Spaying or Neutering Dogs

If you have owned an animal, or if you know anyone who has, chances are you have heard of the terms spay and neuter. Spaying is a term that describes the ovariohysterectomy, or the removal of the uterus and ovaries of a female dog. Neutering is a term that describes the castration, or the removal of the testicles of a male dog. Veterinarians perform these surgical procedures, which render dogs incapable of reproducing.

Over the past several decades, our veterinary team has successfully performed spay and neuter procedures on countless male and female dogs of all breeds and ages. While we do not consider spay and neuter procedures to be "routine" and all general anesthesia procedures have a risk of complications, spay and neuter procedures are considered safe and are strongly recommended by all major veterinary organizations including the ASPCA and the Animal Humane Society.

We believe in compassionate dog care and therefore are adamant about educating people on why spay and neuter procedures are integral for population control, and how they remove certain risk factors for cancers, and infections as your dog goes through its adult life.

A Responsible And Caring Spay And Neuter Clinic

For some people, the thought of their puppy undergoing a surgical procedure under anesthesia can be frightening. We understand that this can be scary for dog owners and want to assure you that the most capable and caring medical professionals are caring for your dog.

From the time your puppy enters our doors, it will be treated with compassion and concern for its comfort. Our nurses will treat your puppy as their own. All puppies will receive pain medications with the procedure. Our anesthesia and patient care protocols will be tailored to your puppy's breed and size. While your puppy is under anesthesia, our veterinary staff will administer intravenous fluids and monitor a number of vital signs including heart rythym, breathing patterns, blood pressure, oxygenation and anesthesia depth. Our skilled and experienced veterinarians perform these important surgical procedures.

Postoperative nursing care and pain management medications will be administered to your puppy to ensure that their recovery is painless and they remain closely monitored until we feel it is safe to send them home. Our veterinary staff will review postoperative instructions with you at that time and answer any additional question you might haver before bringing your puppy home to complete its recovery.

Reasons For Spaying And Neutering

There are many valid reasons to spay and neuter your dog. According to AmericanHumane.org, approximately 3.7 million animals are euthanized at shelters annually, due to the sheer fact that there are not enough willing adopters. The good news is the number of euthanized animal has dropped over the last several decades because of spay/neuter programs. However, we need to strive to continue to lower those numbers further by continued responsible pet ownership and spaying and neutuering. For any purebred dog owners who believe that purebred equals profit or desirability, please understand that approximately 25% of all shelter animals are purebred. Unfortunately, there are just not enough good homes for needy dogs, purebred or not.

Other reasons for spaying include reducing the chance of mammary cancer up to 100% and reduing the risk of pyometra, a swollen pus filled uterus requiring emergency surgery to save the dog's life. Other reasons for neutering are to reduce the risks of aggression and a tendency to run away, and to reduce the risk of prostate disease and perianal tumors. So the individual animal benefits from these procedures as well as future unwanted puppies and kittens.

Do I Have To Spay Or Neuter My Dog?

At this time, there are no states with compulsory spay and neuter laws. However, spay and neuter procedures will ensure that no unwanted puppies are produced. In addition, spaying and neutering will make it easier to train you puppy.

Over the years, many dog owners have come to us with misconceptions about the effects of spay and neuter procedures on dogs. While these misconceptions generally have no factual basis, a couple of them are prevalent enough that we would like to address them for you here:

Misconception #1: Spay and neuter procedures cause dogs to become overweight

It is true that spaying and neutering can lower metablolism slightly. Generally a slight (usually about a 10-15%) reduction in food volume paired with a healthy active lifestyle will easily keep your dog at its healthy weight. If you have questions about feeding after neutering, pease ask our doctors or staff for feeding and lifestyle strategies, including healthy treats, and exercise regimens. Keeping your dog fit is very much in the control of its owner.

Misconception #2: Spay and neuter procedures will cause severe changes in demeanor

Although aggressive tendencies in male dogs will be reduced through neutering, the fear that you will be getting back a dog with a significantly different personality after surgery is just not true. Recognized behavior changes that we do see usually relate to territorial aggression, urine marking, and sexual play behavior like mounting legs and improvement in female dogs who lose urinary house training while in heat.. The manner your dog interacts with you, alerts to strangers (barks at people approaching house), potentially guarding family and house, and playfulness stay the same. Most changes in those behaviors relate to maturing of dogs and show up equally in spayed/neutered and un-spayed un-neutered dogs

Neutering A Dog

The generally accepted age for neutering a dog is between 4-6 months. We recommend that you wait closer to 6 months.

