Let's discuss the controversial and sensitive topic of Spaying/Neutering your small dog breed. I have provided the reasons for, however happy to hear the reasons against.

Top Reasons for Spaying/Neutering your Small Dog Breed

Whether you’re considering to get, or you’ve recently adopted, been given, or have bought a small dog breed, one of the most important health decisions you’ll make is whether or not to spay or neuter your dog. Spaying—removing the ovaries and uterus of your female dog and Neutering—removing the testicles of your male dog —is a veterinary procedure that requires minimal hospitalization and offers lifelong health benefits, vastly improves your small dog breed’s behaviour and helps keep them close to home.

Deciding to spay a pet is sometimes a controversial, sensitive, even emotional topic. In addition, there are many myths out there...

Getting your pet spayed or neutered can:

·         Reduce the number of homeless dogs killed

·         Improve your dog’s health 

·         Curb or reduce bad behaviour

·         Save on pet care costs

Save pets lives and reduce the number of homeless dogs killed everywhere

In every community, state, or country there are homeless animals everywhere. In the U.S. alone, there are an estimated 6-8 million homeless animals and more than 2.7 million healthy, adoptable dogs and cats that are euthanized in animal shelters every year. These are not the offspring of homeless "street" animals—these are healthy, sweet  pets no longer wanted, abandoned , or able to be cared for and puppies and kittens of cherished family pets and pure breeds, who would have made great companions.

Improve your dog’s health

A USA Today (May 7, 2013) article cites that neutered male dogs live 18% longer than un-neutered male dogs and spayed female dogs live 23% longer than un-spayed female dogs. Part of the reduced lifespan of unaltered pets can be attributed to their increased urge to roam, exposing them to fights with other animals, getting struck by cars, and other mishaps.

Another contributor to the reduced lifespan of un-spayed or un-neutered dogs involves the greater risk of certain types of cancers, tumours, hernias, prostrate problems and diseases.

Spaying female dogs helps prevent uterine infections, breast cancer and other cancers of the reproductive system. Over 25% of non-spayed female dogs will develop breast or mammary tumours, of which 50% are cancerous. And in turn spaying eliminates the chance of developing pyometra - a serious and sometimes fatal uterine infection where the uterus fills up with pus, which in-turn can affect many organs, (most commonly the liver) and if allowed to mature can rupture and cause septic peritonitis leaving your dog seriously ill, or causing death.

Medical evidence indicates that female dogs spayed before their first heat are typically healthier, and offers them the best protection from these diseases by:

·         Eliminating ovarian and uterine cancer.

·         Eliminating Pyometra.

·         Reducing the risk of breast or mammary tumours to as low as 0.05%.

(Many veterinarians now sterilize dogs as young as eight weeks of age.)

Sometimes, natural delivery just isn’t possible for health or anatomical reasons, in small dog breeds such as Chihuahuas and Yorkshire Terriers (Yorkies), therefore requiring a C-section. Whilst a C-section can be a wonderful event at a vet clinic when everything goes well, it can be a stressful and expensive ordeal for the small dog breed owner. 

Neutering male small dog breeds eliminates the risk of getting testicular cancer – the second most common tumour in male dogs, and is thought to greatly reduce the risk of prostate cancer and prostatitis – a inflamed prostrate gland generally caused by an infection, or bacteria which may result abscesses, as well as reducing the risk of hernias and perianal gland tumours – found near the anus and the third most common tumour in male dogs. Benign forms of perianal gland tumours are commonly found in Pekingese small dog breeds; however 95% disappear after neutering the dog.

Spaying and Neutering your small dog breed also eliminates the risk and spread of sexually transmitted diseases and reduces their urge to roam which in turn decreasing the risk of contracting diseases or getting hurt in an accident or fight with other dogs. Surveys indicate that as many as 85% of dogs hit by cars are unaltered.

Curb or reduce bad behaviour

Un-neutered dogs are much more assertive and prone to spraying strong smelling urine, marking their territory inside and outside your home. Although not as common, females may do it too, to attract a mate. Spaying or neutering your dog should reduce urine-marking and may stop it altogether, provided surgery is performed early enough, or before these behaviours become habit and ingrained.

An intact male dog will do just about anything to get to a female dog on heat, including climbing, jumping, digging, scratching or chewing his way under or through fences, doors and gates.

Other behavioural problems that can be curbed or eliminated by spay/neuter include:

·         Less desire to roaming - especially when females are "in heat."

