Spay day is a part of Spay and Neuter awareness month, an opportunity to educate the community about the pet overpopulation problem that affects so many animals across the country. As someone who has spent over 15+ years working in animal shelters, and as a former Humane Educator, I want to take this opportunity to discuss a few things. First, what is overpopulation and how can spaying and neutering your pet help? Second, as a trainer, I want to be a resource for you and your pet when making the decision to spay or not to spay. Lastly, I want to provide advice on ways to prepare for choosing to spay your pet. So let’s get to it.
A spay is an operation performed on a female dog, removing the entire reproductive system, including the uterus and ovaries, also known as an ovariohysterectomy. Other common interchangeable words for a spay are: fixed, altered, or sterilized. Neutering is referring to an operation on a male dog, removing the testicles, so they are not able to reproduce. Dogs have the potential to reproduce fairly early and quickly. A female dog can have an average of two litters per year, and will usually give birth to 6-10 puppies in each litter. My passion for working with animals began when I experienced the emotional and physical labor related to caring for an unspayed dog.
When I was eight years old, my mom built me a really cool treehouse. I wanted my dog, Tuffy, to have fun in the treehouse with me, so using toys and treats I trained her to climb the tree so she could be in the treehouse with me. It was a precious and beautiful moment. Unfortunately, eight-year-old me did not realize that teaching Tuffy to climb a tree could have other consequences besides being treehouse buddies. Tuffy learned that she could climb the tree to hop over the fence. This led to her having not one, but two litters that year. The first litter had 10 puppies, and the second litter had 11 puppies. Luckily, my family was able to find homes for all 21 dogs that year, and taking care of Tuffy during that time led to my current career. As an adult reflecting back, I wish I knew what a spay was sooner, and I wish my family had access to resources so it was affordable. Even after these two litters, we still did not get Tuffy spayed, but rather made our fence higher. This story is not over, I will discuss the additional consequences of this a bit later. This is just one small example of how allowing a pet to reproduce can quickly add up, becoming complicated and problematic for you personally, as well as contributing to pet overpopulation issues throughout our society.
So, what is pet overpopulation? In short, it is when there are too many animals and not enough homes- in America, this is generally referring to dogs and cats. Many organizations will stress spaying and neutering your pet because there are just too many pets entering shelters, creating the issue of numerous pets being euthanized to make space. According to the ASPCA, approximately 3.1 million dogs enter animal shelters each year, and of those, unfortunately about 390,000 are euthanized. Thankfully, the numbers have dramatically decreased over the past decade due to an increase in available spay and neuter services, and an increase in animal shelter adoptions. Throughout my work in many animal rescues, these organizations have the logic of: “No need to bring more puppies into the world when so many current dogs are being euthanized.” This is why nearly all animal shelters and rescues will require your pet to be altered prior to or after adopting. This is also why many cities, including Los Angeles, will require your dog to be altered by the time they are four months old.
The overpopulation and euthanization statistics are shocking, however, I don’t want to make anyone feel bad for choosing to get their dog from a responsible and professional breeder. We must keep in mind that professional breeders take the time to ensure their dogs have good temperaments and health, make sure to set the families up for success, and want to ensure that behaviorally and medically healthy dogs are going out into the world- instead of breeding for superficial reasons and opportunities to make a profit.
While overpopulation and uncontrolled animal reproduction is a big problem, the number one reason dogs end up in a shelter is because of behavioral problems. So whether you rescue your pup or get them from a breeder, we want to prevent them from entering the shelter because of lack of training or the development of undesirable behaviors. I personally have seen this happen time and time again. Once the cute puppy factor has worn off, this once “adorable pup” is now an adolescent or an adult getting into trouble. Early puppy training is so important to prevent issues from arising. Speaking with professional, certified trainers can help families keep their pets, and educating them on how to set everyone up for success. So, if you need some help with basic training and manners, or if you have a dog that needs more than that let us know, we are here to help. Taking care of our pets by limiting reproductive abilities, in addition to educating and training them as they grow, will help stabilize the critical status of homeless animals throughout America.
Now that we know what a spay is, and how spaying and neutering can affect animals nationally, let’s talk about how spaying and neutering can affect our own dogs at home. First, let me say that any decision you make should be discussed with your veterinarian. Below are some of the benefits to getting your pet spayed or neutered.
- Unplanned Litters: In my earlier story, no matter what causes the pregnancy, an unplanned litter can be stressful on you and your dog. Depending on your dog’s age, your dog may not be physically or mentally ready to be a parent because pregnancy is uncomfortable and the birthing process can have complications. You may also have medical expenses to consider to make sure your dog and pups are well, during pregnancy and after birth. Then there is the matter of having to find homes for the pups. Keep in mind all of this affects your dog’s behavior. Part of the reason my experience changed my life was that I was the only one my dog allowed near Tuffy’s pups, which is a lot of responsibility for an 8-year-old. She was protective of her pups so much so, she bit a family member, leading to a hospital visit. An unplanned litter is a stressful series of events that is not necessary if we spay and neuter our dogs.
- Marking: Depending on the age your pet has their surgery, it may decrease the need for your dog to urinate or mark throughout walks or in unfamiliar areas, inside and out. This is not a guarantee, especially if your dog has a history of marking.
