Spaying Or Neutering Your Dog

Many animal shelters have instituted mandatory neutering policies in an attempt to reduce the staggering number of unwanted dogs.

However, compliance is difficult to ensure, even with financial incentives and inexpensive neutering clinics.

SPAYING YOUR DOG

Paired with the current practice among veterinarians to neuter at about 5-8 months, it is very difficult to ensure that animals that should not be bred don't breed.

Some animal shelters, in responding to these problems, are looking into early neuter programs. Under these programs, puppies and kittens are neutered before they leave the shelter.

Widespread adoption of early neuter programs by shelters should have a positive impact on the pet over population problem.

The advantages for responsible breeders are also obvious.

Pet-quality puppies can be neutered before they are sold. Assuring the breeder that there will be no further puppies out of those puppies.

Obviously a number of questions have been raised over the appropriate age for neutering animals and the safety of anesthetizing young puppies.

Some new data is now available that shows early neutering did not affect food intake or weight gain.

Early neutering did not result in inactivity or lethargy; in fact the neutered dogs were slightly more active than their sexually intact counterparts.

Early neutering contributed to a slightly higher growth rate Seven-week old puppies tolerated anesthesia well.

Spaying younger puppies was easier than spaying at the traditional age since there was less fat and less vascular (resulting in less blood loss), reducing surgery time.

Since there are important differences between neutering 7-week-old puppies and 7-month-old puppies, not every veterinarian can perform the early neutering surgery. The more extensive experience many vets have in neutering at the traditional age generally means they will not opt to change, thus for now it may be difficult to find vets experienced with early neutering.

"Neutering" can refer both to spaying bitches or castrating dogs. An "intact" bitch or dog is one that has not been neutered.

Practical reasons for keeping your dog intact:

* Conformation showing requires dogs and bitches to be intact. * Breeding stock (obviously) must remain intact

Practical reasons for neutering your dog:

* Not a show-quality or breeding-quality dog.

* It is a working dog (such as Seeing Eye or Guide dog) and must not be distracted by the opposite sex.

* Medical and health benefits.

* Its breeding days are over.

Spaying Or Neutering Your Dog

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SPAYING YOUR DOG