When should I neuter my dog
Ask The Vet Home > Dogs > Dog Care > Neutering
It used to be that 5-6 months was the age when most dogs were neutered and in the ideal world, this would be a good time to perform neutering because the dog is not too young and also is just before 'puberty' in dogs where females will start to cycle and males start to exert typical 'male behavior' like roaming, aggression and wandering. This was fine for owners who would bring back puppies that had been adopted from shelters for their neutering operation. In reality, this didn't always happen and more often than not, owners 'forget' or opt to let their dog have 1 litter before the operation.
Shelters and humane organizations have enough on their hands and with the growing number of unwanted dogs that come to them are adamant that every dog that goes through the system should at the very least not be contributing to the problem. Hence they insist that all puppies and dogs are to be neutered BEFORE they leave for their new homes. This meant that puppies as young as 8 weeks were neutered.
Veterinarians prefer neutering young puppies because their reproductive organs are quite small at this stage and there is a reduced chance of bleeding and with youth on their side, they do seem to recuperate well.
The disadvantages of early neutering is that once neutered, you've removed their internal source of testosterone and estrogen. These hormones do seem to play some part in healthy development of puppies - there have been reports of medical problems later on in life with early neutering. Personally I would like to keep to the 5-6months neutering age as an ideal but I can see the point of view of animal shelters who promote early neutering.
Don't leave it too late to neuter your dog. It's near nigh impossible to ward off unwanted male dogs in the neighborhood if you've inadvertently left it too late and your female dog comes into heat. If she gets pregnant and you decide to neuter her then, there's an increased risk in bleeding and complications during the operation (which is also why it's usually more expensive).
Related Articles
|
Past dog health questions |
- Sign Up for Membership $19.95/month
- Ask the online vet a question $8.95/question
- Find answers to common pet health and behavior questions $3.95/article
- Read up on previous ask the vet pet health questions for just $3.95
Vet question of the day
Add to
Cat losing hair with itchy skin
About a month ago my female neutered Siamese mix cat lost all the shine in her coat of long hair, and refuses to come into the house, preferring to remain in the garage. She is shedding her hair and it comes out in big clumps. The skin on her back near her tail is flaking off, like large dandruff, and the hairs have tiny black things on them near the base. This area is very itchy and when it is touched, she goes into an involuntary biting spasm. She also has small scabs on her skin spread all over her body. - Click
here to read the answer
More
pet
health questions
Pet Care Articles and Pet Supplies Deals
| Dogs - dog care | 
Sign
up for the Ask the Vet newsletter
- Click
hereWe're in the news! Read full article here. |
