Find Out The Pros And Cons Of Neutering A Dog

There is great debate around the topic of neutering a dog. There are varied opinions on whether you should spay or neuter your dog there are also a lot of misconceptions around the topic. While some pet parents wonder if it is necessary, others think it will help their dog lead a healthy and long life. If you are thinking of getting your dog spayed or neutered or want to know more about the topic, Zigly is here with another blog, where we cover, in detail, the pros and cons of neutering a dog.

What is Neutering or Spaying All About?

Deciding on whether you want to go ahead with a procedure for your dog, it is extremely important to know what it is all about. There are terms like ‘sterilization’ which are often used to describe neutering and spaying. Sterilization signifies any number of methods or procedures for birth control. The pros and cons of neutering your dog come much later, we should, first, primarily, understand what neutering and spaying are.

• Neutering: Neutering is a medical procedure through which a male dog is ‘de-sexed'. This is done by the removal of their testicles or gonads.

• Spaying: The sterilization or medical birth control procedure in female dogs is known as spaying. When a dog is spayed, her uterus and ovaries are removed. It is also known as Ovariohysterectomy.

While medical language has designated the terms neutering and spaying, both the procedures for male and female dogs are generally known as neutering. It does not just imply the ‘de-sexing’ of male dogs, it can be used to refer to the sterilization of both male and female dogs.

Why Neuter Your Dog?

Before we move to the pros and cons of spaying a dog, let us look at why you should neuter your dog at all.

• Neutering your dog helps in controlling overpopulation in dogs. The population of dogs is ever-increasing, since many people, unfortunately, dump their dogs in shelters or leave them on the roads, neutering helps. This is because often when people adopt dogs they prefer them to be neutered.
• Decreases the chances of your dog developing any serious kind of illness or disease such as mammary cancer and ovarian cancer in female dogs and prostate problems, and testicular cancer in male dogs when they reach advanced age.

Pros and Cons of Neutering A Dog

Responsible pet parenting includes doing your homework well around any subject you are going to explore that concerns your dog. To make the decision easier for you mentioned below are the pros and cons of neutering:

Pros

• Helps your male dog to live a healthier life.
• Aids your female dog in having a prolonged and disease-free life.
• Neutering helps in improving behavioural problems in dogs. This is because hormonal imbalances stop after the medical procedure.
• A dog who is neutered has a very small likelihood of behaving in an aggressive or hostile manner.
• Behavioral problems such as territory marking and territorial aggression also decrease.
• A female neutered dog will not go into heat. Female dogs go into heat twice a year. During these cycles, they bleed a lot and also tend to urinate all over the house
• Helps save money. While the process costs money, you end up saving money since your dog does not fall prey to diseases at a later stage in life.

Cons of neutering a dog

• Neutered dogs are more prone to weight gain at an increased rate
• Increases the risk of Hypothyroidism. The dog may also become lethargic and start losing hair.
• May cause urinary incontinence in some dogs.
• Neutering done at an early age may cause hip dysplasia in dogs.
• There is no 100% guarantee that there will be a positive change in the dog's behavior.

Just like there are two sides to a coin, there are pros and cons of getting your dog neutered. However, that does not mean that you should abstain from getting it done. It is always beneficial to speak and consult with your vet who will guide you when it is the right time to get the neutering done. You can visit your nearest Zigly Experience Center and speak with our experienced vets to get their opinions and clear all your reservations about the process.

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