No, of course not. Nope. Nope. No, no. No. They don’t have to be spayed or neutered. I’m stumbling on the question because very few people have that standpoint. Obviously, if your dog is going to be a breeding animal, well then, hello, you can’t do that. Do they have to? No. Do I think it’s a wise decision for dogs that are not going to be bred? Yes.

Dogs that are not spayed or neutered will be under the influence of testosterone or estrogen depending on their sex. We were all 18 once. You remember what those things made you want to do, so dogs are no different. So it can avoid any unwanted behaviors, any unwanted litters to overpopulate our little pet community. And it also prevents several medical issues that are very, very undesirable as well. Uterine infections, aggression, unwanted marking, all those kinds of things can be avoided if they are spayed or neutered at an early age.

No. Just in case that wasn’t clear on tape, no. No. There’s no evidence or proof that that is a positive thing. Look, I grew up with people telling me that my whole life. “Oh, I heard it’s a good thing to let them have a litter,” and the simple fact is, there’s no truth to that. I will tell you that in recent years, certain research has come out that shows that large breed dogs may benefit from not being spayed or neutered until closer to that year of age. Okay? You can find plenty of information about that if you look, and I think there’s some truth to it. What it implies is that dogs that are spayed or neutered at a later age have a less likely chance of developing hip dysplasia, or if they do develop it, they don’t develop it as early. So that’s very intriguing to me. I have to heed that and I do want to pay attention to that.

At the same time, normally I will spay or neuter animals before their first heat cycle. Why? Because there are also studies that show that with every heat cycle that a female dog goes through, she is more likely to develop mammary cancer later in life. So which way do you go? It varies on personal opinion. It varies depending on the veterinarian that you use. But for the average case, usually before the first heat cycle is when it’s done on females and about six to seven months or so on a male as well.

Maybe a male dog who is becoming territorial. So the answer to that question could possibly be yes. If you had an intact male dog that was urinating in your house, then absolutely I would recommend neutering him and see if that curbs that unwanted behavior. A female is a little less prone to do so based on territorial reasons. Usually you have either a bladder infection or just a not so well trained dog. So they can help is the short answer, but I wouldn’t hang my hat on that for certain.

Let’s talk about cancer. Testicular cancer in a male dog can’t happen if he doesn’t have testicles. Ovarian cancer in a female dog can’t happen if you don’t have ovaries. So those kinds of things are true. So the most common thing, and the most realistic thing that we do see is pyometra.

Pyometra is the medical term for an infection of the uterus itself. And oftentimes it is a very large, distended pus-filled uterus that can become life threatening, especially if it’s a closed pyometra. Closed means the cervix is closed, so the infection doesn’t drain out. It just stays in the dog and they become very ill very quickly. That is serious. And it’s not all that uncommon. After a female dog comes into heat, the cervix tends to relax or open, and it’s much easier for bacteria to get in there and kind of wreak havoc.

Spaying or neutering, can it fix that? Yes, because when we spay them, I’m sorry, it is an ovariohysterectomy, meaning we take the ovaries and the uterus. Everything from the cervix beyond is no longer there. So those dogs are now incapable of really developing a uterine pyometra beyond that point. Long answer to a good question, but hopefully that clears up a few things for you guys.

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