What are the positive and negative effects of spaying or neutering a male dog? Misery for the dog? Weight?

Question

I am very worried that if I neuter my puppy that he will lose his spunk and playfulness. I want to do what best for him, but I also want to make sure he is happy. I heard they gain lots of weight and become less active which could contribute to lots of health problems. It also makes me feel bad to literally castriate a dog. I don't really know much about it...please help. ONLY SERIOUS ANSWERS FROM PEOPLE WITH KNOWLEDGE ON THE SUBJECT!

Answer 1

It's best to get your dog neutered. It will not get rid of his spunk and playfulness, but it will get rid of his urge to hump everything that smells female.
As far as the gaining weight and becoming less active, that only happens if you let it. If you keep your dog eating healthy and exercising on a regular basis then he will not gain unncessary weight and will stay active.
Neutering your dog is also better for you and your dog because it will make it so that the dog doesn't want to run off and have puppy lovin with every female pooch that goes into heat. Your relationship with become stronger because your dog will be want to pay more attention to you, instead of procreation. It will also keep your dog from getting prostate cancer or any other problems. Your dogs life span with be increased as well. And the likely hood that he will run from you to go mount a female but accidently get hurt will decrease. It's better for your dog if you get him neutered.
I know you feel bad, and he will be a little sore for a few days after the procedure but in the long run you will protect him from a lot of pain and unnecessary things.
Oh, and if putting your dog under anesthesia is a worry as well, you don't have too. Your dog is watched not only by the vet during the procedure but by the vet assistants and kennel staff afterwards. They watch for anything unusual and make sure that your dog is doing well.

Answer 2

I have three male dogs that are all neutered. None of them are overweight. None of them lost their drive or spunk. They are not walking around hiking their leg on everything. One is now 8, one is 7, and the other is 2. Dogs gain more weight due to less exercise and overfeeding, not from neutering. Unless for some reason you would want to breed him (and there are already enough BYB in the world), the positive far outweighs the negative. I would feel bad if I allowed my dogs to add to the unwanted puppy population way more than I would in taking him to be neutered. Good Luck in your decision.

Answer 3

Spaying and neutering is the best thing to do. For starters, dogs can have litters every year and this can get expensive for you not to mention the fact that shelters are full of puppies that someone cannot find a home for. Plus females can get ovarian cancer while males can get testicular cancer just because they were not neutered. Dogs really do not miss this part of their whole. Not going into season takes the sexual pressure off them. Males tend not to roam and females don't go into heat every six months or so. It does not change their personality at all. Yes it is painful for a few days but you will be glad you did.

Answer 4

Your dog will not lose its playfulness. The idea that they become obese from neutering comes from lazy owners who don't exercise their dogs enough and overfeed their less active adult dogs, PERIOD! The chance of anything happening to your dog under anesthesia is very slim and this would be the only negative to consider. You can have your dog assessed by a vet for any preexisting conditions that can contribute to problems while under anesthesia. For the sake of you dog, get over the idea that he has some psychological attachment to his testicles and that you will harm his psyche by removing them. That is crap perpetrated by insecure men. By doing the intelligent and responsible thing you will eliminate prostate and testicular cancers, curb aggressiveness, have a more obedient dog, lessen the likely hood of him being in dog fights, stop roaming behaviors. It will also cut the cost of licensing your dog in half. Anyone who says different has no clue as to what they are talking about.
P.S. I know of a guy who let his intact dog get loose and it would be gone for days. The last time it happened, the dog came home minus testicles with a note stapled to his collar saying that the kennel invading dog was taken to a low cost spay/neuter program to cure his roaming problem. As mad as he was, he had to admit it helped a lot.

Answer 5

It is defenitely a good idea to nueter him. For your sake, and for his. I am a Veterinary Medicine major and work at a vet clinic. In my experience, MOST dogs are NOT affected by the nueter. Spunk doesn't go down just because he is nuetered. There are a lot of other things that contribute to that. Of course he will be sore, since it IS a surgery. He will be lucky if he isn't moping around for a couple days afterwards.

Bottom line:
It isn't going to change his whole life. What it will change though, is the risk of infection and the chance of having unplanned puppies.

Answer 6

Your puppy will be as playful as ever after he is neutered. If he gets lots of exercise and a good diet he will not get fat.

He will not try to get out of your fence and roam as much if he is neutered.

He will do less marking with urine of your furniture and belongings. (Neutered dogs may spray, too, but the procedure is likely to lessen the frequency.)

Dogs don't have the same emotional concerns about the procedure that humans have. They want to have food, a place to sleep and fun things to do.

Your dogs won't help overpopulate the pet world if he is neutered.

Answer 7

Your puppy's spunk and playfulness aren't going to be lost from neutering. (By the way, a male is neutered, a female is spayed.) By the time the stitches come out, the puppy isn't going to notice anything's missing.

Neutered dogs live longer, too. Lots of health problems are reduced or eliminated including prostate problems, testicular cancer, etc. not to mention negative behavioral traits such as running away to find females in heat.

Here's some further info: http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=adopt_spayneuter

Answer 8

Did you know that EVERY professional service dog is neutered? (or spayed) Because it gives them better focus on their owner, and less focus on other dog's hormones...that include police K9's, Guide dogs for blind, Hearing ear dogs, Seizure alert dogs, Bomb and Drug detection dogs, and nearly all search and rescue dogs, etc.
Neutering only causes obesity if the dog is denied exercise..Many, or even most old dogs, raised in our urban environments are obese. That is over eating and lack of exercise..
A neutered male has a 40% higher chance of living a longer life.

Having a dog neutered:
Reduces or eliminates the risk of several cancers.
Keeps the dog out of most dog fights (far less likely to be attacked by another dog)
Keeps him from wanting to run away each time a neighborhood female is in heat.
Reduces risk of being hit by a car.

Sorry, but I don't know of any negatives, other than the general risks of surgical complications, which are minimum..

Call 1-800 SpayUSA to get the lowest cost in your area.

Answer 9

My Dog has been neutered and he is very spunky, funny, and is a blast to play with never stops being a clown. And most important does not have the urge to mark his territory. And has not gained any weight do to the fact that his is so active.

Answer 10

have no fear! i have known plenty of dogs of all breeds in my 35yrs! no one ever slowed down or had a personality change from being fixed! my mom has 16y/o cocker, we had him fixed @ 6m/o, he's still playful and happy. no he's not fat either! he retained a very nice muscle mass! of course he gets plenty of exercise!
my female lab/hound/rott cross is 12, she still acts 6m/o! she gained a little weight after 5y/o, i just walk her more often & watch her diet a little better. otherwise she's very happy and a great pet!
unless you plan on breeding, and then you better have homes for all those potential pups, always fix the dog!
another thing to think about-cancer in the testies. our freinds rotty died from complications of this disease, he was on 6y/o. you should consider there are a huge number of diseases and compliocations a male dog can develope.
male surgery is a little easier, a whole less messy than female surgery. they generally recover within days!
also, if cost is an issue, contact your local shelters and ask about low pay spay programs!