Do I have to get my dog castrated?

no one’s going to arrest you if you don’t

But you might chose to when you’ve looked at the pros and cons.

Why do we castrate dogs?

The main reason we desex pets (males and females) is to reduce breeding. So if you feel there’s no risk your dog will be getting jiggy with a female, should you still think about castration?

Yes. Think about it. Because birth control is not the only reason. Testicles don’t just contain sperm.

Testicles make testosterone

Testosterone is responsible for the development of behavioural patterns such as:

• Aggression – hormone surges can make your dog do things like have a go at or hump other dogs, both potentially resulting in a punch on. Even when there are no surges, other dogs can detect the pheromones given off by an entire male dog and may go on the attack – no matter how sweet natured your boy is. Intact dogs are more than twice as likely to be bitten by another animal as neutered dogs. How much castration suppresses aggression varies between dogs and the age it's done.

• Roaming – the pheromones given off by female dogs in heat travel great distances in the air and act like a powerful magnet for entire male dogs. This can lead to dogs escaping and getting picked up by the pound or hit by a car – intact dogs are twice as likely to be hit by a car as neutered dogs. If your dog can't escape then he is essentially sexually frustrated until the pheromones go away. Dogs who are castrated at around 6 months of age do not sense or respond to pheromones and are happy to stay at home.

• Distraction - entire males are easily distracted and make poor students during training and stubborn ignorers of your calls at the park.

Medically, testosterone has a role in the development of:

• Prostate disease – over 80% of entire male dogs develop prostate disease such as enlargement, infection, cysts and cancer.

• Perianal tumours – which grow around the anus due to testosterone stimulation and can be very nasty.

• Perineal hernias – which are protrusions of abdominal organs through the muscle wall around the anus. Testosterone can weaken the muscles allowing the colon, bladder, prostate and fat to slip through creating a bulge beside the anus. This is uncomfortable and may even stop your dog from being able to urinate or pass faeces. Perineal hernias need to be repaired surgically.

The up side of testosterone

Testosterone is an anabolic steroid hormone, and along with other hormones (like Growth hormone), it promotes muscle development. There is evidence that early castration of some larger breed dogs (eg Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds) may be associated with joint issues (such as cruciate disease, hip dysplasia) and with some cancers.

Now, this doesn't mean that these breeds shouldn't ever be castrated. But it does suggest the timing of castration may have extra significance for some dogs.

We don't do the sorts of early neutering done at some shelters and by some breeders. For most of the breeds that we see, castration between 6 and 12 months is appropriate. For larger breeds, we generally recommend waiting until they are done with growing.

We can weigh up the benefits and risks for your pet and create an individual plan.

So now you understand the why of castration, let's take a look at what is involved.

Castration – the not so scary procedure

If you want to know what's involved, read through each step. If you feel ignorance is bliss in this matter, skip to 'Recovery'. If it's all too much, scroll down to an alternative to surgical castration.

At home

There's not much you need to do to prepare for surgery. Just make sure he has no food after midnight (water is okay) because he needs to be fasted for an anaesthetic. During anaesthesia, sphincters relax and protective reflexes stop working. This increases the risk of stomach contents refluxing up (through the lower oesophageal sphincter) into the throat and going down the windpipe.  

Admission

Admission is usually between 8 am and 9 am, but if this doesn't work for you, let us know and we can work something out. If we haven't seen your dog before then he needs an admission appointment with a vet, otherwise he is simply admitted by one of our nurses. 

You'll need to fill out a consent form when you arrive. This basically outlines:

• what's going to be done – not just the castration but things like nail clips, microchipping, baby teeth removal, ear cleaning if you would like it done

• our responsibilities – providing your dog with best practice care, including safe anaesthetic techniques and good pain management

• your responsibilities – having a number we can reach you on and paying the bill when you come to pick him up

If you want, you can schedule a discharge appointment for the afternoon now. Otherwise, you can do this when we call to say he's ready.

Ward time

After admission, your dog will be settled into a comfy cage by his nurse for the day, where she'll check his heart rate etc.

About 30 minutes before surgery, he will be give a 'pre-med'. The exact medications in the pre-med are tailored for each patient, but it will contain a sedative to help him feel nice and relaxed. Dogs that are very anxious can be given their 'pre-med' early.

Anaesthetic induction

When it's time for surgery, your dog will be taken to the 'prep' area near the operating theatre. He will have a bit of fur clipped from one of his front legs and an IV line will be placed. This line provides IV fluids throughout the procedure.

The vet will inject an anaesthetic through the IV line and your dog will drop off to sleep... this is the last thing he'll remember until he wakes up after the op.

Once he's asleep, a tube will be placed into his windpipe and then connected to an anaesthetic machine that supplies him with oxygen and inhaled anaesthetic to keep him asleep. Monitoring equipment continuously measures his heart rate, oxygen level, blood pressure and breathing and his nurse charts the readings.

Surgical prep

The surgery nurse will now prepare his downstairs area for surgery, this means shaving some fur from around his scrotum and then doing a special multi-step cleaning process.

While your dog is being prepared for surgery, the vet is also going through a prep process. This involves putting on a surgical cap and mask, scrubbing up hands and arms, donning a sterile gown and then putting on sterile gloves – once these are on, we only touch sterile objects.

Recovery

Is there an alternative to surgical castration?

Yes. We can do chemical castration.

The most common form used currently is an implant (Suprelorin®) containing a hormone that suppresses testosterone and fertility. There are two strengths, with the lower one lasting around 6 months and the high strength one lasting 12 months. 

The main reasons we do chemical castration are:

• the dog is going to be used for breeding later on (please be realistic about this option for your pet dog – as great as your dog is, there may not be a huge demand out there for your dog's semen)

• we're trialling the effect of castration on behaviour before considering surgical castration

• we're treating prostate or other testosterone-related disease in a dog that might be too old or too sick for surgery

Occasionally, some people are really attached to their dog's balls and can't bear to see them go. So then chemical castration is basically used for cosmetic effect... although, finding a full scrotum on a dog attractive is kinda niche.