Pet Care
Your dog and.....Neutering
The operation for dogs is called ‘castration’ and is a smaller operation to remove the dog’s testicles. Both operations involve the dog going to the vet, being given a general anaesthetic (giving the dog an injection so that it sleeps all through the operation) and have a week – 10 day recovery time. Both operations can involve the dog or bitch having stitches, the dog having less than the bitch, and some vets prefer not to stitch the dogs at all when the testicles are removed. When a dog is spayed or castrated, the hormone levels for that dog are reduced. The male dog is prevented producing sperm (the male reproduction ‘egg’) and the female dog is prevented having seasons. Seasons in dogs are very similar to periods in girls or women, and an egg is produced at the end of the season to be fertilised by the male dog. At this time, female dogs (bitches) become very interested in other dogs – especially if they are entire (male dogs that have not been castrated), and male dogs become very interested in the bitch – so much so, they can escape from home and travel miles to track down the bitch in season!
Neutering dogs can help prevent health problems later in their life, for example, amongst other health troubles, tumours (growths) on the bitches belly where the teats are, or tumours in the male dog’s testicles. Neutering dogs can change their character, improve their behaviour described above or it can cause more aggression or timid behaviour. Having an assessment carried out on your dog by a qualified behaviourist can sometimes help you decide whether your particular dog should be neutered.