Spaying and Neutering

1 How does one care for a dog or cat after he or she has been neutered or spayed?

4 How old does a dog have to be to get him neutered?

5 What year is it recommended to neuter a pure bred Doberman that was used for breeding?

6 Why would my dog have vaginal bleeding? Is she just like human females or what? I just read the spaying/neutering myths.

7 I just had my 6-month-old puppy spayed 2 weeks ago. Will she calm down and when? I haven't noticed any change.

8 Can you get a female puppy spayed before the dog comes into heat for the first time?

9 I just recently had my dog spayed. How long should I wait before allowing her to play with my other dog?

10 How long will my 1 yr. old female dog stay in heat and can she be spayed while she is in heat?

11 What is the earliest age that is safe to have a puppy spayed?

15 How young can a dog be to be neutered? I am wondering how soon I can do this when I get a puppy.

16 I would like to know at what age I should get my St Bernard puppy neutered to be a good pet?

18 How does neutering my dog change him?

19 My family just bought a puppy, a Shih Tzu. We will be picking her up shortly. We would like to know is it necessary to have her spayed or neutered since she will be the only pet in the home?

20 How old does my puppy have to be before getting fixed.

1 How does one care for a dog or cat after he or she has been neutered or spayed? Usually after a surgery the pet will spend some time at the veterinary hospital until they have recovered fully from the anesthesia. Once they are home it is usually necessary to restrict activity for several days to a week depending on the age of the animal and veterinary instructions. In some cases your pet will need to return to the veterinary hospital for the removal of the stitches 7-10 days after surgery.
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2 My puppy, Bronte, was recently spayed. The area where she had the surgery the color is fine, but there is an area in the lower region of the stitches that has a swelling. It feels as if there may be a tiny lump inside. Should I worry about that or is it part of the healing process? On occasion there may be a small amount of swelling in and around an incision as part of the healing process and as a response to sutures under the skin. However, the swelling should subside in a short amount of time, not be reddened or painful to the touch. If it does not subside shortly, a visit to your veterinarian for an examination is probably a good idea.
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3 What is the best age to have my dog neutered? He is a 16 week (4 month) old yellow lab. I 've heard that if a dog is "snipped" too early it can affect his growth like the size of his head. Is this true? Recent longitudinal studies on the effects of early spaying and neutering on behavior and health have shown no differences between dogs and cats neutered early (8-12 weeks) and those neutered at the traditional age of 6-8 months. Neutering does help prevent problems such as roaming, mounting and marking behaviors in dogs. It also is beneficial in helping prevent unwanted litters of puppies and to do that is best performed prior to sexual maturity which occurs between 6-8 months. I would therefore recommend that you plan on neutering your pet at a time agreed upon by your veterinarian and you.
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4 How old does a dog have to be to get him neutered? Traditionally dogs and cats have been neutered at 6 months of age. A recent trend has been moving toward early (6-10 weeks of age) spay and neuter especially in humane shelters. The goal is to decrease pet overpopulation and increase owner compliance with spaying and neutering. Research has shown no differences in behavior or health between animals having surgery early and those done at the traditional time.
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5 What year is it recommended to neuter a pure bred Doberman that was used for breeding? If you are no longer using your dog for breeding, then you can neuter him at any time. Neutering your dog can prolong his life. Dogs that are neutered are less likely to roam away from home, fight with other dogs and get certain types of cancer.
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6 Why would my dog have vaginal bleeding? Is she just like human females or what? I just read the spaying/neutering myths. If your dog has never been neutered, and this is the first time you have seen this bleeding, then the vaginal discharge means she is in heat. This is the time that a female dog will attract and look for mates, so it is essential you keep a close watch on her when she is outside to prevent an unwanted litter of puppies. The heat cycle lasts about 3 weeks during which time she might have discharge for 5-7 days. Dogs tend to come into heat twice yearly, about every 6 months and can become pregnant each time. There are many good reasons to spay your dog. Female dogs that have been spayed before they are two years of age have an extremely low incidence of breast cancer. Unspayed female dogs are also at risk for an infection of the uterus, which can make them very ill and even cause death. Finally, with so many dogs in animal shelters looking for homes, allowing her to have puppies may result in more homeless dogs. So, for her health, and to keep unwanted dogs from being born, please spay your dog.
