Spaying and neutering is the best way to effect pet population control. As most people know, there are far more dogs and cats in the United States than there are people to care for them. Many languish in shelters waiting for adoption. Many more than we would like to think are euthanized.
Besides pet population control, what benefits are there to spaying and neutering?
Spaying:
- Prevent Pyometra: Whenever a female dog goes through a “heat cycle”, her reproductive apparatus functions as though the she is pregnant even if she was never exposed to a male dog. This “false pregnancy” lasts for 60 of the normal 63 days of gestation. During that time, the uterine wall secretes much nutritious material to support the developing embryos for the 2 weeks it takes for the placentas to form. During this time, bacteria, that gain access to the uterus while it is open to accept the fertilizing components from the male, will start an infection in the uterus that the dog must fight. When the dog is young, this happens routinely and without incident. As the female ages, this infection is harder and harder to clear. These dogs ultimately develop a uterine infection (called a pyometra) that leads to life threatening “toxic shock”. This is a medical/surgical emergency, and should be avoided.
- Prevent Mammary Gland Cancer: Also, during the 60 days of “false pregnancy”, the mammary glands become enlarged to support the puppies. This happens even though there are no puppies. This happens 2 times per year, and after about 5 or 6 years, most female dogs have developed mammary gland tumors (cancer). Just like breast cancer in women, these tumors are locally aggressive and often move around the body (metastasize).
- Spay at 6 months of age. We recommend that female dogs which are not intended for breeding be spayed at 6 months of age. If spayed then, the probability of mammary gland cancer is virtually zero.
- Purebred dogs that are intended to be used for breeding purposes should be spayed at 4 or 5 years of age to prevent the occurrence of mammary gland cancer and pyometra.
Neutering:
- Prevent Deadly Diseases: Male dogs suffer from the same diseases of the reproductive apparatus as men.
- Testicular Cancer
- Prostate Cancer
- Prostate infections
- Prostate hypertrophy (enlargement or BPH)
- All of the above can and sometimes do lead to death. All of the above cause suffering in the pet and are expensive to treat.
- Decrease injuries due to dog fights and being hit by cars: Besides the above medical problems that in tact male dogs can develop, behavioral issues can be an even bigger problem. Male dogs can smell a female in heat for over a mile on a calm day and several miles on a breezy day. Given the opportunity, many will run (literally) to that female in heat. On the way they are frequently hit by cars/trucks. If that doesn’t occur, when the dog gets there there are likely some other dogs who have done the same thing and a dog fight ensues. This sometimes causes more severe injuries to the dog than being struck by a vehicle.
- Neutered dogs are still protective. Neutered male dogs will still guard your house, your yard, your car/truck, your spouse, your kids, etc. They will not however think that they have to be in charge of all dogs they see. Therefore they are in less fights. Dog fights lead to severe injuries which cause much suffering and are expensive to treat.
- Neuter male dogs at 6 months of age. We recommend that all male dogs not specifically meant for breeding be neutered at 6 months of age.
Spaying and Neutering:
Spaying and Neutering are major surgeries. Pets must have general anesthesia. These surgeries are performed in an operating room using sterile technique. The patients are prepared for surgery by starting an intravenous catheter and pre-medicating with pain medications and drugs which calm the pet and relieve anxiety. Anesthesia is induced using a variety of short acting intravenous drugs that are selected based on the patient’s medical history, physical exam, and pre anesthetic blood work. Once anesthetized, patients are monitored in real time for: Blood oxygen level, ECG, Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate, Body Temperature. This is done by a technician who takes responsibility for your pet from the time it arrives at the clinic until it is discharged. Spays and neuters are billed at a rate which is significantly less than normal rates for anesthesia and surgery. The cost is kept down to encourage that these procedures be done. Spays and neuters are only scheduled by the doctor who has examined the pet and discussed the procedure with the client. The cost of the procedure is based on the size, age, and health of the pet.
Low Cost Spays and Neuters:
Low cost spays and neuters are provided at this clinic in support of local adoption agencies. These agencies sell coupons for these procedures to pet owners. The amount of these coupons is significantly less than the cost of doing the procedure. For this reason, we do these on a limited basis: We offer to do these for individuals who otherwise cannot afford these services at their regular price. We do these procedures on certain days based on our surgery schedule. If you otherwise cannot afford these services, we will be glad to examine your pet at no cost to you and based on physical exam, schedule the procedure for a day when we can do those procedures.