The Advantages and Disadvantages of Spaying or Neutering Your Dog

3 minutes

Last update: 13 May, 2018

It can be a hard decision, because while there are advantages in terms of health and behavior, there are also some drawbacks. You may have thought about spaying or neutering your dog to keep them from having puppies with another one of your pets. So what is the answer to your question of, “Should I spay or neuter my dog?” We’ll tell you the advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of spaying or neutering

Let’s start with the positive points. Here are the benefits of sterilizing your dog.

Prevent infections and diseases

Urinary tract infections, tumors in the breast or testicles, and other diseases related to the reproductive system – regardless of whether the dog is male or female – can be prevented by spaying or neutering your dog.

This is big advantage, because urinary tract diseases are very common in dogs. Also, when animals get older, they have a tendency to get prostate, ovary, uterus or testicle problems. So to your question of whether you should sterilize you dog, we would say yes if you consider this to be important.

Preventing incontinence

Animals, like people, have trouble controlling their bladder when they get older. A sterilized dog will not have this problem in most cases. Therefore spaying or neutering your dog can be more convenient in this regard.

Slowing down their sex drive

This is a big “pro” for many people. A lot of dogs have a tendency to run away in search of females in heat, and vice versa. A sterilized dog will no longer do this, at least not so often or with such intensity, because his sex drive will go down considerably.

Reducing aggression

Sometimes, although not always, dogs are aggressive because of unsatisfied sex drive. Maybe they have more energy than they need, and they unload it with aggressive tendencies.

After being sterilized, these aggressive behaviors usually go away and the dog calms down. Dogs will also stop being aggressive with other dogs, because testosterone, which is the cause of aggression in males, is no longer a problem.

No more marking their territory

Your dog urinating in the house to mark his territory will be a problem of the past if you sterilize him. In addition, you won’t need to stop as much when he’s with you in the car. The sense of competition with other males will no longer be there, and he won’t feel the need to mark his territory so much.

Disadvantages of spaying or neutering your dog

Although there are many advantages to sterilizing your dog, there are also disadvantages to be taken into account. Here are a few:

Risk of hypothyroidism

A few cases have shown that when a dog is sterilized he is likely to suffer from hypothyroidism. This could lead to obesity and other problems that in the long run will have serious consequences on their health.

Cancer risk

The age at which a dog is sterilized should be considered. If it is done before five months, the possibility of developing sarcoma is very high.

One more risk

The causes are not yet known, but in some cases sterilized female dogs are desired by males in heat.

To conclude, the decision of, “Should I sterilize my dog?” is yours to make. Consider the advantages and disadvantages. Decide what is best for your pet, because your duty is to ensure their wellbeing.