i want to neuter?

Question

I just got my puppy and I am thinking I want to neuter him. I want to prevent agressiveness later on and possible prostate problems (i read this somewhere). How much does this usually go for? Is it expensive? How are the puppies afterwards? Is it extremely painful? What should I expect?

Answer 1

It is not too expensive and it is a really great idea to get it done sooner rather than later. It will usually run @100 to 150 dollars, yes it is painful. Dont expect your pup to be too playful for a week and be sure to keep checking on the stitches to make sure that there is no weeping or bleeding. With acive dogs, it is a good idea to limit their activity level for a week to let them recover. Most vets use a stitch that will desolve so you wont need a return visit.

Answer 2

Good job wanting to neuter and just a couple comments for you.

Aggressiveness is best prevented with training and socialization. Neutering doesnt do it. Some have commented waiting till 6 months. This is unecessary. My Search and Rescue partner was neutered at 16 weeks and I know several folks in the industry that neuter at 12 weeks. Doesn't hurt to wait till 6 months but not absolutely necessary.

Check with your local animal shelter and humane society. A lot of times there are programs that help with the spay/neuter costs.

Puppies are fine afterwards although they do require 2 or 3 days of very very limited activity and then another week of slightly limited activity to heal properly.

Answer 3

It usually isn't too expensive- it depends on the area. Usually it is $50 or less. Most vets keep their prices low on neuters and spays to encourage responsible pet ownership.

In both spaying and neutering the dogs might be sore for a day or so afterwards and then they seem to bouce back really fast. Some vets use a surgical glue to close the incisions- if they do this- usually your dog can't get the surgery site for about 2 or 3 weeks. If the vet uses sutures (stitches) You just need to keep an eye out for any infection, and if you feel up to it, usually they will let you remove the stitches at home after a certain period of time.

The dogs hardly seem impacted by the surgery at all. Also if your dog has dangling dew claws you might talk to your vet about having those removed while the dog is under for the spaying.

Answer 4

Wait until six months but definitely spay/neuter! Most humane societies offer spay/neuter clinics at reduced prices, call you local Humane society and ask! It is a painful procedure, but dogs/cats are drugged pretty well for it. It can prevent aggressiveness, but also encourages weight gain. Make sure to keep a careful eye on your post-sterilization pet's weight. As for prostate and testicular problems, it depends on the breed and genetics, but many dogs and cats are susceptible so sterilization is best if you are unsure!
Your pet's personality won't change but he/she will be happier and will live longer if you spay/neuter. It's the responsible choice.

Answer 5

I would wait until at least 6 months. He has hormones in his body and they are important for growth and developement. Once neutered, there will be no more hormones.
Vets is different areas change differently, but they all charge based on the weight of the dog. You can call them and ask the charges if you know the weight of the dog.
Any surgery hurts. Vets will give pain meds when they neuter and you can ask for pain pills to give at home.

Answer 6

Great job on wanting to neuter your puppy. It does help with aggressiveness. When I neutered my dog, it cost me $115. Most doctors recommend waiting until they are close to 6 months. It is surgery so there is discomfort after wards but males recover quickly. They are to be kept calm for a couple of weeks. Excessive activity can cause the scrotum to swell which is very painful.

Answer 7

"while he's the right age"? he's the right age now! A kitten could be spayed or neutered as quickly as this is 8 weeks in age and 2 kilos in weight. And over the final 25 or so years that i've got had cats i've got not had one that sprayed after being neutered. Nor have I ever heard of any buddies with cats that did that, the two. this is "unnatural" to your cat to be neutered? Will this is "organic" for him to break your place by using spraying? Will this is "organic" for him to sprint out the door sometime in seek of a girl cat and run over by using a vehicle? Or if he manages to discover a girl cat and get her pregant will this is "organic" which you basically extra to the puppy overpopulation difficulty? and could this is "organic" that as a results of this greater cats or kittens at your close by safeguard would be placed to dying in view which you took residences from them? Will this is "organic" for him to have testicular maximum cancers while he gets older and die plenty youthful than if he'd be neutered? Get your cat neutered - for all those motives. As you may discover - there is not any reason to no longer.

