Articles Dog Pregnancy Dog Pregnancy Prevention
|
|
| Dog Pregnancy Prevention |
|
|
|
| Written by Webmaster | |
| Sunday, 21 October 2007 | |
|
If you are not a professional breeder or your dog does not meet the ideal of a breed or is a mixed breed it is best to prevent a dog pregnancy by neutering the dog. There are many dogs in shelters and rescue organizations that need homes, it is more responsible for each family to do their part by neutering their own pets. And there are a number of health benefits associated with neutering for both sexes. Not to mention, not all pregnancies live up to the expectation of a healthy litter and healthy mother in the end. There is the possibility of a difficult labor, death of puppies at birth or stillborn, and uterine and mammary gland infections in the mother. Neutering your Dog Commonly, bitches are spayed, the uterus and ovaries are removed, and male dogs are castrated, the testicles are removed. Neutering is a solution for preventing dog pregnancy and sexual organ related diseases, but not a solution for behavioral problems, training is the only solution. Although, neutering can be helpful in training to eliminate some unwanted behaviors. Spaying Female dogs are spayed and this operation is more invasive than castration of a male dog, thus spaying is more costly. The female must be put under general anesthesia so that the veterinarian can perform surgery on her lower abdomen. The surgical site will be shaved and an incision will be cut through the abdominal wall to extract the ovaries and uterus. Not only does this procedure prevent heat cycles and pregnancy, but dogs that are spayed before one year of age have a significantly reduced chance of developing mammary, ovarian, or uterine cancer. The cost of spaying is about $100 to $200 and well worth the savings in money that would be spent on treating complications some females experience with reproductive organs. Castration Male dogs are castrated. The dog will receive a general anesthetic and a small incision in the sac is performed to remove the testicles. The scrotum will shrink and soon disappear. In addition to preventing unwanted pregnancies, there are a couple of behavioral reasons to neuter a male dog. One of the most important advantages is that as adult dogs they will be less aggressive. Without the testosterone (produced in the testicles) the dog is less likely to develop aggressive behaviors. The degree of which aggression is suppressed varies, but is most noticeably reduced in dogs castrated before one year of age. The second reason is that dogs are less likely to roam in response to a female in heat. If dogs are castrated at an early age, they will not sense or respond to the stimuli naturally produced in a female in heat. Health advantages are numerous in castration. The chance of testicular tumors is eliminated and there is a decreased risk of hernias, perianal tumors, and prostate problems. What age should a dog be Neutered? In general, most dogs are spayed or castrated between 5 and 8 months of age. Many humane shelters and veterinarians are starting to spay female and castrate males at a younger age, even 6-14 weeks old. This early neutering does not affect the growth rate, and there are not any notable differences in skeletal, physical, or behavioral development between animals neutered early or between 5 and 8 months. Benefits of Neutering There are social, medical and behavioral benefits to neutering your dog. Unless you are a professional breeder you may not be prepared to handle a dog pregnancy and helping to control the population of dogs is a responsible act. Medically, dogs that are spayed (removing ovaries and uterus) and castrated have fewer medical problems associated with reproductive organs such as cancer. Behaviorally, neutered dogs have a more comfortable and less stressful life sexually speaking. |
|
| Last Updated ( Friday, 26 October 2007 ) |
| Next > |
|---|