·         Reduces aggressive behaviour - Studies show that most dogs’ bites involve dogs who are unaltered.

·         Minimise howling or excessive barking, mounting, and other dominance-driven behaviours.

·         Eliminates unwanted male dogs coming to your home, barking, howling and fighting to get to your female dog when she is “in heat”.

·         Eliminates the heat cycle of your female dog and the associated mood swings and the undesirable and erratic behaviours that occur with it.

Note:  While getting your pets spayed/neutered can help curb undesirable behaviours, it will not change their fundamental personality, like their protective instinct.

Save on pet care costs

When you factor in the long-term costs potentially incurred by having a non-altered dog, the savings afforded by spay/neuter are clear (especially given the plethora of low-cost spay/neuter clinics).

·         Fixed dogs have fewer health problems, so vet bills are lower. Caring for a pet with mammary tumours or pyometra can easily run into thousands of dollars – some five to ten times as much as a routine spay surgery. Worse still, pyometras often seem to happen after hours - pushing the vet costs even higher.

·         Un-neutered dogs can be more destructive, or high-strung around other dogs. Serious fighting is more common between non-altered dogs of the same gender and can incur high veterinary costs.

·         Renewing your dog's license can be more expensive, too. Many counties have spay/neuter laws that require pets to be sterilized, or require people with unaltered dogs to pay higher license renewal fees.

·         The cost of your dog's spay surgery is a lot less than the cost of having and caring for a litter of unwanted pups for a minimum of 6-8 weeks. Not to mention the time involved dealing with the pregnancy, insuring the delivery goes well, trips to and from the vets with mother and pups for check-ups and vaccinations, finding new homes or keeping the new pups and heaven forbid, if your female dog can’t nurse the pups, guess who needs to get up and bottle-feed them by hand every 2 hours.

·          It can also be less expensive than the cost of treatment when your un-neutered male dog escapes and gets into fights with the other male dogs vying for the attention of a female in heat, or becomes involved in a traffic, or other type of accident on the way to a female dog.

·         Neutered male dogs are less aggressive and less likely to bite, therefore avoiding potentially costly lawsuits (statistic show 80% of dog bites on humans are from un-neutered male dogs).

·         During a female dog’s heat cycle she passes bloody fluid for 10-21 days, twice a year, and urinates much more frequently, which can be left all over your house, furniture and floor coverings. Spaying your female dog results in a cleaner dog and home by eliminating its heat cycle.

Myths Busted

Most myths stem from the human owners imposing their own feelings of loss which they feel the small dog breed will feel, instead of the facts. Below are few common myths busted:

Myth #1: The Spay/Neuter surgery is dangerous and/or painful.

Fact:  Spay/Neuter surgeries are very common routine surgeries nowadays.  They are now very safe and quick procedures, with most dogs’ awake, alert, eating and walking within a few hours. Complications are extremely rare, provided their owners follow all the post-surgery care guidelines and most vets will prescribe pain medication, if at all needed.

Myth #2: It’s better and happier for a female dog to have at least one litter.

Fact:  Many years ago Vets believed that if a female dog produced a litter it helped to mature her, however medical evidence now shows that if a female dog is spayed before their first heat cycle (6 months) they are actually more healthier and many illnesses no longer occur.

Myth #3: Your small breed dog will feel less of a “male” or “female” after being sterilized.

Fact:  Dogs have no concept of sexual identity, or ego. Their basic personality is formed by the environment and their genetics rather than by sex hormones. Spaying/Neutering will not change a dog's basic personality, or affect a male dog’s natural instinct to protect the pack and they won’t suffer any kind of emotional reaction, or identity crisis when spayed/neutered.

Myth #4: My small dog breed is a purebred and I’ll find good homes for the puppies.

Fact:  At least one in four dogs brought to animal shelters around the country are purebred and almost half the animals brought to shelters are euthanized. Sure you may find good homes for your puppies, but that means less purebred small dog breeds are picked up from shelters and you have no control over the new owners and what happens if your puppies have of their own puppies etc. etc. (creating more chance of more dogs given to shelters and having to be euthanized).

Myth #4: My small dog breed will get fat and become lazy.

Fact:  The only reason for your small dog breed to become fat and lazy is you over-feed them too much and/or don’t give them enough exercise. Sure, neutering a male dog may quiet him down a bit and become less aggressive, but it does not make him less active.