Each year, more than one million dogs and cats are euthanized in the United States. These numbers include more than 100,000 in Texas alone, making it one of the most kill-friendly states in the country. The saddest part of all is that these deaths are mostly preventable.
By spaying or neutering your dog, you can avoid accidental pregnancies resulting in up to 10 or more newborn puppies that you can’t find a home for. These types of situations are the most common cause of dogs getting sent to rescue shelters and dog pounds where they are then in jeopardy of being euthanized.
- What Does It Mean to Spay or Neuter a Dog?
- What are the Benefits of Getting Your Dog Spayed or Neutered?
- What Happens if You Don’t Spay a Female Dog?
- What are the Risks of Spaying or Neutering?
- When is the Best Time to Spay or Neuter?
- Conclusion
What Does It Mean to Spay or Neuter a Dog?
The act of spaying or neutering a dog means that you’re “fixing” them, or taking away their ability to reproduce. It’s the dog equivalent of a hysterectomy or a vasectomy. For female dogs, you refer to the procedure as spaying, and it involves removing their reproductive organs. For males, you refer to the procedure as neutering, and it involves removing the testicles.
While this might sound inhumane, it’s actually just the opposite. Dogs are put to sleep before the procedure with anesthesia and won’t feel a thing. When they wake up, there are pain medications and treatments you can administer to your pet to ease their discomfort. Additionally, there are way more advantages to spaying or neutering your dog than to not doing so.
What are the Benefits of Getting Your Dog Spayed or Neutered?
Medical Benefits
Medically speaking, female dogs who get spayed are much less likely to experience uterine infections or breast tumors. In dogs, breast tumors have a fifty-fifty chance of being cancerous. Spaying to prevent these issues is especially useful when you do it before their first heat.
Neutering isn’t quite as beneficial for male dogs, but there are certainly some benefits. It eliminates the chance of testicular cancer, which is extremely common in older dogs. Neutering also reduces the risk of prostate problems, which are also prevalent as your dog ages.
Behavioral Benefits
Spaying your female dog will help their hormones level out, resulting in a more mellow and well-behaved dog. In most cases, spayed females listen better and are easier to train than their unspayed counterparts.
Because neutering a male dog doesn’t have that many medical benefits, the main reason you should consider it is because of the behavioral benefits. Male dogs that are neutered are much less likely to wander away from home because they won’t go off in search of females in heat. It’s important to understand that male dogs have one thing on their mind when a nearby female goes into heat. They’ll run across highways, dig under fences, and do whatever they need to do to “hook up” with a female dog.
Additionally, male dogs that are neutered tend to be less territorial and aggressive. They’ll behave better at dog parks and will be less likely to mount other dogs or get into territorial disputes with them.
Financial Benefits
When you consider that the alternative to spaying or neutering your dog is probably going to be a litter of puppies, a simple medical operation is much cheaper. Caring for a litter of puppies is expensive when you factor in food, vet bills, vaccinations, and everything else involved.
Life-Saving Benefits
While there are medical, behavioral, and financial benefits to spaying or neutering your dog, the biggest reason is so that you can have a clear conscience. When your dog’s pregnancy reaches full term and you’re faced with the fact that you can’t take care of 5 to 12 puppies, you’ll be tempted to take them to a rescue shelter.
When you do that, there’s a high possibility that these puppies will never find a loving home. Instead, they’ll be euthanized because the shelter simply doesn’t have the space or resources to take care of them. Even if the puppies aren’t euthanized, it’s highly likely that a similar fate will befall older members of the shelter to make room for the newcomers. Either way, you’ll have the blood of innocent dogs on your hands.
What Happens if You Don’t Spay a Female Dog?
In general, it’s more important to spay female dogs than it is to neuter male dogs. After all, the females are the ones that will have the puppies. They’re also the ones that are at a higher risk for developing medical problems. The most likely medical culprit that attacks unspayed female dogs is a uterine infection known as pyometra.
Pyometra is a fairly common condition in unspayed female dogs. It’s a condition that almost always requires emergency surgery to remove the reproductive organs. If you leave your dog untreated and they have pyometra, the infection will spread to the bloodstream and eventually result in the death of your pet.
What are the Risks of Spaying or Neutering?
While it’s almost always more medically and behaviorally beneficial to spay or neuter your dog, there are a few potential downsides.
Spaying and neutering remove certain hormones from your dog and could cause urinary incontinence and certain types of cancer.
While spaying and neutering can make your dog more prone to incontinence and certain types of cancer, they’re prone to these conditions anyways. There are many more downsides to not spaying or neutering than there are to performing the procedure.
When is the Best Time to Spay or Neuter?
The best time to spay or neuter your dog is when they are still in the puppy stage. Traditionally, dogs get spayed or neutered when they are in the six to nine-month-old range. However, you can spay or neuter your pet as soon as they are eight weeks old and it’s beneficial to do so. If you adopt an adult dog, you can spay or neuter them at any age.
It’s always a good idea to consult your vet before spaying or neutering your dog. They might recommend a different age based on the breed or size of your dog.
Conclusion
While there are still some who consider spaying and neutering to be inhumane, it’s actually one of the kindest things you can do for your pet. As long as you aren’t planning to raise puppies, performing this common procedure is a very wise investment. In almost all cases, it will result in a healthier, happier, and better-behaved dog.
Most importantly of all, however, spaying or neutering your dog will result in fewer euthanized animals in Texas. GoodCharlie Energy has the goal of turning Texas into a no-kill state, but we can’t do it alone. Making this dream come true will require everyone to do their part and understand the importance of spaying and neutering. Together, we can make Texas the best and safest state for a dog to live in!
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