Does spay and neutering affect my dog’s personality? Myths debunked
By: Dr. Shelly Zacharias
Spay and neutering your dog is a really important part of being a responsible pet owner, and it’s one of the best decisions you can make for your pet. While there are numerous advantages to the surgery, there seem to be some rumors and misconception circling around that we’d like to debunk.
Myth: Spay and neutering isn’t healthy for my dog
Wrong! Spay and neutering is healthy for your dog, and we have the science to prove it. There have been countless studies done outlining the biological and physiological benefits of surgery. For one, dogs tend to live longer.
Females that aren’t spayed are prone to mammary cancer and pyometra, a uterine infection that can lead to emergency surgery or even death. For males, neutering the dog removes the chances of testicular cancer and controls prostate disease.
Myth: Spay or neutering will cause behavioral changes
I’m not sure where this myth started, but people still believe that when spaying and neutering your dog, females become lazy and males become less masculine.
That’s not true at all.
There are two things that affect a dog’s behavior — their genetic makeup and the environment they live in. These are the two main factors that affect our behavior as humans, and dogs are no different. Performing a surgery that is going to make them healthier isn’t going to change their hormones to such an extreme extent that it changes who they are as pets — only genetic and environmental factors can.
Myth: My dog is too old to be spayed or neutered
We see this one come up a lot. The truth is, if your dog is healthy they can never be too old to be spayed or neutered, because they still receive all the health benefits from the procedures.
Dogs of any age — young or old — must go through a physical exam and health check before they can undergo anesthesia or the surgery itself.
We’ve mentioned pyometra and mammary cancer before; any age of female dog can get pyometra and middle to older age dogs are more susceptible to cancer. Male dogs on the other hand can get tumors, the chances increasing with age.
The optimal age for surgery is dependent on breed, but veterinarians typically recommend getting females spayed before they have a heat cycle to help lessen the chance of mammary cancer.
A good frame of reference; start thinking about surgery at six months, which is typically average. In larger and giant breed dogs, such as Great Danes and St. Bernards, we recommend waiting longer so they’re fully developed past the puppy stage.
Myth: Spay and Neutering will make them gain weight
Your dog might gain weight, but they’re not gaining it due to surgery, they’re likely gaining it because their dietary demands are changing as they’re becoming an adult and entering a new life stage.
Spay and neutering typically happens around the same time a dog is transitioning into adulthood, therefore they have to be treated like an adult in terms of food consumption and exercise.
Myth: I don’t need to spay and neuter my dog if they’re my only pet
Spay and neutering contributes not only to the health of our pets, but it’s also responsible for pet overpopulation. Aside from this benefit to society, it’s also good for the pet. If you take your pet to doggy day care or even the park, it’s a risk.
Additionally, if you ever decide you do want another dog, spay and neutering helps the two get along because it can lessen dominance issues and the two have an easier time adjusting to one another.
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