Spaying or Neutering Your Pet

You should consider spaying or neutering your pet. We usually recommend having this surgery performed when your pet is between 4 ½ and 6 months of age (a few weeks after the completion of your pet’s initial vaccination series). In females, the surgery should be performed before the first heat cycle whenever possible. In large-breed dogs we prefer to wait until 6 months of age before performing the surgery.

Male dogs and cats that are neutered are less prone to want to escape and wander in search of females. The world is a dangerous place for pets that get out of their yards, and many are killed before finding their way home.

Neutered males tend to be less aggressive towards strange people and animals. They make far better pets in most cases when they have been neutered than while they are intact.

Male cats often ‘spray’ urine along walls and curtains to mark their territory. Male cats that are neutered seldom spray, making them more acceptable pets.

Male dogs tend to try to mark everything they see with urine (“That tree is mine! That rock is mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!”)

Male dogs are prone to a variety of serious prostate problems and ‘peri-anal’ tumors as they age. Neutering them at an early age can greatly reduce the chance that they will develop these serious illnesses.

Breast cancer is one of the most common causes of death in female dogs. It is three times more common in dogs than in humans! Spaying your pet at an early age will virtually eliminate the possibility of breast cancer occurring as your pet ages.

Female dogs and cats are very prone to developing a uterine infection called ‘pyometra’ after heat cycles or breeding. Uncommon in humans, pyometra is extremely dangerous and is often fatal in dogs and cats. Spaying your pet will reduce the potential for this infection.

There are MANY MILLIONS of dogs and cats killed each year in this country’s shelters. There are just not enough good homes to go around, and many litters of puppies and kittens are killed as a result. Only the very best quality (personality, behavior, appearance) dogs and cats should be bred. It is your responsibility to make sure that there is no chance that your pet can accidentally breed – please spay or neuter your pet!