Is it important to spay or neuter your pet?

        

There are pros and cons to spaying or neutering your pet. Most would say that if you were against it, you were encouraging over-population. I've been told it would prolong your pet's life. For the last 12-15 years, I have been told to encourage early spays and neuters. However, I recently found that this should not always be the case.

Please understand that there can be issues with spaying or neutering early. It can end up causing endocrine issues if animals are de-sexed at an early age. Along with many other health issues.

Sometimes it takes an expert to shine some light on the situation. There are reasons to de-sex your pet of course. There should not be a cookie-cutter approach any longer with all pets.

Should you spay me?

We all have a responsibility to know what is right in each particular situation. It boils down to what we should prevent, what is appropriate, and the overall pet's well-being.


Our society's handling of pets has led to overpopulation. We do have responsibilities if we decide not to spay or neuter. A homeless pet in a shelter is much worse than a loved pet with endocrine disease or other health issues.

Waiting or even choosing not to spay or neuter can extend the life of your pet





There are less invasive techniques to sterilization compared to a full spay or neuter. Unfortunately, not many vets know how to perform these techniques. Many schools do not teach these new ways to spay or neuter. More people need to request less invasive techniques like tubes tied or vasectomies like humans.


The vet techs are taught to spay or neuter immediately. It is hard for clinics to know the responsibility of owners. Irresponsible pet owners that let out pets without supervision and without a leash can encourage overpopulation.


Some professionals agree that the way that a pet is sterilized is important to the overall health of the pet.


Some people think that neutering or spaying their indoor pets will remove an element of their character and is just an extra expense. If you cannot control your pet, you should not consider this and simply spay or neuter your pets.


We are conditioned to believe that keeping an intact pet is irresponsible. We still can take responsibility and it is a vicious cycle of people being irresponsible. We are removing the hormones of the animals and creating health problems.

Even experts are conditioned to believe that spaying or neutering is the best choice early on

One reason that females are frequently spayed is that if they are unspayed, they can get an infection in their uterus call pyometra. Pyometra can occur when a female dog is young but usually occurs in middle age to older females.


Pyometra is scary because dogs frequently do not show signs until its almost too late. Spaying prevents this problem and may save a dog's life. It is good to wait for several years to spay.





A friend of mine was grooming a client's dog and noticed that she did not seem herself. She said her little belly was warm and sensed something was off. The pet parent was not aware at all that their dog was sick.


The dog had late states of Pyometra! My friend notified the dog's parents and the dog was taken into emergency vet care and her life was saved by spaying her. The vet said she would have died and the uterus was very infected and swollen.

 

The dog can live longer now that she is spayed

Spaying and neutering can also prevent behavior issues. Spaying or neutering a dog as a puppy can prevent some behavior issues like aggression and attention issues.

Females also go into heat around once a year and sometimes more. They do actually bleed and will require a female dog diaper. Spaying prevents this and is a cleaner situation and is frequently done just out of convenience. Did you know that spaying could decrease your dog's lifespan?

There is still a benefit to spaying or neutering.  Consider your options and try for less invasive measures.

       Neutering can prevent male dogs from mounting or constant marking of territory. They will seek out females and it is difficult to keep them away from a female in a heat cycle. These are just a few behavior issues that can stem from natural hormones. However, these behaviors may be trained out and your dog may live longer.


One benefit that may occur because of spay or neuter is that many pets are euthanized every year because of behavior issues. Preventing unwanted pet pregnancies lessens the chance of homeless pets.


Many people will not tolerate this or even try to belly band their dog he is spraying. They will relinquish their pet. In some situations, if you do not have the patience. It is important to neuter.

 The bottom line- Spaying or neutering your pet can be important and can save lives. However, it can decrease the lifespan of a pet.  It can lead to health issues.

 Breeding a pet because they are cute and could have cute babies does not end up with ideal results. Spaying or neutering can prevent behavior problems or health issues. It can relieve anxiety-driven behaviors as well.  However, it can also cause health issues if done too young.  

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