We recommend spaying and neutering dogs and cats AS EARLY AS
6-7 MONTHS OLD
once they have fully undergone their puppy or kitten vaccinations. The primary reason you should have your pet spayed or neutered early on is that female dogs and cats can begin their heat cycles as early as seven months and males can develop aggressive behaviors during puppyhood or kittenhood. Large breed dogs, in most cases, are recommended to wait until 12 months of age.
A spay is a complete ovariohysterectomy. We make an abdominal incision large enough to visualize and ligate vessels in order to remove the ovaries and uterus. The abdomen is closed, and the skin is closed with a subcuticular pattern—which is the use of dissolvable sutures within the skin, so there are no visible sutures, the animals are unable to bite them out, and you don’t have to come back to have the sutures removed.
A neuter is the complete removal of both testicles. There is a small incision made in the skin just in front of the scrotum. The testicles are removed and the vessels ligated. The skin is closed with a subcuticular pattern as described above. We recommend pre-anesthetic blood work for all dogs and cats undergoing a spay or neuter (see preoperative blood work).
Spaying and neutering your pets come with a myriad of health and behavioral benefits that allow them to live longer, happier lives. Some of the benefits of spaying and neutering your pets include:
Elimination of Heat Cycles
When a female dog or cat goes into heat, they can become highly uncomfortable, will seek attention and will likely attract attention from male dogs and cats in the area. Spaying eliminates heat cycles, making your pet more comfortable.
Behavior
For many pet owners, a major benefit of neutering their male dog or cat is that it reduces aggressive, destructive and territorial behaviors such as spraying, mounting and roaming.
Overpopulation and Homelessness
There are approximately 6.5 million dogs and cats in shelters, and about 1.5 million of these animals are euthanized each year. Making the decision to spay and neuter your pets prevents overpopulation in shelters, saving the lives of animals in shelters.
Healthier Pets
Pets that are “fixed” live longer than those who aren't. This finding could be related to pets’ strong urge to roam when they are not “fixed,” putting them at high risk of being hit by a car and getting in fights with other animals.
What’s more, altering pets greatly reduces their risks of certain cancers and disease. For females, pyometra, a fatal uterine infection, and mammary cancer can be prevented with spaying. For males, neutering prevents enlargement and infection of the prostate gland, and is the curative treatment for testicular cancer.
During the surgery
We monitor all animals’ heart, respiratory rate, and oxygen level with the use of a monitor. We have a nurse on staff to directly monitor these parameters. All animals also receive IV fluids to maintain normal blood pressure during surgery.
Some puppies have “deciduous” (baby) teeth at the time of their surgery. These teeth should have fallen out, and prevent other adult teeth from growing in correctly. We will extract these teeth after their surgery while they are still anesthetized.
after the surgery
All animals receive pre and postoperative pain medication. They are monitored while waking up from surgery—vitals are taken every 5 minutes until they are sitting up.
We recover all patients with a heat pad or heat lamp, so they are warm when they wake up from anesthesia (which drops their body temperature). For small or petite puppies, we perform postoperative blood sugar monitoring to prevent against hypoglycemia. We also give them oral dextrose (sugar) once they are awake and sitting up.
We usually discharge all spays and neuters the same day so they can be home comfortable with their owners. We often give pain alleviating medicines for the pets that the owners can carry in case the pets need it at home. We will have detailed discharge instructions written out for you and a staff member will review them with you.
