TOA PAYOH VETS

Blk 1002, Toa Payoh Lor 8, 01-1477, Singapore 319074.  Tel: +65 6254-3326, 9668-6468, 9664-0404. judy@toapayohvets.com
Focus: Small animals - dogs, cats, guinea pigs, hamsters, pet rats and mice, birds and turtles      
January 05, 2021 
 

The reasons for neutering the male dog are:

1.  Urine stench in the apartment.
Some mature male dogs spray drops of urine onto the walls and furniture, making family members angry.

One Maltese was beaten by the father but the dog continued to spray urine inside the apartment. "He had passed a lot of fresh blood in his urine,"  the young lady confirmed that the dog was beaten hard on his kidney area by her father, many times for 'misbehaving'.  "However, he could not stop his natural desire to spray urine to mark out his territory".  Neutering of this dog early would have prevented harsh punishment as the dog would not mark the walls of the apartment.

2.  Aggressive biting of children and the care-giver. Sometimes, the dog is euthanased as they become uncontrollable. 

3.  Anti-social behaviour. Gripping people with both legs as if the dog wants to mate with the person.  This can be traumatic to visitors, especially female guests.

4. Testicular cancer.  The probability of the undescended testicle becoming cancerous is higher than descended ones.  Most owners fail to detect the cancer in the older dog (more than 7 years old). Testicular tumour (Sertoli) in an undescended testicle, circum-anal tumours, enlarged prostate, infected prostate and perineal hernias are more common in the older non-neutered male dogs.

I advise neutering the dog young to prevent such worries and increased medical costs in resolving such health issues.
See cases of circum-anal tumours in other webpages or google this topic. 

The reasons for spaying the female dog are:

Breast cancer if you don't sterilise your bitch? "Why don't you tell the owner that the bitch will get breast cancer if she is not sterilised?" an experienced dog groomer asked me when I went to his pet shop to vaccinate his puppies for sale in 2004. "You will increase your revenue." 

"I should encourage breeding," I said. "So, that you will have more dogs to groom!" 

There is a conflict of interest for a private veterinarian to recommend spaying to every dog owner as he generates income from surgeries. 

In any case, many younger Singaporeans feel that it is un-natural to sterilise their pets. They are aware of the pros and cons of the surgery as the internet provides a rich source of information easily.

The main reason Singaporeans spay their female dog are:

1. Soiling the apartment. The blood drops from the female dog in heat need to be cleaned up.  

2.  The considerably reduced annual dog licence fee for spayed females is an incentive for spaying.

3. Accidental mating may also occur if there is a male dog.  I have a case of a female Silkie terrier mated by a Shetland sheepdog in an apartment. She needed Caesarean delivery.

4. Prevention of breast cancer and womb infection in the older bitch (more than 7 years old) when the female dog is spayed at less than one year old.  

Is sterilisation safe for the dog and when to do it?

In 99% of the surgical cases, the normal bitch or dog does not die from the anaesthesia or surgery.  Toa Payoh Vets' recommended time to sterilise is around 6 months of age for the male and 2 months after the first bleeding for the female dog. The male dog is around 6 months old and the female dog is 10-12 months old at the time of sterilisation. Consult your vet for his or her advices.