Neutering, Pros and Cons?

Question

At the weekend I was talking to a lady who had her bit ch spayed last year and wished she hadn't as she developed spay incontinence as a result which caused a lot of distress to the dog, she now has it just about under control with drug therapy but there are still occasional "accidents" which the bit ch finds very distressing.

Why is the risk of incontinence never discussed when advice is given regarding the prevention of illness due to neutering and what other "risks" are involved.

Before people start to take a pop at me about being an uncaring and terrible person who should never have a dog, mine are all neutered and I do alot of work for rescue. I would just like ALL of the information in order to make a fully informed choice as to wether or when to neuter.

Answer 1

From what I understand any complications arising from a spay/neuter are rare.  That's probably why you don't hear about them.

I wondered the same thing, still have no real answers though.

Answer 2

If you do work for animal rescue or welfare you already know the answer. Spay incontinence is rare and even non neutered dogs can develop incontinence as they get older. Unless you are a registered breeder or have working dogs the benefits of having them neutered far out ways any of the risks. I suggest that you help out in the clinic at an animal welfare shelter on the day they are putting these beautiful animals "down" then you will realise why we are working so hard to make it unlawful to have non neutered dogs as pets.  

Answer 3

the best thing to do would be to call your vet. they'll tell you everything over the phone. and most of the time, the person who answers the phone has all the answers you need. however some are: pros:stops a lot of harmful diseases, lowers chances of urinary tract infection, and keeps your dog from having puppies you have to care for.cons:if you want puppies, you CAN NOT have this procedure reversed. there can be invections and scartissue depending on how well the procedure was done. and the problems with the incontinenece thing only happens to like 1 in 20 pets if that.

Answer 4

So called spay incontinence is misleading & misinformation...some dogs do have incontinence after spaying however incontinence is just as common in intact females as it is in those that have been spayed.

Except for anesthesia risks there really aren't any "real" risks with spay/neuter despite claims by some organizations and anti-spay/neuter groups & people.

Common sense needs to apply..thousands of dogs & cats are spay/neutered daily and have been for years...so think about it.

The risks from not spay/neuter are far higher then risk of doing it.

Answer 5

ok so neutering is desexing male dog. Desexing reduces the risk of them getting prostate cancer or problems, it eliminates any chance of getting testicular cancer and also dramatically reduces the risk of them wondering searching for the ***** on heat down the street. desexing a female(having her speyed) eliminated any chance of having a pyo which is an infection of the uterus which can be life threatening. It also reduces the risk of mammary tumors and unwanted puppy and the discomfort and mess associated with a ***** on heat. i guess the only bad thing is yes there is a slight chance of a ***** becoming incontinent but im my 8 years of nursing i have only seen this once. so very very rare. The other thing is vets would not recommend doing it if desexing was so bad! Desexings for females and males are usually only day procedures and usually only have 1-4 stitches.

hope this helped

Answer 6

"Neutering" refers to the male dog and "spaying" refers to the female..

Neutering a male dog takes away almost all of his inclination to "wander" when he smells a female in heat...WON'T GET HIT BY A CAR !

Spaying not only makes her life WAY less stressful, but comepletely erases her chances of ovarion or uterin cancer...

Hope I've helped.. :-)

Answer 7

It an interesting question. I'm guessing that because pet overpopulation appears to be such a big issue in the U.S. it's important to push the spay and neuter?



The situation is different where I live, spaying and neutering is the exception, not the rule, and usually performed to address a specific health or behavioural issue, never because of the risk of unwanted litters, since people know to keep a female in heat away from other dogs.

Our vets are not automatically advocating it and most reputable breeders seem to prefer that the dogs remain intact, even if they won't be used for breeding. In fact, I've never met a vet who suggested this for any of my dogs. There also seem to be more awareness of the pros and cons of spay and neuter.

That said, I believe it's a choice that will always depend on the individual dog and the individual dog owner. As long as thir reasoning is sound and the dog is well cared for, I can fully respect other dog owners' decisions, even if I might not agree with them.

Answer 8

I think the risk of incontinence is rarely mentioned because it doesn't often occur. I've had 3 spayed females, and none of them have ever had any negative spay-related side-effects. I've never met or even spoken to anyone who has experienced any, either. I know there are people who end up regretting it, but the same can be said for almost anything in life, and these people are absolutely in the minority. There are certainly more people who are glad they did it than people who wish they hadn't.

I think it's also because between incontinence from spaying or possible reproductive cancer from not spaying, incontinence is the option most people would take if given a choice. My uncle's dog was never spayed, and ended up dying with golf ball sized tumors all over her underside which could have been completely prevented if he had spayed her. He never forgave himself, and to this day decades later, he hasn't been able to get another dog. He knows he allowed her to get a preventable cancer, and he hates himself for it.

In short, I guess the pros so greatly outweigh the usually minor and rare cons, that most people forget that there ARE cons and neglect to pass that info along when encouraging other to spay.