At Beaverdale Veterinary Clinic, we encourage our clients to have their pets spayed and neutered in an effort to help control the companion animal population as well as provide your pet with long-term health benefits. With a united effort starting at the individual and community level, we can reverse this trend and create a brighter future for the general companion animal population.

 

Spaying and neutering a pet has life-long behavioral and health benefits:
 

• Spaying your female pet prior to sexual maturity prevents uterine infections, which can be very tough on the short-term and long-term health of the animal, and breast cancer, which is fatal in ~90% of cats and ~50% of dogs.

• Neutering your male pet before 6 months of age completely removes the risk of testicular cancer and reduces the likelihood of perianal tumors.

• Female pets in heat can be difficult due to increased vocalization and frequent, indiscriminate urination. Their heat cycles last 4-5 days at 3 week intervals during the breeding season. Spayed females do not go into heat, the the behavioral dispositions typically associated with the condition.

• Mature, un-neutered male dogs have a strong biological drive to find a mate and are much more likely to engage in undesirable behavior like digging under fences, getting into fights with other dogs, indiscriminate humping, and becoming surprisingly adept escape artists in pursuit of this desire. Neutering diminishes such aggressive behavior and helps direct their attention to their human families.

• In a household with multiple pets, spaying and neutering all animals before maturity can improve their general temperament toward each other which helps them interact in a more agreeable manner.

 

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