Recently, clinical evidence has suggested that male dogs of certain large breeds may benefit from waiting to neuter until the dog has reached 10-11 months of age. There has been some evidence that this can reduce the risk of some types of cancer in certain large breeds, however there are a number of other factors such as aggressiveness, potty training and reproduction that must also be taken into consideration. While these updated guidelines have given us cause to extend the acceptable age for neutering some large breeds of dogs, the recommendation to eventually neuter the dog remain.

Neutering a dog consists of the following surgical steps:

Pre anesthetic exam
Pain medication is administered
Our veterinary team will induce your dog into a safe state of general anesthesia
The attending staff monitors vital signs including breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, state of anesthesia, oxygenation levels and body temperature
The surgeon makes a small incision in the front of the scrotum
Each testicle is removed and the blood supply and vas deferens (spermatic cord) are tied off
The veterinarian closes the incision with sutures either in or under the skin
Postoperative medications are given and postoperative care continues until your dog completely recovers from the anesthesia
We will keep your dog hospitalized until he completely recovers and is safe to send home with after care instructions

Home Care Instructions For Recovering From Neutering Procedures

Our veterinary staff will also provide post-operative instructions for you to follow at home. This home care includes a continuation of pain management to minimize post op discomfort. Some of the steps you can take at home to help facilitate a safe and comfortable recovery include:

Providing your dog with a quiet place to recover indoors and away from other animals
Preventing your dog from running and jumping for five to seven days following surgery
Preventing your dog from licking the incision site, which may cause infection, by monitoring your dog, utilizing his crate, and utilizing an elizabethan collar if licking can not be prevented otherwise
Avoiding bathing your dog for at least seven days after surgery
Checking the incision site daily to confirm proper healing
Looking for any redness, swelling or discharge at the surgery site, or if the incision is open, contacting your veterinarian. Some buising or redness and swelling will occur, but should not be painful to the touch, or swell more than1/2 an inch deep.
Call us if your dog is lethargic, has a decreased appetite, is vomiting, and has diarrhea, or if you have any other concerns following surgery

Spaying A Dog

The generally accepted age for spaying a dog is between 4-6 months. Spaying a dog once she is an adult is acceptable as well, although there's a slightly higher risk of postoperative complications in older dogs, as well as in dogs that are overweight or that have existing health problems. Therefore, spaying a dog when she is still a puppy is recommended in most cases.

Spaying a dog consists of the following surgical steps:

Pre anesthetic exam and pain medication are administered
Our veterinary team will induce your dog into a safe state of general anesthesia
The attending staff monitors breathing and heart rate blood pressure, anesthetic plane of anesthesia, oxygenation levels, and body temperature
The surgeon makes a small incision near the umbilicus on the abdomen
The ovaries and uterus are removed
The veterinarian closes the incision with surgical sutures either in or just below the skin.
Postoperative medications are given and postoperative care continues until your dog completely recovers from the anesthesia
We will keep your dog hospitalized until she completely recovers and is safe to send home with after care instructions

Home Care Instructions For Recovering From Spaying Procedures

Providing your dog with a quiet place to recover indoors and away from other animals
Preventing your dog from running and jumping for seven to ten days following surgery
Preventing your dog from licking the incision site, which may cause infection, by monitoring your dog, utilizing his crate, and utilizing an elizabethan collar if licking can not be prevented otherwise
Avoiding bathing your dog for at least ten days after surgery
Checking the incision site daily to confirm proper healing
Looking for any redness, swelling or discharge at the surgery site, or if the incision is open, contacting your veterinarian
Call us if your dog is lethargic, has a decreased appetite, is vomiting, and has diarrhea, or if you have any other concerns following surgery

Spaying the In Heat dog

Around 8-10 months of age most female dogs experience thier first heat cycle, when they are fertile and ready to be bred. The period of fertility and a period of hormone surges that mimic pregnancy (called false pregnancy) last 3 months. The female dogs can still be spayed during this time, however, their reproductive organs are experiencing increased blood flow and their blood may have slightly decreased clotting times. This can cause increased risks of minor and major bleeding during the surgery, require longer incisions and longer surgical time, require more suture be placed in their body, and require closer monitorring in the period of healing after surgery. We reccomend trying to spay either before or after this time in your young dog's life. If circumstance dictate the spay needs to be performed in this time period, please take extra measures for watching and controlling your puppies vigorous activity, and check with our staff about any extra concerns for care at home..

Make Your Appointment To Spay Or Neuter Your Dog Today

Scheduling an appointment with our veterinary team for spay and neuter procedures is as easy as picking up the phone, or sending us an email. Our experienced veterinary staff is here to help answer any questions or quell any concerns you might have, as well as to help schedule a surgical appointment for your canine companion at our spay and neuter clinic.