Why should you have your dog spayed or neutered?
Preventive care will be a very important part of caring for your new dog or puppy. This includes scheduling your companion animal for veterinary surgery to be spayed or neutered. This decision becomes especially important if you plan to walk your dog on a leash or keep them in your garden or backyard.
Having your dog fixed offers various advantages, such as improved health, better behavior, and potentially saving money.
What are the benefits of having your female dog spayed or your male dog neutered?
Here we discuss some of the benefits of having your dog fixed.
Spayed Female Dogs
Across the United States, animal shelters are filled with dogs. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) estimates that 3.3 million dogs are a part of the shelter system in America each year.
Health Benefits
Spaying your female dog before her first heat can reduce the risk of diseases such as uterine infections and breast tumors, which can lead to cancer. Heat is when they have entered the fertile part of their reproductive cycle.
Financial Benefits
Preventing the birth of unwanted puppies saves you money. Although there's a fee for spaying, it's much cheaper than the expenses involved in taking care of a pregnant dog, calling a vet for the birth of puppies, and caring for newborns.
Neutered Male Dogs
As with spaying female dogs, when you neuter your male dog you help to reduce the population of unwanted dogs in the United States.
Health Benefits
Neutering your dog has several benefits. It reduces the chance of them developing testicular cancer and lowers the risk of prostate diseases, which can be serious. Neutering also prevents unwanted behaviors and conditions such as perineal tumors and hernias.
Behavioral Benefits
Neutering can control your dog's urge to wander and potentially decrease behaviors like mounting and aggression toward other dogs.
Deciding Not to Have Your Dog Fixed
Deciding Not To Spay Your Female Dog
When female dogs are not spayed, they enter heat. During this period, male dogs can be attracted to your dog for up to 18 days. This may result in unwelcome encounters with male dogs during walks or in your yard, and it can also lead to an unintended litter of puppies.
Deciding Not To Neuter Your Male Dog
Unneutered male dogs often exhibit several undesirable behaviors. These can include displaying territorial behavior, being overly protective of toys and people, showing aggression towards other dogs, and roaming, especially when searching for female dogs.
At what age should you have your puppy fixed?
Puppies are usually spayed or neutered when they are between five and nine months old. Even adult dogs can undergo this procedure. It's best to consult your veterinarian to determine the appropriate time to get your dog spayed or neutered.
What should you expect from your dog's veterinary surgery in Yucaipa?
Your veterinarian will give you detailed instructions before your pet's surgery. These instructions will include guidelines for restricting your pet's food and water before the scheduled procedure.
Once the surgery is done, your vet will provide you with instructions to help your dog recover comfortably. Depending on the timing of the procedure, your dog may also receive pain medication to take home.
In general, female dogs take longer to recover from spaying compared to male dogs after neutering. After a female dog is spayed, she cannot have puppies as she becomes sterile.
Please keep in mind that male dogs are not immediately sterile after neutering. It can take up to 6 weeks for them to be considered safely sterile.
Note: The advice provided in this post is intended for informational purposes and does not constitute medical advice regarding pets. For an accurate diagnosis of your pet's condition, please make an appointment with your vet.