Spay or neuter your pet, and he/she will be healthier and happier. 

Many great websites are out there promoting spay/neuter. We all know that spaying and neutering is the best way to stop pet overpopulation. What if you just don't care about anything but your own pet? (don't we all know people like that?) This is the page to read! Our goal is to give undisputable facts, backed up by the research. You can't argue with science!

What is a spay?
Removal of the uterus and ovaries from a female animal. It involves entering the abdomen, and has become a standard, outpatient procedure in most vet clinics.

What is a neuter?
Removal of the testicals from the scrotal pouch of a male animal. Adult dogs that are neutered may still have an empty sac visible. Along with the testes are removed the ductus deferens and epididymis.

Reasons to spay a female dog or cat:

• Spaying a female dog or cat reduces hormone fluctuations, which can help control any other conditions the dog or cat may have such as diabetes, epilepsy, or demodex mange.Fossum, et al. Small Animal Surgery, 2nd Edition, 2002. p616
• 50% of dog mammary tumors (breast lumps) and 90% of cat mammary tumors are malignant (cancerous). Ogilvie, Moore. Managing the Veterinary Cancer Patient: a practice manual. 1995
• If a female dog is spayed before her first heat cycle, her risk of developing breast cancer is only 0.05%. If she is spayed after having only one heat cycle, her risk of breast cancer jumps to 8%. If she is spayed after her second heat cycle, that risk becomes 26%... that's more than 1 in 4! Spaying a dog after her third heat cycle may reduce the risk of mammary carcinoma (breast cancer) but not appreciably. The take-home message: intact female dogs are 50 times more likely to get breast cancer than a dog spayed prior to her first heat cycle. Ogilvie, Moore. Managing the Veterinary Cancer Patient: a practice manual. 1995
• Cats that are spayed prior to 1 year of age have a mere 0.6% risk of developing mammary carcinoma, which is a very aggressive, often fatal, cancer in cats. More than 99% of cats diagnosed with mammary carcinoma are intact (not spayed). Fossum, et al. Small Animal Surgery, 2nd Edition, 2002. p632-633
• Pyometra is an infection and accumulation of pus inside the uterus. It can cause the liver and kidneys to fail, and can be fatal if the animal is not spayed as treatment. If the uterus is weak and ruptures either before or during surgery, this leads to death in 57% of dogs. It is rare for a spayed dog to develop pyometra. Fossum, et al. Small Animal Surgery, 2nd Edition, 2002. p644
• Spaying prevents estrous, or the heat cycle. Dogs that no longer cycle rarely get vaginal prolapse/hyperplasia or vaginal cysts, as these are hormonally based. Fossum, et al. Small Animal Surgery, 2nd Edition, 2002. p645
• Early spaying can effectively reduce dog to dog aggression. Hart BL. Effects of neutering and spaying on the behavior of dogs and cats: questions and answers about practical concerns. J Am Vet Med Assoc 198:1204-5, 1981a

It has become common knowledge that spaying a dog effectively stops the occurance of messy, bloody heat cycles, and the animal cannot reproduce.

Common sense tell us that if an animal does not have a uterus, she cannot develop cancer of the uterus, uterine torsion, infection (pyometra), inflammation (metritis), or prolapse! If she does not have ovaries, she cannot develop ovarian cancer!

Reasons to neuter/castrate a male dog or cat:

• Neutered dogs do not have testicles, meaning they cannot get testicular cancer. There are 3 common types of testicular tumor: Sertoli cell tumors, Leydig cell tumors, and seminomas.Sertoli cell tumors, ironically, secrete estrogen, a female hormone. Dogs with hyperestrogenism display female physical and sexual traits. Leydig cell tumors can cause hernias and prostatic disease.Fossum, et al. Small Animal Surgery, 2nd Edition, 2002. p660
• Neutering a male dog will effectively reduce or eliminate objectionable behaviors such as urine marking, mounting, and roaming. Some dogs show decreased aggression after castration as well. Neilson JC, et al. J Am Vet Med Assoc 211:180, 1997
• Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia is an enlargement of the prostate gland that can cause difficulty defecating or urinating. The enlargement is hormonally controlled, and neutering the dog is the definitive cure for this. If a dog is already neutered, he cannot develop BPH. Kraweic, Heflin. Study of Prostatic Disease in Dogs: 177 cases. J Am Vet Med Assoc 100:1119, 1992.
• Prostatic abscesses are painful and cause systemic signs. This condition affects intact, non-neutered dogs. Mullen, et al. Results of Surgery and postoperative complications in 92 dogs treated for prostatic absessation by a multiple penrose drain technique. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 26:369, 1990
• Neutering can prevent perianal adenomas and perineal hernias, two painful and unsightly conditions. Fossum, et al. Small Animal Surgery, 2nd Edition, 2002. p619
• If a male cat is neutered, fighting decreases by 88%, urine spraying decreases by 87%, and roaming decreases by 92%. Hart BL, CooperLC. Factors relating to urine spraying and fighting in pre-pubertally gonadectomized cats. J Am Vet Med Assoc 184:1255-1258. 1994.
• Early neutering can effectively prevent interdog aggression. Voith VL. Intermale Aggression in the dog. Mod Vet Practice 61(3):256-258, 1980e.

Consider the costs!
Paying for a single spay or neuter operation can be considered an investment. One preventative surgery is much less expensive than paying for surgery and medicine for a life-threatening condition, not to mention the suffering of your pet!

"But no child's life is complete without experiencing a birth"
We've all heard the "old wives tales" about spaying and neutering. People think they must breed if their dog is purebred, or watching a birth will actually teach their kids something about life. These, of course, are ludicrous, but one "crazy notion" actually has some truth to it! Research shows that spaying or neutering dogs and cats can cause their energy needs to drop by about 25% (Root MV, et al. Res Vet Sci 1996:57(3)317-374). Furthermore, another study showed that altered dogs and cats consume more food (Fettman MJ et al, Res Vet Sci 1997: 62:131-136). This is not a good combination in terms of weight control! So how do you keep the weight off? Measure what your pet eats, consult your veterinarian about the right food (type and quantity) for your pet, and get out and exercise! Since about 30% of pets in this country are overweight, many great diets and health programs are now available through your veterinarian!

Besides the many health benefits, spaying or neutering your pet will help the pet overpopulation problem! Every year, over a million dogs and cats are killed in shelters. These are healthy, loving animals who simply had bad luck--no one wanted them. You can help solve this problem very easily by having your pet spayed or neutered. It's healthier for your pet, and you can be confident you did not contribute to the pet overpopulation problem.