Is it really true that fixing your pet prevents early death?

I have read somewhere that with Dogs, bitches can gain weight after being fixed not too sure about the Male Dog though, I never had my two German shepherd bitches done & they both made it to twelve & thirteen, German shepherd dogs can suffer with hind quarter problems so extra weight would have been a no, no… That’s why I never had them done, for fear they would gain weight & incur hip problems in later life, as it happens they both died in their beds from natural causes…. Up until their final illness they were both still very agile… :-/

My cousins dog was a very active puppy and a year younger than my dog. She’s a beagle. She got fixed at 2 months and suddenly lost interest in play. Had years of weight gain problems and now has cancer all over her body. They tried to get her interested in walks or play with other dogs and they even had her a strict diet the vet recommended but nothing worked. She is only 7 years old and is not going to make it to 8.

I think fixing is always a good idea. There are those cases, however, such as someone I once knew who had a male cat with cat aids or something like that. They couldn’t get him fixed because putting him under meant that he wouldn’t likely survive to come back to.

@xRIPxTHEREVx But are we really doing our pets a favor by neutering them or are we setting them up for a host of other problems that may be created by uspsetting their bodies chemical balances? Another thing also occurred to me. Most people fix their pets at 6 months. Their bodies are still young. It would be like giving a teenage girl a hysterectomy before she is fully developed. Not every teenager develops at the same time. So wouldn’t it go to reason that the same may apply for pets?

A female going into heat all the time can cause reproductive problems. Also, as far as length of life, are you comparing animals that were rescued/mutts and pure bred? Pure bred animals usually have more health problems tjat mutts tend not to.

I have read that delaying neutering is healthier for the animal. However, every rescue I have got a cat from required altering the pet, even at such a young age.

Also, animals that are intact are more likely to act out, be agressive, and wander off. Male cats will roam a mile if they sense a cat in heat. All this increases chances of illness and injury.

It’s equivalent to immunization human immunization, IMO. Very rarely things go wrong, but everyone should have it done.

@Pandora – I’ve known many animals, almost all of whom have been spayed/neurtered. I’ve seen some gain weight and some not. And I truly can’t recall any of them having health problems that stemmed from the procedure.

Also, you wrote, ” If a woman goes through a hysterectomy a host of health problems happen.” This is something I’ve never heard before and would like to know more.

This is question I’m considering for my own Papillon. She’s nearly 6 years old and the vet said it would be a good idea to have her fixed to prevent infections in her uterus. I’m not worried about her getting pregnant because she seems to hate most dogs (and especially males). She is a little dominant, and I wonder if getting her fixed will chill her out a bit…

Does she suffer from infections? See especially for a female dog, I have to wonder if by getting rid of their ovaries just puts them into early menopause and causes the same health issues that menopausal women suffer from. Even if they don’t remove the ovaries and just the uterus, her ovaries can dry up from lack of blood. But I would think they remove the whole package. Menopause isn’t just a matter of hot and cold flashes. It causes other health problems.

Pyometra is a virulent infection which can kill a dog or cat if not caught in time. The most noticeable symptom is that the pet gradually starts getting a larger belly.

Some people just assume they’re getting fatter (or rarely, pregnant) and by the time other symptoms accrue it may be too late to save them.

This only occurs in intact female animals and the cure necessitates an immediate spay. Because of the infection, it presents a much higher risk and also expense. Many pets don’t survive this.

I’d rather get them spayed routinely at an early age. My last cat who died about a year ago lived till 19. I had her spayed at 10 mos. and she had no health problems for all that time.

My previous, who was also spayed at the same age, lived for 11 yrs. without any health problems. The only reason she died was due to a hereditary condion, HCM. Had nothing to do with being spayed.

But various people’s anecdotal evidence doesn’t prove anything either way.

Not neutering your pet may be perceived as great for them, but if they ever get pregnant, accidentally or otherwise, it will definitely be hazardous to the life of other shelter animals equal to the number of offspring produced.

What I mean more specifically is that each puppy or kitten produced means one less place available for a shelter animal.

Just something to think about.

My parents wish that they had got our dog spayed but she was hit by a car when she was younger and so with all the stress for Nell it would have been unfair to put her through another operation just to spay her plus we didnt even own her untill 2 and half years ago (after the accident)
because we didnt get it done in time Nell is now older having many problems with phantom pregnancies and gets depressed at times and seems quite confused bless her. she is 9ish now, and is a red setter and has quite a few lower back problems due to the accident, its so sad to see her all depressed and confused when she is having a phantom pregnancy it can last for ages too. Next dog I get I would definately get her spayed.
if i get a cat then they would definately get spayed, I dont have the knowlege or money to bring a litter of kittens into the world and I hate to see animals couped up in a house, they would need to be able to walk around free so I would not have a house cat therefore I would have to spay them

@bongo The following link talks about a host of things that can cause false pregnancies. It can even occur after being spayed. Again, not saying its a bad idea to spay an animal, simply wondering if its the magic bullet that it is always advertised to be. I really want to hear all the cons along with the pros. I know that it can provent a host of things as well and undesired behavior. Although for me I have to say undesired to us not the animal. My dog isn’t fixed and he isn’t perfectly behaved but he has never humped a person and he is has never bitten anyone. I take him for regular check ups and watch his diet and he is happy and exercised daily. The only problem he has so far is he is developing eye problems. I’m sure that has more to do heredity and that nuetering him wouldn’t have fixed that.
I never got him fixed because he did have an accident that injured his leg when he was a pup and he had to have surgery. After the surgery he was terrified of vets. Still is to this day. He was so pathetic after the surgery that I couldn’t see sending him in to ever have him go through surgery again. He curled up into a little ball for days and didn’t seem to be the happy pup I knew for about a month. Just a few months ago, they had to put him under to clean his teeth and he was in such a panic that the doc said he went into shock. I’m afraid of what sending him in for surgery again would do, so I rather not unless it is absolutely necessary.
However the doc did stop mentioning fixing him after the last incident. I could tell by the sound of her voice that he scared the crap out of her.
Needless to say I won’t probably get him fixed but I’m thinking of getting another dog when he passes away and I’m debating whether I would get my next pet fixed or not.

@Pandora I don’t know for sure. They say that it hurts less if they get fixed at an early age. I could see how that might cause some kind of inbalance, but I’m not sure. I don’t remember much from biology class…?

Just the fact that no one has come out and said that not neutering your pet is good idea should tell you something. So should the fact that most all vets recommend it.

@tinyfaery Does that really make it a fact or simply a lack of information available?

Lack of information to vets? Look up any animal health website. They all say the same thing.