Puppy and Kitten spaying/neutering

SPAYING AND NEUTERING
At 6 months of age, female dogs and cats should be spayed and male dogs and cats neutered. For females, spaying at 6 months of age, before the first heat, decreases the chances of breast cancer tremendously. After the fourth heat, the incidence of breast cancer is the same whether the animal is spayed or not. Spaying at any age prevents uterine and ovarian cancer as well as pyometra, a life threatening infection of the uterus. Neutering male dogs at six months of age stops the hormonal desire to hump legs, jump fences, chase female dogs in heat, mark territory with urine and other unseemly male behaviors. Neutering adult males to stop these behaviors is not effective because these are no longer hormonal impulses but learned behaviors. Neutering at any age will decrease prostate and rectal cancer. The only exception to spaying or neutering your dog or cat is if it is going to be a breeding animal. If this is your situation, please ask us for advice before you do anything.

Spay/Neuter Facts
For every person that is born, 15 dogs and 45 cats are born.
Pet overpopulation is a big problem. As these statistics show, in order to help keep up with the current flood of puppies and kittens, every person would have to own two dogs and six cats at all times.
A household of five would have to harbor 10 dogs and 30 cats! Adoption alone is obviously not the answer. Altering is. Please spay or neuter your pets.

All pets should be surgically altered for many reasons:

FEMALES (Spaying - Ovariohysterectomy)

Prevents signs of estrus (heat).
Prevents blood stains on the carpet from the heat cycle.
Decreases surplus of puppies and kittens.
Decreases the chance of developing breast tumors later in life.
Decreases the chance of cystic ovaries and uterine infections later in life.

MALES (Neutering - Castration)

Decreases the desire to roam the neighborhood.
Decreases aggression - become more loving pets (more affectionate).
Decreases incidence of prostate cancer later in life.
Prevents odor of Tom Cat urine.
Prevents Tom Cat spraying and marking furniture and walls.

More Spay/Neuter Facts

Spaying does NOT cause a pet to get fat or lazy. This comes from overfeeding and poor exercise.
Personalities are NOT altered by spaying. Personalities do NOT fully develop until two years of age. Aggressiveness and viciousness are not the result of surgery. Personalities will ONLY get better!
Surgical risk is very slight due to modern anesthesia and techniques, but there is ALWAYS some SMALL risk when an anesthetic is used.
It is much easier on the pet to be spayed before going through a heat cycle, due to the smaller size of the reproductive tract.
Best age to spay or neuter pets is 6-8 months of age.
Surgery is performed painlessly while your pet is under general anesthesia. Post surgical pain is minimal.