Reasons Not to Neuter Your Dog

Canine neutering surgery has become the new cool thing to do in the dog owner community. Vets and pet owners are constantly encouraging people to have their dogs neutered. On the surface, neutering sounds great; it has many health and lifestyle benefits. You can find plenty of people telling you why you should go through with this surgery. However, there are very few sources that discuss the harmful side effects of neutering. Today, we’re going to discuss reasons not to neuter your dog. We’re going to be talking about elements that every dog owner should be aware of before they take their dog for this surgery. We’ll be tackling harmful physical and mental side effects that your dog may encounter. We’ll also address a few common myths that encourage people to neuter their dog. Before we get into the bad side of neutering, let’s quickly talk about the procedure itself.

Dog Sterilizing Surgery

This surgery removes a dog’s gonads; the organs responsible for producing reproductive cells. A male dog’s gonads are its testicles that produce sperm. A female dog’s gonads are its ovaries that produce eggs. They’re removed to make a dog infertile. This surgery gained popularity because it helps regulate the canine population. It’s a great way to reduce the number of homeless pups on the streets. Pet owners are encouraged to have their dog neutered, so they don’t have to worry about their dog’s breeding needlessly. Neutered male dogs won’t go around trying to impregnate every female dog that they come across. Pet owners won’t have to worry about their female dog getting accidentally pregnant. Accidental impregnation is a bigger issue for people with female dogs. The costs of taking care of a pregnant dog can be high.

This surgery is very simple; it can be completed within an hour. It’s also safe since it isn’t too invasive and the recovery period only lasts for 14 days at max. The simplicity of this surgery makes it even more attractive. There are also many advantages of having a dog neutered:

  • Effective birth control
  • Decreased likelihood of your dog contracting certain diseases
  • Your dog’s behavior problems being reduced

While the first advantage is definite, the other two are a bit debated. There’s scientific evidence that claims that neutering does more harm to your dog’s health than good. The behavior remedial isn’t solid either. We’ll discuss these two in detail down below.

Reasons Not to Neuter Your Dog

Despite all the good things that people have to say about neutering, there are some side effects that come with this surgery. Most of these side effects are felt in the longer run. However, they can compromise the quality of life for your dog and even shorten their lifespan. The first side effect that we’re going to talk about is hormone imbalance. The gonads of your dog aren’t just responsible for producing sperm and eggs. They also produce sex hormones in the body; testosterone for males and estrogen for females. These hormones are present in humans as well, and they play an important role in puberty.

Hormone Imbalance

When you remove your dog’s gonads before they reach sexual maturity, you rob their body of the ability to produce these hormones. Testosterone and estrogen are needed by the body to promote and regulate bone growth. They also play a role in muscle mass development. Basically, your dog will face problems in its growth if you neuter it too early. You can find people telling you that it’s perfectly fine to neuter a pup. However, this is strongly discouraged because:

  • Your dog’s bone growth will face difficulties. Your dog’s bones may overdevelop or remain underdeveloped. This can lead to joint problems, increased chances of CCL rupture, and patellar luxation. Your dog’s skeletal frame may become slightly misshapen as well. Problems like these can cause your dog massive discomfort.
  • Neutering a dog can also increase their chances of developing hip dysplasia. Upsetting the body’s hormone balance can introduce a variety of problems. The troubling thing about hip dysplasia is that it becomes more prevalent in dogs that have been neutered at an early age or a later age. According to this study, adult dogs become three times as likely to develop hip dysplasia after neutering.
  • Another adverse effect of hormone imbalance is that your dog may suffer from hypothyroidism. A neutered dog’s body will experience a lack of hormones. Neutering is effectively ridding the body of major hormone-producing organs. This will force the body to put extra pressure on other hormone-producing organs. This can lead to problems in their thyroids. There have been cases in which a dog’s thyroids were unable to produce thyroxine. This hormone is needed to regulate a dog’s metabolism. This condition is called hypothyroidism. It can result in your dog gaining weight, becoming more prone to infections, and more. Hypothyroidism can be controlled with oral medication. However, your dog becomes dependent on this medication for the rest of its life.

Both of these conditions are a result of your dog being neutered too early. Make sure that you let your dog go through its sexual maturity before you have it sterilized.

Weight Gain Problems

Imbalanced hormones and bad skeletal development can be a dangerous combination. Neutered dogs often have a harder time doing physical activity because of joint problems. This makes them lazier, and it also makes it harder for the owner to take care of their dog. Physical activities such as running and jumping need to be monitored. This is important to make sure that your dog doesn’t damage their joints. If their metabolism becomes upset due to their thyroids acting up then weight control becomes even harder.

An overweight dog is going to be more vulnerable to obesity and other weight gain related diseases. This can greatly shorten their lifespan and ruin their quality of life. Even if your dog isn’t overweight, there’s still a chance that its lifespan may be shortened. A study was conducted on female Rottweilers. It showed that neutering female dogs at an early age resulted in their life expectancy being reduced by 30%.

