To date, veterinary schools in the United States focus on teaching the traditional castration surgery. Neutering Your Male Dog – Pros and Cons (for FEMALE dogs, click here.) However, that doesn’t mean that the findings don’t apply to smaller dogs too. Vaccines save lives. Prevent him from “roughhousing” and do not allow him to be excessively active. Neutering your dog or puppy is a very important health decision and should be decided on an individual basis. With a vasectomy the testicles are left intact, allowing reproductive hormone function to continue normally. Below are all of the pros and cons of removing a female dog’s reproductive hormones that I considered. Objection to mandatory spaying and neutering or breeder concerns that pet pups may be bred from can be allayed by canine tubal ligation or vasectomy. Semen (cum) can still carry STDs, even if it doesn’t contain sperm. When a vasectomy is performed in older animals, additional diagnostic tests may be necessary to exclude concurrent diseases and to minimize anesthesia-related risks. Canine birth control method 5 - canine vasectomy. Apparently, it’s near impossible to find veterinarians willing to tackle this simple procedure. One of the main Pros of your dog wearing a “house” collar is that it is a legal requirement for dogs to wear an ID tag on his collar with name, house number postcode and telephone number on. Do not let your vasectomized dog interact with a female in heat during this time period. Photo: Skitterphoto. This is the reason the zoos often do vasectomies in their population of animals so that they can’t rampantly breed but will still maintain the behavior they would often exhibit in the wild. In the US, sterilization involves removal of the reproductive organs (gonadectomy), usually through ovariohysterectomy (spay) of females and orchiectomy (castration) of males. There has been a ton of controversy surrounding spaying and neutering. As an additional benefit, young dogs who are neutered are less likely to suffer problems with growth and development due to a reduction in hormones as a result of castration. Research projects to answer this question first evaluated the difference between early and later gonadectomy, usually suppo… The Pros & Cons of a Vasectomy Procedure Vasectomy is a routine procedure, but you should get all the facts before you decide whether or not it's right for you. These procedures eliminate the hormones produced by these organs. Should You Get Pet Insurance? A vasectomy is a small operation a man has to prevent pregnancy. Castration eliminates the possibility of testicular cancer. 1) It's a surgical procedure. A vasectomy must be performed in your doctor’s office or a medical facility. Most vasectomy procedures in dogs are performed on young healthy animals, and extensive pre-operative work-up is not usually necessary. The best way to protect yourself and your partner from STDs is to get tested regularly and use condoms. The vasectomy procedure involves cutting or blocking the vas deferens in each testicle. This technique has contributed to controlling overall population levels of the unwanted dogs. 10e. There does seem to be some health benefits but there are some conditions in which the risk is increased by castrating dogs. Vasectomies don’t prevent STDs. These include vasectomy and intratesticular injection of zeuterin. Neutering Your Male Dog: Pros and Cons. (Unlike a vasectomy, castration involves surgical removal of the testicles.) -The pros and cons of neutering or spaying dogs explained above would have painted a rough picture of these two processes. Of all the e-mails and phone calls the last five years of blogging has brought my way, the most commonly queried issue has to do with how to source a tubal ligation or vasectomy for dogs. Some veterinarians use nonabsorbable sutures to close the incision that needs to be removed, while others use absorbable sutures beneath the surface of the skin that will absorb on their own. To date, veterinary schools in the United States focus on teaching the traditional castration surgery. While gonadectomy makes it impossible for the pet to reproduce, what other impacts does a lack of sex hormones have on the pet? By Michele Welton, Dog Trainer, Breed Selection Consultant, Author of 15 Dog Books. But there are already too many puppies (and adult dogs) who desperately need homes. Certainly, a dog or cat that has had a vasectomy will not be able to impregnate a female but they will still have the impact of testosterone on their body. It can take several months after the vasectomy surgery for all the sperm to be ejaculated or reabsorbed, therefore dogs can remain fertile and able to reproduce for a period of time. With a vasectomy the testicles are left intact, allowing reproductive hormone function to continue normally. Neutering is a much simpler surgery … Puppies are adorable! Controversy surrounding the health risks associated with the neutering (castration) of dogs has lead veterinarians and dog owners to question if there are alternatives. No Further Need For Birth Control The use of other types of birth controls can be … For more information on the risks of neutering, go to: Pros and Cons of Neutering. Some believe that vasectomy may become the norm in the future while castration will become less common. There are definite pros and cons to having a service dog. The only downside is that – as with tubal ligation – vets are not trained to do a vasectomy in school and so you must make sure your vet has received additional, specialized