by Sherry Law

Created on: February 21, 2011

If you are trying to decide whether you should or should not neuter your dog, there are several benefits that you need to consider.  Some of them are related to the dog’s health, some to his behavior and some are related to being a responsible pet owner.

First let’s look at the health benefits of neutering your dog.  As many as 80% of unneautered dogs eventually develop some sort of prostate problems.  These can include infections, cysts and benign hyperpasia.  As a male dog ages, the testosterone in his body often causes his prostate gland to become enlarged.  This condition is known as benign hyperplasia.  Though this is a common condition in male dogs that are not neutered, it can lead to discomfort for the animal, as well as difficulty in defecation.  When your dog is neutered the testosterone level in his body is much lower, resulting in a shrinking of the  prostate, rather than it becoming enlarged.  Dogs who are not neutered also seem to have more prostate infections and cysts within the prostate than their neutered counterparts.

Another health benefit is that dogs is the fact that without the testicles (which are removed when the dog is neutered) the dog cannot develop testicular tumors.  Whether benign or malignant, testicular tumors require surgery to treat.  It is much less expensive to neuter a young dog than to treat testicular tumors or cancer later.

Perianal tumors are another dangerous condition that is more common in unneatered dogs than in those that are neutered.  These tumors, which occur near the anus, can again be either benign or cancerous.  Their growth seems to be stimulated by testosterone so the lower testosterone levels in neutered dogs lessens the likelihood that perianal tumors will strike.

Perianal hernias are also more common in unneutered males.  Perianal hernias occur when the testosterone and other hormones of an unneutered animal causes a weakening of the muscles near the dog’s anus.   This weaken muscle allows pieces of the dog’s colon, prostate, bladder or fat to slip from the abdominal cavity, through the muscle and creates a ‘bubble’ between the muscle and the skin.  If not caught early, hernias can result in the organs becoming damaged from a loss of blood flow.  Depending on the organ, this can result in the animal’s inability to completely empty either their bladder or colon.  An animal

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