Important Benefits of Having Your Dog Neutered

Spaying or neutering your dog is a very common practice in many places, and is considered a part of responsible dog ownership by many experts, assuming that you aren’t planning on breeding your dog.

Benefits of spaying and neutering

Females: There are significant benefits to spaying female dogs, especially before their first or second heat (oestrus) cycle. Aside from eliminating the risk of surprise or unwanted pregnancies, spayed dogs have significantly lower mammary cancer rates and the complete removal of the uterus eliminates the risk of a potentially life-threatening infection called pyometra as well as uterine cancers.

Animal shelters are overcrowded, and puppies from unplanned litters are most likely to end up in shelters. Given this, it seems best to leave breeding to responsible individuals who will make sure that the planned litter will have loving lifelong homes before they breed

Males: Male dogs benefit too! Age plays less of a factor with males, but neutered males are less likely to suffer from testicular or prostate diseases. Many intact male dogs show undesirable hormone-related behaviors such as roaming, which can be dangerous if they wander near roads or far from home in search of a female.

Changes after neutering

As you’ll find out from your vet, there are several changes that occur in a dog’s body once they are spayed or neutered. These changes may be more noticeable in males. Neutering won’t change your dog’s personality but it is likely to change sex hormone-driven behaviors . Many pet parents also report that their dogs are calmer after neutering.

Along with the above hormonal changes, changes in metabolism can also occur. A slower metabolism means that your dog can gain excess weight easily after neutering, making it important to pay special attention to his nutritional needs to ensure that he doesn’t become overweight. It is recommended that you switch to dog food that is appropriate for dogs with lower metabolism, like Science Diet^® Canine Light.