training in this procedure. Pros and Cons of a Non-scalpel vasectomy Up until the 80’s, conventional vasectomies involved using a scalpel (a sharp blade) to make two incisions on either side of the scrotum. (Unlike a vasectomy, castration involves surgical removal of the testicles.) Whether we’re talking California, New York, Miami, or the sum total of all the progressive places in between, vasectomy is currently not considered an alternative to traditional castration of dogs. It is a bit more complicated to do a tubal ligation than an ovariohysterectomy in a dog or cat. (Unlike a vasectomy, castration involves surgical removal of the testicles.) Making a decision on whether to have a vasectomy is a deeply personal one, and there are certainly many pros and cons to consider. Dogs with a vasectomy will still experience the same reproductive urges as intact dogs … A vasectomy on dogs involves first making an incision in front of the testicle. Removing the entirety of the testicular tissue permanently eliminates the vast majority of his testosterone production. It is not more complicated to do a vasectomy than a castration. This ensures that the dog will not breed, which is an important stipulation of many adoption contracts. Dogs with a vasectomy will still experience the same reproductive urges as intact dogs … With this in mind, owners should have a serious discussion with their veterinarian about the pros and cons of neutering and decide what is best for each dog individually. With a vasectomy the testicles are left intact, allowing reproductive hormone function to continue normally. Apparently, it’s near impossible to find veterinarians willing to take on these simple procedures in some parts of the country. If you are trying to make the decision whether a vasectomy is the right option for you then it is important to understand both the pros and the cons of the procedure. – You might be ostracized and/or interrogated at dog parks and other public venues where only neutered dogs (those without reproductive organs) are allowed. Effective birth control. The cons of vasectomy: Though there are many pros to the procedure, there are some risks that men need to carefully consider. Anti-testosterone agents (e.g. Male dominance aggression will increase the danger to all involved in these situations. Canine birth control method 4 - the "male pill" - fertility suppressing implants for male dogs. Dr. Kutzler says she’s not opposed to male dog vasectomy and has performed them on shelter and research dogs. But it is also a very low risk disease in dogs. Dogs with a vasectomy will still experience the same reproductive urges as intact dogs and retain their desire to breed. However, it also has the downside of developing certain cancers, hypothyroidism etc. Canine birth control method 6 - chemical castration - injecting sclerosing agents into testes and/or epididymus. But you can get a start here learning about vasectomy pros and cons. These are the tubes that transport sperm to the semen. Issues Holding Vets Back From Performing Vasectomy’s on Dogs # 1 Behavior issues. I will be “using you” and your post to share the pro’s and con’s with my dear husband. Know the pros and cons of vaccinating your dog or cat. All animals and humans deserve to benefit from the protective power of vaccination when they are at risk for contracting a serious or fatal disease. The IHC Group. Some breeders embrace the idea of vasectomy as an alternative to traditional neutering as it can be performed on young dogs before a leaving for adoption. This article will refer to the procedure of vasectomy alone. First, a couple caveats. Vasectomy is commonly performed to render pets unable to breed without altering normal hormonal production, thus helping to control pet overpopulation while reducing the developmental impact on the animal. An expert researcher and author of 15 books about dogs, she loves helping people choose, train, and care for their dogs. Overview of Canine Vasectomy The procedure referred to as a “vasectomy” in dogs is a method of birth control which redirects the release of sperm in the male dog during breeding. Pre-operative evaluation usually involves a thorough physical examination and may include blood tests. They have changed the face of contagious disease like almost no other modern medical discovery. Since vasectomy prevents the release of sperm from the penis but not the release to testosterone, there is no decrease in the libido or sex drive of the man. ©Copyright 1999 - 2021. Your email address will not be published. Make an appointment with your doctor to discuss if vasectomy is the right method of birth control for you. Vasectomy is also an option for sterilizing a male dog. Check out my other articles on health & feeding. No harm, no foul. When a man reaches orgasm, sperm from the testes enter the sperm via the vas deferens tube. Service dogs (SD) are a dog or miniature horse trained for specific tasks to help … All Rights Reserved. The testicle will still produce sperm but it is reabsorbed by the body. – Following vasectomy surgery, a male dog can successfully breed for up to two months. Do not allow your pet to lick or chew at the incision. However, in recent times, non-scalpel vasectomies have become increasingly popular and … 10f. “Neutering dogs before puberty causes the growth plate in the long bones to close later, and this can lead to altered joint angles as well as taller dogs. The main benefit of vasectomy is that it’s permanent. 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