- Heat: Females will not go into heat, or estrus- a menstruation cycle. For unspayed females who go into heat, there are supplies that are needed to help with the clean-up as your dog goes through this time. If your dog goes into heat you will need to limit their activity- daycare, play dates, and walks may even be a bit more challenging. Your dog may not be feeling their best and other dogs will know she is in heat, which can lead to other issues.
- Escaping: Dogs have an extremely good sense of smell. If a male dog catches a female scent when she is in heat, he may have a natural need to find her. It can lead to him escaping to track her down, with about 80% of male dogs hit by cars being unaltered. In this case, neutering can help save your dog’s life.
- Cancer & other medical complications: Because spaying and neutering is the removal of reproductive organs, this eliminates the chance of cancer affecting those organs. Females who are not spayed have an increased risk of, not only cancer affecting their ovaries and uterus, but also developing mammary cancer. Another common medical condition that can arise from being unspay is pyometra, a bacterial infection that affects the dog’s uterus. Back to my experience with Tuffy, my family decided to keep one puppy from the last litter, naming her Sparkles- yes, laugh at the name, but remember I was only eight years old. Even after our previous two lessons about female dogs and litters, my family was still not educated on spaying and neutering, so they did not get Sparkles spayed. Sparkles lived a long life without escaping the yard, like Tuffy had. However, When she was eight or nine years old she developed pyometra and needed to have an emergency spay. By this time I was a teenager, and I knew the burden the procedure would cost my family. As a teenager, I had a small part-time job that allowed me to pay for Sparkle’s surgery. The cost was not the only big decision to be made. Our vet was worried about Sparkle’s age and whether the surgery was worth the risk of putting her under anesthesia. Luckily, and thanks to the life-saving surgery, Sparkles lived until she was 16 years of age! So the decision to spay her, even later in life, was well worth it.
Let’s say you have decided to get your pet spayed or neutered. Now what? You will want to discuss with your veterinarian when is the best time to schedule the surgery. I recommend that as soon as you have decided to get your pup altered, start preparing. There are a few things you can start training with your pup ahead of time to help your dog heal and transition after their surgery. Talk with a trainer, and we can show you how to implement these preparations.
- Train taking medication vs. hiding the meds in food: After a surgery, your dog will most likely be on some type of pain medication. Hiding medication in food is generally an easy way to get your dog to take their medications, but this can also lead to food equaling something that is not good or pleasant. Because we use food so much in training, as it is a primary reinforcer, we don’t want to give our dogs a reason to be suspicious of food. Often dogs figure out how to lick or eat everything that was wrapped around the pill, and not eat the pill. So instead we can train our dogs to take pills when needed and a food reward is followed.
- Train your dog to put their head through the cone: After the surgery, your vet will generally require your dog to wear a cone for 10-14 days. This is very important because it will prevent your dog from licking and getting to their incision site, which can cause a variety of problems if they do. Some vets recommend the cone never come off, some may say it is okay every so often as long as they are fully monitored. If your pup can take off the cone, even for a short time, I can imagine it is a nice break and will allow them to be more comfortable. Then what do you do when you have to put the cone back on? Training your dog to voluntarily put their head through the cone can ease the process. You can purchase these cone collars online or directly from your vet. In addition to your dog getting used to putting the cone on, you can also work on duration- having them keep the cone on for longer periods of time, so it is not such a shock to them to have to wear it all the time. You will also need to help them navigate their way through the house with the cone on. This is a great test run to see if you need to move any furniture slightly, or put away breakable items as your dog may accidentally run into things as their peripheral vision will be a bit impaired.
- Train a behavior that allows you to examine the incision: It will be important to monitor the incision to make sure there is no sign of infection. It may be hard for your dog to sit still long enough to allow you to take a peek at the area. Training a behavior such as a standing stay or a rollover/play dead can allow the dog to willingly get into the position you need so you can look at their incision.
- Increase their mental stimulation and decrease their physical exercise: Can your dog function and stay mentally and physically sound when they need to restrict their activity for up to 14 days? I love folks who enjoy exercising their pups. It’s a great thing, but when we routinely exercise our dog, we increase our dog’s endurance and need to get their energy out in a specific way. So if you go for a two mile run every day, the sudden shift after the surgery may be hard for your pup. They may become vocal (barking), or even destructive if they don’t have that outlet for their energy, and can make the recovery time more difficult for you and your dog. The easiest way to manage this is through providing enrichment with food toys, puzzles, and training games that allow your dog to work their mind. This can tire them out enough so they won’t have that drive to go for the daily run during their recovery. Check out our latest enrichment video for some ideas, and talk with a trainer for additional training games to try.
Remember we are alway here for you, give us a call if you have any questions or if you want to start preparing your dog for their surgery. Discuss with your vet additional benefits or risks there are in deciding to spay or neuter your pet. If you want to help the overpopulation problem in another way, I recommend making a donation to your local animal welfare organization. You can also volunteer your time towards caring for the animals in need, as well as educating the public in research about spay and neuter programs and local legislation.
Bibliography:
https://www.humanesociety.org/all-our-fights/ending-pet-homelessness
https://petsmartcharities.org/adopt-a-pet/spay-neuter
https://www.aspca.org/helping-people-pets/shelter-intake-and-surrender/pet-statistics