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7 I just had my 6-month-old puppy spayed 2 weeks ago. Will she calm down and when? I haven't noticed any change. The major effect of spaying a dog is eliminating the possibility of going into heat and having puppies. At 6 months of age your puppy is still young and probably very active. You will still need to spend time working with her and teaching her appropriate behaviors in the human household. Over the next 12-18 months she will mature and her behavior should begin to change.
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8 Can you get a female puppy spayed before the dog comes into heat for the first time? There is no reason to wait until after the first heat period to spay a female puppy. Studies have not shown any differences between puppies spayed at the traditional time of 6-8 months and those spayed quite early at 8-12 weeks of age. The important point is to have your female puppy spayed to prevent unwanted litters of puppies and future health problems.
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9 I just recently had my dog spayed. How long should I wait before allowing her to play with my other dog? Generally it is suggested to keep your dog quiet and limit vigorous activity for at least 7-10 days so that the incision can heal. This may mean that you will have to walk her on a leash and not allow them out in the yard unsupervised.
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10 How long will my 1 yr. old female dog stay in heat and can she be spayed while she is in heat? The typical heat cycle in a female dog is three weeks. They may only show discharge from their vagina for one week, but still could be bred and get pregnant. While they can be spayed while they are in heat, it is usually best to wait until they are out of heat. However, do not let the time go by until her next heat cycle. Spaying and neutering our pets is important to prevent unwanted litters and pet overpopulation and pets that cannot find homes.
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11 What is the earliest age that is safe to have a puppy spayed? Traditionally dogs and cats were spayed when they were about 6 months of age. The goal was to spay them before they reached sexual maturity and had unwanted litters of puppies and kittens. Recent research has explored the concept of early spaying and neutering where puppies and kittens are spayed or neutered quite young, 8-12 weeks of age. There seems to be very little risk associated with the surgery and the animals do well. Many of these puppies have been followed for several years and they are no different behaviorally or medically from their counterparts who were spayed or neutered at the traditional age of 6 months. The timing of surgery is a decision to be made with your veterinarian, but it is a procedure that should be done to prevent unwanted puppies.
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12 I own a female Beagle that is three years of age and is bleeding(spotting) right now. I believe this is a sign that she's in heat. How long will this last and will the bleeding get worse? Also, I planned to have her spayed next week, will the veterinarian still be able to perform this procedure? Thanks so much for your help. You are probably correct that your dog is in heat. The heat cycle in a dog is approximately 3 weeks, but bloody discharge is normally only seen in the middle week. The amount of discharge varies from dog to dog. It is essential that you supervise your dog when she is outdoors to prevent breeding and unwanted puppies. As for spaying her while she is in heat, that is an individual veterinary decision that should be discussed with your veterinarian.
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13 I own a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. He is 3 years old and weighs approx 32 lbs. and he is not neutered. He is generally a well behaved dog but there are two concerns I have. First, when I take him outside if I do not keep a really close eye on him he has a habit of running off. Second, he will sometimes urinate on my garbage can which is for the most part kept in my kitchen. I have found that he also has urinated on my laundry baskets with my clean clothes in them but I have rarely found that he has urinated on the dirty ones. If you can help in anyway I would be very appreciative of it. Thank You. In answer to your first question, since your dog is not reliable when he is outdoors, you should always have him on a leash to prevent him running away. While there are many reasons he may run away, intact male dogs will search for female dogs in heat. As for your second question, often intact male dogs will mark objects in their territory with urine. Since he appears to be showing several behaviors associated with being an intact male dog, neutering may help decrease the occurrence of both of the problem behaviors you have mentioned.
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14 I have a eleven week old male Labrador Retriever puppy. At his last visit to the vet, the vet was concerned that his testicles hadn't dropped yet. She kept mentioning that if it didn't happen before his next visit, I should have him neutered. She mentioned that he might suffer all sorts of health problems in the future like cancer if I don't do something now. He seems perfectly happy, healthy and (excessively) active. What are my options? Is there anything I can do for him? Normally the testicles of a male puppy should descend into the external scrotal sac by the time they are 2-4 months old and descent after 4 months of age is rare. If the testicles remain in the abdomen of the dog, the chance of them becoming cancerous is increased. In fact the risk of cancer in retained testicles is thought to be 10 times greater than that of normal dogs. Therefore the recommendations that your veterinarian is suggesting are all valid and realistic.
