Making decisions that can affect your dog’s long-term health can be difficult. We have written this guide to help you make the decision to neuter your dog by surgery or implant.
Surgical castration
Surgical castration involves removing both testicles under general anesthesia. This is normally done either around 6 months of age or after the growth plates have closed. This is when your dog stops growing. Larger dogs take longer to finish growing, up to 18 months. Smaller dogs may be finished growing by 12 months of age. Castration before this stage may result in a delay in the closure of the growth plates. This can make your dog taller and change the forces in his joints, especially in his joints (knees). This is later mentioned when talking about cruciate ligament disease. It is best to discuss timing with your veterinarian.
Surgical castration causes infertility because it removes the organs (testicles) responsible for producing sperm and testosterone. This results in significantly lower serum testosterone concentrations. The procedure is permanent.
Chemical castration
Chemical castration is the insertion of an implant under the skin. The implant slowly releases medication into the bloodstream over a period of 6 or 12 months. This is normally done after sexual maturity. This medication causes inhibition of testosterone production by the testicles. This leads to infertility.
Castration using both methods has common advantages and disadvantages, as both decrease testosterone levels.
What are the benefits of neutering my dog?
- Infertility, decreased interest in intact female dogs and resulting homelessness. This means your dog is less likely to disappear in search of a partner.
- Reduced testosterone-induced aggression and dominant behaviors in dogs that naturally possess these characteristics. This can reduce aggression towards other male dogs.
- Reduction of conditions related to the prostate and perineum (around the anus). These include conditions such as enlarged/inflamed prostate later in life and tumors around the anus.
What are the disadvantages of neutering my dog?
- If performed before growth plate closure, it may increase the risk of cross disease later in life. This is the progressive atrophy of this important knee ligament until it ruptures, destabilizing the chokes.
- In shy or anxious dogs, loss of testosterone due to neutering can further increase anxiety levels. This can potentially increase aggressive behavior towards other dogs and humans.
- Some evidence of an increased risk of certain cancers, including prostate carcinoma. However, the risk is very low and there is not enough evidence to consider not neutering due to this slight increase.
- A decreased metabolism can lead to weight gain if the diet is not modified appropriately.
Advantages of surgical castration:
- Permanent, only needs to be done once.
- Cheaper, if the implant is used for the rest of life, to be comparable.
- Procedure carried out under general anesthesia, making it less painful and stressful.
- Removal of diseased/cryptorchid testicles (preserved). These can often become cancerous due to remaining warm inside the body.
- Removal of the risk of testicular cancer, as the testicles are no longer present.
Advantages of chemical castration:
- Temporary/reversible, if unwanted side effects are noticed or your opinion about castration changes, the effect may wear off.
- No risk associated with anesthesia .
- No risk of postoperative complications.
- May be useful in dogs with behavioral problems to assess whether surgical castration is likely to cause unwanted changes.
Disadvantages of surgical castration:
- Risk of anesthesia/postoperative complications. Although these risks are low in healthy animals, postoperative complications such as infection may occur. This highlights the need to use the tools your veterinarian gives you to stop your dog from licking and care for the surgical site.
- If unwanted behaviors, such as increased anxiety and aggression, develop due to low testosterone levels. There’s not much that can be done to correct this.
Disadvantages of chemical castration:
- Expensive, if used for the entire life of the animal, every 6 or 12 months.
- In sensitive dogs, implantation may be painful and result in a negative association with the veterinary office. Some dogs will not be aware of this at all. A discussion with your veterinarian about local anesthesia may be advisable, especially if you are concerned.
- Delay of 6 to 8 weeks before infertility.
- Indeed, the effect may fade by missing a subsequent implantation (every 6 or 12 months). This could cause your dog to accidentally return fertility.
We hope this provides you with some important points to consider and discuss with your veterinarian. Your veterinarian can make a recommendation based on your exact situation as well as your pet’s characteristics and health status. We hope this was helpful and that we answered all your questions about both procedures.
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