Spaying and Neutering
By spaying or neutering your dog, you will help control the pet homelessness crisis, which results in millions of healthy shelter animals being euthanized in Canada each year. There are also medical and behavioural benefits to spaying and neutering your pets.
What does neutering/spaying do to a dog?
During a spay or neuter, a veterinarian removes certain reproductive organs, ovaries, fallopian tubes and uterus for females and testes for males. It makes your dog unable to reproduce, eliminates the heat cycle (for females) and prevents breeding instinct-related behaviour.
Why is it important to neuter/spay my dog?
Removing a female dog’s ovaries eliminates heat cycles and generally reduces the unwanted behaviours that may lead to owner frustration. Early spaying of female dogs can help protect them from serious health problems later in life such as uterine infections and breast cancer. Removing the testes from male dogs reduces the breeding instinct making them less inclined to roam and more content to stay at home. Neutering your male pet can also lessen its risk of developing benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate gland) and testicular cancer. Spaying/neutering can also reduce aggression, the urge to mark territory and potentially increase life span as well as save you the cost of caring for future litters.
How old should a dog be before they are neutered/spayed?
These procedures are generally recommended for puppies before they reach sexual maturity at about 5-6 months old. It gives your puppy time to grow and mature enough to undergo general anesthesia safely. After six months of age, spaying and neutering can be done at any age. Smaller breed dogs are more likely to have retained baby teeth that may need to be extracted. It can be done during the same anesthetic as the spay or neuter. However, it is recommended to consult with your veterinarian when it is best for your dog to undergo a spay or neuter.
How much does it cost to neuter/spay a dog?
Please call us at 204.489.9111 to speak to one of our team members and discuss pricing.