Spaying and neutering helps with population control, behaviour, and reduced health risks for pets.
Neutering involves a surgical procedure to make your dog sterile, or unable to have or produce puppies. It is important for population control and it offers a number of other benefits as well.
In males, we remove the testicles through a small incision, just in front of the scrotum. This removes any sperm and dramatically decreases testosterone. In females, we usually remove both the ovaries and the uterus. A neutered (spayed) female no longer has cycles and cannot have puppies.
Population control. In females, if we spay them younger, it minimizes the chance of developing mammary tumours. Also in females, it eliminates the risk of pyometra, a life-threatening infection in their uterus, as they age. Neutered males virtually have no prostate issues in their senior years, will not wander after a female in heat and often, will decrease male aggression. It also results in the reduction or elimination of some behavioural issue like aggression and dominance, roaming, and urine-marking.
We recommend five months of age, or older. There are a few benefits to waiting for a few months past the six-month mark for specific breeds of dogs. Please feel free to ask us about this, there is always new research!
Surgery costs will vary based on your pet’s age and weight. Contact Park Road Veterinary Clinic and one of our team members would be happy to help get a customized quote together for you.
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