Spay and Neuter
When and Why you should consider having this surgery performed?
Spay and neuter surgeries are the most common surgical procedures performed on pet dogs. There has always been controversy on the best timing of the procedure and should we be sterilizing our pets. Do we do it for population control, for behavioral problems or for the future health of our pets?
In this article I will go over some of the reasons why we spay and neuter and will briefly describe the surgical procedure. Hopefully this discussion will help pet owners come to the proper decision for their pets and family members.
TO SPAY an animal refers to the surgical removal of a FEMALE pet's ovaries and uterus.
The female dog is placed under general anesthesia and an incision is made on the pet's abdomen. The ovaries and the uterus are removed and all blood vessels are carefully ligated (tied off) and the incision is sutured. Traditionally, this surgery is routinely performed on puppies at approximately 6 months of age. This age was traditionally chosen so as to allow a puppy's bones to grow with the influence of estrogen but not allow a dog to go into their first heat cycle. Most dogs go into heat between 6 and 8 months of age.
When female dogs go into heat, they produce a bloody vaginal discharge that many clients find unsanitary in a household. During that first heat cycle, mammary glands begin to develop, and there is a correlation between the onset of mammary gland development and the risk of breast cancers later in life. If a dog never goes into heat and mammary glands do not develop, there is minimal risk for breast cancer.
Dogs that go through heat cycles during their life have a much higher risk of breast cancers and most will eventually develop uterine infections. On the flip side there have been some recent articles in veterinary literature that supports allowing dogs to experience heat cycles which may decrease the risk of other types of cancers, namely bone tumors. So this is a very controversial topic. The last and probably the most important reasoning for spay is to control the pet population. There are far too many homeless dogs in animal shelters across the country to allow uncontrolled breeding of dogs. We must be diligent in controlling the population.
TO NEUTER an animal refers to the surgical removal of a MALE pet's both testicles.
The male dog is placed under general anesthesia; an incision is made just in front of the scrotum. The testicles are removed by ligating the blood vessels and the incision is sutured closed. Traditionally this surgery is performed at 6 months of age. This age was chosen because certain behaviors, that most owners would like to control, begin to develop at around this age. As male dogs develop, certain behaviors begin to evolve that are related to hormones, namely marking tendencies, strong personality traits such as inter-dog aggression, resistance to training, and roaming. There are actually minimal health benefits to neutering a male dog. There has been no correlation between neutering and the incidence in prostate cancers in dogs. Certainly some dogs, who have not been neutered, could develop testicular cancers later in life and intact male dogs do have an increased risk for serious prostate infections. Again, the last and most important support of neutering a male dog is to control the pet population. A male dog has the ability to seek out female dogs in heat. They do this by sensing pheromones and have been known to travel miles, climb out of enclosures just to locate the dog in heat. This is a natural drive and therefore not something an animal can consciously control.
Over the last 10 years, shelters across the country have embarked on a mission to control the pet population. The shelter system is overrun with sad stories of pets with no homes. Adoptions have been down and the number of dogs has gone up. One of the tools they have been using is an early spay/neuter program. These programs have worked in many areas of the country to at least slow the expansion of the homeless pet population. In these programs, all pets at the shelter are spayed and neutered regardless of their age. Dogs are spayed and neutered as early as 6 weeks of age. There have been minimal health problems reported with these dogs. There have also been many low cost spay and neuter clinics set up to help people pay for their pets to be neutered.
The loss of sexual hormones in spayed and neutered pets will decrease a dog's metabolic rate. This means that many spayed and neutered dogs tend to gain some weight and can become obese. This is generally controlled by feeding them the proper amount of food based on the amount of activity the dog does during the day.
If owners do not opt to spay or neuter their pet, they must be responsible for their pets. They must NOT allow these pets to wander and they must protect their female dogs from other dogs during a heat cycle. The only dogs that should be allowed to breed are of exceptional quality (in their breed), and have perfect temperament and who's puppies go to responsible owners. Certainly un-spayed and un-neutered pets can be well maintained in a home environment. They do require more diligence to health checkups and more intensive training to teach dogs how to control their instinctual drive. As always, owners should have a frank discussion with their pet's veterinarian to discuss whether their pet should be spayed or neutered. These are big decisions to make and affect the longevity and future health status of their pets.
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Dr. Ellen Leonhardt
Animal General
East Norwich
(516) 624-7500
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