but preferably two, then wait approximately 3 months after the season before considering spaying.

It has also been observed that young female dogs that show aggressive tendencies towards owners, especially before the age of six months;
may demonstrate increased aggression after spaying. Spaying removes the production of progesterone, which is a natural calming hormone and a Serotonin uplifter. I would therefore take seriously into consideration, that spaying may escalate the aggressive behaviour.

Despite popular belief Spaying does not calm a female dog down. It may help to calm certain behaviour’s in males, but not in the female dogs. How can it, when you are removing calming hormones?

Many vets and rescue centres will neuter a male dog before they have cocked their leg. It is at this point dogs start to seriously mark territory. Not the half-hearted attempts we see in immature dogs. The immature castrated dog may squat for the remainder of its life, and may be more interesting to intact males.

There appears to be a testosterone surge at between 10 and 17 months, once again depending on breed and size, which clearly turns on a dormant hard-wired program that establishes this cocking behaviour.

Many of these hard-wired behaviour’s are not isolated to just one action, therefore other functions that are not so obvious may be switched on at this time. These may have social implications and behavioural effects that aid in the development of dogs psychological and physical growth. If we switch these off by neutering or spaying too early, we may be denying the opportunity achieve both mentally and physically the dog’s full adult potential.

Progesterone receptors are found in brain cells, in nerve sheaths and in bone cells, indicating that progesterone is involved in their function. It also appears to be involved in a range of other biological activities. Therefore spaying before both physical and psychological maturity may have numerous other long-term detrimental effects.

Many dogs that have been neutered early, appear to retain far more juvenile characteristics than those neutered when mature. In other words, they retain perpetual puppy like characteristics, whilst this may appear to be initially endearing, who would really want a dog that shows low concentration levels and frustrated puppy like behaviour for the remainder of its adult life?

Can it also cause physiological problems?

Because early neutering removes sex hormones, this delays maturation of “osteoclasts” resulting in the delayed closing of the growth plates of the long leg bones creating leggy taller than average dogs, thereby increasing the risk of some orthopaedic disorders such as cruciate ligament disease, and possibly bone cancer.

It was long believed that eunuchs (castrated humans) were castrated to stop them being interested is the ladies of the Harem. However they were also used as palace guards and therefore because of the castration and the affect on the “osteoclasts” these eunuch’s were appreciably taller making them more imposing as guards and soldiers.

It has been observed that Spaying can significantly increase the risk of urinary incontinence in bitches. Early neutering also increases risk of urethral sphincter incontinence in males (A. Aaron et al., Vet Rec. 139:542-6, 1996.)

In conclusion, I am all for spaying and neutering, but at the right time, thereby allowing your dogs to reach full maturity in both body and mind. I believe that a full psychological and physiological set of tests and experiments should be scientifically undertaken, to study the effect of early castration and spaying on all our animals, not just dogs and cats.

These findings though purely observational, have also been borne out by observation and experiences of behaviourists and trainers who are members of PAACT “The Professional Association of Applied Canine Trainers” An organisation dedicated to enhancing and bringing together the two main canine disciplines of obedience training and behavioural therapy. It is PAACT’s belief that to be able to work with dogs on a professional level, you need to be versed in both of these disciplines.

Article written by:

Stan Rawlinson Dip MTCBPT. MPAACT
Chairman and Founder Member
Professional Association of Applied Canine Trainers.

Contact details for PAACT
www.paact.co.uk
administrator@paact.co.uk
0208 979 2019

This article was written by Stan Rawlinson, a full time Dog Behaviourist and Obedience Trainer. You can visit his website at www.doglistener.co.uk for more articles and training information..