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15 How young can a dog be to be neutered? I am wondering how soon I can do this when I get a puppy. Traditionally male dogs have been neutered between 6-8 months of age or older. Recently a trend toward early spaying and neutering has occurred. This is most commonly done by Humane shelters so that puppies and kittens will be neutered prior to adoption and hopefully this will decrease unwanted litters of puppies and kittens. Depending on where you get your puppy he can be neutered at an early age, or the more traditional time. The most important thing is to neuter your dog to prevent roaming, fighting, urine marking and unwanted litters of puppies.
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16 I would like to know at what age I should get my St Bernard puppy neutered to be a good pet? Males dogs are usually neutered to prevent or decrease unwanted behaviors that are associated with testosterone. These include sexual behaviors, roaming, mounting, fighting and some types of aggression. It is generally thought that neutering dogs prior to sexual maturity is better. In a St. Bernard puppy that would be between 6-12 months of age. Recent studies looking at the behavioral differences between dogs that were neutered at the traditional age of 6 months and those neutered earlier, did not find any difference. Therefore, it would be acceptable to neuter a St. Bernard at about 6 months of age. Keep in mind that having a well-behaved pet requires training and supervision whether he is neutered or not.
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17 I heard there is a condition called pyometra that happens when a female dog is not spayed, and she has had no puppies, her uterus can become infected and may result in death. Is there such a problem? My dog is 7 and has never had a litter or has been spayed. Should I spay her, if not what will happen? Pyometra happens when bacteria invade the lining of the uterus and a purulent discharge forms. It is most common in unspayed female dogs greater than 6 years of age. Diagnosis is usually 1-12 weeks after the dog has been in heat. A dog may present with or without vaginal discharge, depression, loss of appetite, vomiting, and abdominal enlargement. The preferred treatment is removal of the ovaries and uterus. If you are not planning on breeding your dog then spaying her to prevent unwanted pregnancy and other medical problems is an option.
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18 How does neutering my dog change him? Neutering your dog has positive effects on both his health and behavior as well as preventing unwanted litters of puppies. A neutered male dog is less likely to roam, fight with other dogs or mark with urine. He is also at a decreased risk for various types of diseases and cancers of the reproductive organs. Finally, neutered animals tend to act more puppy like in their behavior. When all these benefits are taken into consideration, neutering is a good decision for you and your veterinarian to make about the healthcare of your pet.
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19 My family just bought a puppy, a Shih Tzu. We will be picking her up shortly. We would like to know is it necessary to have her spayed or neutered since she will be the only pet in the home? There are many good reasons to have your puppy neutered or spayed even if she is the only dog in the home. Intact male dogs will often roam and try to find female dogs in heat resulting in a litter of puppies that may not find homes. Adult male dogs may have medical problems that are often minimized if they are neutered. Spayed female dogs have a much lower incidence of breast cancer and do not get uterine infections which can be very serious. So, no matter which sex pet you get, spaying or neutering them is a good idea.
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20 How old does my puppy have to be before getting fixed. Traditionally a dog was spayed (if a female) or neutered (if a male) when they were about 6 months of age. Recently there has been a trend toward early surgeries especially at humane shelters to help prevent unwanted litters of puppies. Subsequent studies have not shown any significant differences in health and behavior between those dogs spayed or neutered early and those at the traditional time. The decision as to when to spay or neuter your dog should be made with your veterinarian by determining what is best for your dog.
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21 How do I keep my dogs from "marking territory" in the house? They are not neutered, but have appointments in January because I'm told this will help. I'm also told they will stop fighting. Is this correct and what else can I do? Neutering intact male dogs will often decrease or stop urine marking behavior. However, when urine marking has been happening for some time it may not completely stop. When dogs within a household fight, it is often about social rules. While neutering does help to diminish fighting, often professional intervention by a veterinary behaviorist is needed to resolve the problem.
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