Weakness to Infections

Having your dog neutered at an early age can make them more vulnerable to infections. Experts suggest that you should let your dog hit sexual maturity before you neuter them. In female dogs, there’s a higher chance of them developing acute pancreatitis. This type of pancreatitis is more severe and can cause a lot of discomfort to your dog. Its symptoms include abdominal pains, loss of appetite, lethargy, and vomiting. Acute pancreatitis should be dealt with instantly as it can become life-threatening.

Urinary Incontinence

This can be a rather messy problem that becomes more common in neutered female ​canines. There’s a study that notes female ​canines become more prone to urinary incontinence by up to 20%.

Spay Coat Syndrome

While there isn’t any study to refute this claim, people have observed a link between de-sexing and Spay Coat. Dog’s seem to experience an overproduction of their undercoat. This leads to their fur coat becoming extra wooly. This can cause problems for dog owners who live in warmer climes. Their dogs can become more susceptible to heat strokes and dehydration.

There are a few myths and misbeliefs about neutering that we’d like to address as well. These rather common misbeliefs often lead to people considering neutering their dog.

Myths About Neutering

Behavioral Changes

People tend to think that behavioral changes are really simple in neutered dogs. You’ll expect your dog to decrease its sexual actions and become less aggressive. People also claim that dogs become more docile, less defensive, and overall more manageable. However, there’s no conclusive result on how neutering affects behavior. Some experts claim that neutering decreases sexual behaviors. However, there are examples of dogs that continue humping objects even after being neutered.

Another interesting thing to note is that neutered dogs become more aggressive. This contradicts a major plus point of neutering that most people talk about. Neutered dogs show signs of aggression towards family members and tend to bark more. The idea of having a dog neutered to reduce aggression isn’t based on any solid evidence. Canine experts believe that a dog’s genetics and upbringing determine its aggression level. Neutering can be used as a way to prevent an overly aggressive dog from forwarding its genes. However, it won’t turn a vicious mutt into a friendly pooch.

Another concerning behavioral side effect of neutering is an increase in noise phobia. Dogs that are neutered at an early age are more likely to develop a fear of loud noises. This can make a dog jumpy, cowardly, and can even make it lash out at its owner.

At the moment, there isn’t any conclusive research on how de-sexing affects behavior. However, we can say that you shouldn’t think of neutering as a way to alter your dog’s behavior. A surprising number of people are opting to have their dog neutered based on this reason.

Cancer

Another popular reason for having your dog neutered is to save them from cancer. Vets often tell you that a neutered dog will be safe from prostate and mammary cancers. While this is true, this information is quite misleading. Prostate and mammary cancers are rather rare in canines. When they do manifest, they can be identified and cured with ease. This alone makes neutering for the sake of reducing the likelihood of cancer manifesting unwise.

According to research, de-sexed dogs have an increased likelihood of developing cancer. This is concerning since neutered ​canines are prone to any type of cancer developing in their body. Basically, one shouldn’t think of opting for de-sexing to keep their dog safe from cancer. In fact, neutering has the opposite effect and makes your dog more prone to cancer.

Conclusion

If we take a look at all the scientific evidence that we have, we can surmise that de-sexing isn’t as great as we might think. The surgery seems easy and side effect free, but it comes with some problems. Many of these problems don’t become apparent until later on in your dog’s life. The gonads play a bigger role in the body than just allowing a dog to bear children. They produce hormones that the body needs to develop itself properly. Without the gonads, the body lacks these hormones, and as a result, your dog faces many health problems.

Some of these problems can be avoided if you neuter ​after sexual maturity. However, you should keep in mind that even after becoming adults, dogs will face health problems after being neutered. It’s safe to say that neutering a dog before it becomes sexually mature should be an absolute no. The bulk of harmful neutering side effects are experienced by dogs that are neutered way too early.

So does all of this mean that neutering is bad and should be avoided completely? Certainly not. Sterilizing surgeries are essential and are considered to be humane as well. They’ve certainly helped animal shelters control canine population. Neutering also decreases the number of homeless pups on the streets. What this does mean is that we shouldn’t take neutering as lightly as we are. It’s a surgery that removes important organs from your dog’s body. A living thing’s body is a lot like a complicated machine. Even if you remove something that seems minor, there’s bound to be some impact.

As pet owners, we should be more aware of the impact of our actions on our dog’s lives. We must ensure that our dogs get to enjoy a comfortable and healthy life. This means that we should take their health seriously and shouldn’t take surgeries such as neutering lightly. You certainly shouldn’t neuter ​to improve their behavior or save them from cancer. Neutering should only be prescribed for what this surgery is made for; population control.

The decision to neuter ​is a big one. It shouldn’t be made haphazardly, and you should consult a trusted vet before you move forward with your decision. It’s a big decision that will change your dog’s life. So, make it wisely and make sure that you’re ready to take care of your dog afterward.

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