© Copyright: Stan Rawlinson (Doglistener) one of the leading Dog Behaviourists and Obedience Trainers in the UK. Who has owned and worked dogs for over 30 years, starting with Gundogs then moving on to the behavioural and obedience side of Pet Dogs. He now has a successful practice covering London, Surrey and Middlesex. Visit his Web Site for more information and details of his work. www.doglistener.co.uk

Benefits of Getting Dogs Neutered

Dog Service Network — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 04:28:40 +0000

Health Benefits of Neutering Your Dog:

Your dog won’t be prone to developing testicle / prostate cancer
Your dog will be at less risk of getting perineal hernias, and penile tumours
Won’t have hormone levels that get out of control

Behavior Benefits of Neutering Your Dog:

Decreased interest in marking their territory indoors and out
Less aggressive, because hormone levels are more in control
Acts calmer and will be less likely to wander away from home in search of mating

Source: “What Is Neutering and What Does It Do?”, About.com; Retrieved on December 6, 2008 from http://dogs.about.com/cs/disableddogs/p/neutering.htm

Top 10 Reasons To Spay or Neuter Your Pet

Dog Service Network — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 23:23:46 +0000

Your female dog or cat will live a longer, healthier life.
Spaying—the removal of the ovaries and uterus—is a veterinary procedure performed under general anesthesia that usually requires minimal hospitalization. Spaying a female cat or dog helps prevent pyometra (pus-filled uterus) and breast cancer. Treatment of pyometra requires hospitalization, intravenous fluids and antibiotics. Breast cancer can be fatal in about 50 percent of female dogs and in 90 percent of female cats. Spaying your pet before her first heat offers the best protection from these diseases.
There are major health benefits for your male animal companion, too. Besides preventing unwanted litters, neutering your male dog or cat—the surgical removal of the testicles—prevents testicular cancer, if done before six months of age.
Your spayed female won’t go into heat.
While cycles can vary greatly, female felines usually go into heat four to five days every three weeks during breeding season. In an effort to advertise for mates, they’ll yowl and urinate more frequently—sometimes all over the house. Unspayed female dogs generally have a bloody discharge for about a week, and can conceive for another week or so.
Your male dog won’t need to roam away from home…
An intact male in search of a mate will do just about anything to get one! That includes digging his way under the fence and making like Houdini to escape from the house. And once he’s free to roam, he risks injury in traffic and fights with other males.
…and he will be much better behaved to boot!
Neutered cats and dogs focus their attention on their human families. On the other hand, unneutered dogs and cats may mark their territory by spraying strong-smelling urine all over the house. Indoors, male dogs may embarrass you by mounting on furniture and human legs when stimulated. And FYI, a neutered dog protects his home and family just as well as unneutered dog–and many aggression problems can be avoided by early neutering.
Spaying or neutering will NOT make your pet fat.
It’s no use to use that old excuse! Lack of exercise and overfeeding will cause your pet to pack on the extra pounds—not neutering. Your pet will remain fit and trim as long as you continue to provide exercise and monitor food intake.
Spaying or neutering is highly cost-effective.
The cost of your pet’s spay or neuter surgery is a lot less than the cost of having and caring for a litter. It also beats the cost of treatment when your unneutered tom escapes and gets into fights with neighborhood strays…or the cost of cleaning the carpet that your unspayed female keeps mistaking for her litter box, or the cost of…well, you get the idea!
It’s good for the community.
Stray animals pose real problems in many parts of the country. They can prey on wildlife, cause vehicular accidents, damage the local fauna and scare children.
Your pet doesn’t need to have a litter for your children to witness the miracle of birth.
We’ve heard this one a lot. But you know what? Letting your pet produce offspring you have no intention of keeping teaches your children irresponsibility. Anyone who has seen an animal euthanized in a shelter for lack of a home knows the truth behind this dangerous myth. There are countless books and videos available to teach your children about birth in a responsible manner.
It packs a powerful punch in the fight against pet overpopulation. Millions of cats and dogs of all ages and breeds are euthanized annually or suffer as strays. These high numbers are the result of unwanted, unplanned litters that could have been prevented by spaying or neutering.

Where to get your pet spayed or neutered: Many states and counties have established low-cost spay/neuter programs that make surgery easily affordable. To find a low-cost program near you, search our Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Provider Database.

If you’re in New York City, call the Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital at (212) 876-7700, ext. 4200, to schedule spay or neuter surgery for your pet. The ASPCA mobile spay/neuter and vaccination clinic offers free or low-cost vaccinations and spay/neuter surgery for financially needy dog and cat owners with proof of public assistance. Please contact our hotline for a listing of dates and locations in all five boroughs at (212) 876-7700, ext. 4303.

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