Answer 8

Unless you have a giant breed dog (Irish Wolfhound or Mastiff, for instance) there is no need to wait until the pup is six months old to have him neutered. There is nominal growth change in a dog neutered at a young age compared to one fixed at six months. Neutering before he gets that big burst of testosterone is what is likely to decrease his health risks and behavior problems.

Check with your local humane society to see if they offer a discount program or a spay/neuter clinic. We alter dogs for just $25 (in Chicago).

Answer 9

go ahead and get it done. my vet was going to do our spaying at 8weeks (but she was sick so it happens in 2 weeks). depending on the vet, it can cost anywhere from 50-150. you pup will be fine, within a few days it will want to run and jump. you're going to have to keep him calm until the wound heals. you dont want it ripping open. other than that, you pet will be completely fine.

Answer 10

Absolutely right, Killa_R! (Especially about having the rear dewclaws removed at the same time, if present.)

As to the neutering....I can't even neuter my OWN dog for less than $50, however, unless I cut a lot of corners. MY costs are more than that. Anesthetic drugs and equipment cost money, and we are not subsidized by any government programs funded by taxes. When we accept spay/neuter discount certificates such as those offered by human organizations, we actually end up spending more on the surgery than we get paid for...in other words, we do it at a LOSS. Fees vary depending on the area of the country....but it's unusual for it to get under $100, unless they're leaving something out to save themselves on their costs. (Believe it or not, not all Drs even wear sterile surgery gloves.) You need to ask whether the fee includes all of the following:

I do a presurgical exam, give preoperative pain medication (because yes...cutting into the skin hurts, and getting that on board before the surgery greatly cuts down on pain during the waking-up phase), shave and aseptically prepare the surgery site, use adequate anesthetic drugs (including inhalant gas and oxygen through an endotracheal tube) so he he'll be asleep and not feel anything during the surgery or remember it afterward, monitor them during the surgery with EKG, pulse oximetry (keeps a constant reading on blood oxygen levels), and blood pressure. My surgery table is internally heated, so we don't have to worry about hypothermia under anesthesia. They are monitored closely by trained technicians until they are fully awake. Try getting all of that for anything less than $5000 from a 'human' surgeon. We use the exact same drugs and equipment, have the same education and training (except for we have to do that for several species in the same amount of detail as our MD counterparts do for only ONE species, lol.)

I strongly recommend presurgical bloodwork for the same reason it's done in humans....but it's "optional" since some people can't afford that expense and are willing to take their chances. (We do the same blood tests that are done in humans, using equipment that costs just as much...but we do it for a fraction of the cost charged to humans.)

I send all my surgery patients home with 5-7 days' worth of pain medication...because they need it. Anyone who has ever had surgery of any type can attest to that. They don't usually SHOW any signs of pain, but it HAS to be sore to have one's skin cut and testicles removed. Granted, the boys don't have as much pain as the girls (whose surgery is more involved)....but there's no sense in them hurting for even a few days if they don't have to, imo. Most of them (even the girls) are up wanting to run around the next day (don't LET them, though) as if nothing happened. But again, we know from our own experience that postoperative soreness is to be expected....dogs and cats just accept it as a fact of life rather than 'complain' about it. But that's no reason for them to have to endure it, when inexpensive drugs can be used to keep them comfortable.

All in all, getting surgery for your dog is probably the biggest bargain of the century, considering what you get in exchange for what you pay for.

And YES....neutering absolutely prevents prostate problems later in life, which are 100% GUARANTEED to happen if he lives long enough and is not neutered. Makes much more sense to neuter him while he's young and healthy in order to prevent the problem, than to wait until it happens and you are forced to do the surgery on a geriatric patient with heart, liver, and kidney problems in order to save his life.

Neutering does not encourage weight gain...only overfeeding and underexercising do that, and spayed/neutered dogs simply require fewer calories to maintain proper weight than they did before surgery. You need to make an appointment for his routine puppy care visit anyway....we normally go over all of this during one of those visits. Your DVM will be happy to answer all of your questions about all of that and the recommended age. :-)