The process for dog neuters is similar. You'll review consent forms with the technician in the exam room, and we'll place an IV catheter in one of the front legs. We'll then prepare the pre-scrotal and scrotal area by shaving and sanitizing. Afterward, we surgically remove both testicles and close the skin to the scrotum. Occasionally, there may be some post-surgery swelling in the scrotum, which can give the appearance that the testicles are still present, but they have been removed. All dog neuters are discharged on the same day after recovering from anesthesia. We keep dog spays overnight for close monitoring and recheck the incision the next day.

For dog spays, please drop off your female dog in the morning between 7:30 to 8:00. A technician will guide you through the surgery and anesthesia consent forms, addressing any questions you may have. We will then insert an IV catheter into one of your dog's front legs, allowing us to administer IV medications. This includes pain medication mixed with anesthesia medications. Afterward, we will prepare the abdomen by shaving and sanitizing it aseptically. Next, we make a small incision into the abdomen, remove the ovaries and uterus, and close the abdomen with two to three layers of sutures. The dog then enters the recovery phase, during which we continuously monitor vital signs such as pulse ox, EKG, blood pressure, and capnograph to ensure the safety of the anesthesia. Additionally, we intubate all dogs undergoing spays and neuters to maintain an open airway, with access to oxygen and gas anesthesia as needed.

It'll definitely help. The sooner that it's done the better because once that behavior becomes ingrained and the cat's a little bit older, the benefits are a lot lower. However, if we do that early, they will be a lot less likely to want to get out and run away.

We don't really see much in the way of personality changes, at least not what we would consider to be things that happen in a bad way. There will be personality changes in the scenario that the cat's not going into heat anymore, so we won't have those behaviors. Male cats won't be as likely to mark or want to get outside and roam and do things like that, so those things will change. Generally, the attentiveness of the cat, how loving they are, and their behaviors that we would find desirable don't change very much.

That's always a little bit of a concern because after their spay or neuter, their metabolism will go down a little bit and their calorie requirements will decrease a little bit. That's just something we have to keep in mind when we're talking about what diet they're eating and how much they're eating. As long as we manage the diet effectively, there really shouldn't be any weight gain.

Yes, we definitely want to send home pain medication for your cat. The most common type of medication that we use to send home is an NSAID medication which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, similar to like Motrin for people but the cat version. The neuter surgery is not nearly as uncomfortable although there is definitely some discomfort involved, so we want to send home the pain medication. The spay procedure, though, is an incision that goes directly into the abdomen and does require quite a bit more manipulation so there is significant discomfort there. Thankfully, we have good pain medications that we can use to control this.

Generally, the recovery is about one to two weeks. For neuters, for male cats, its actually very quick. They just have a really small incision over each testicle and then those incisions heal up quickly and they generally don't require much aftercare as long as we can make sure the incisions don't get infected or anything like that. For female cats, it's a little bit longer of a process. They have an incision in the abdomen, so we need to make sure we keep them calm and keep the incision protected for enough time to let that heal, which can take about two weeks or so.

Yes, when you have the spay or neuter done for your cat, well send you home with written discharge instructions and we'll also go over those things in person so that everything is clear as far as what you need to do after the surgery, medications that need to be given, and care you need to have for your pet go.

Partially, yes. If your dog runs away to mate, neutering should help mitigate this behavior. However, some dogs are natural escape artists and love to roam around. It can take a few weeks for the sex hormones to fully exit their system after neutering, but usually, a month or two after surgery, these hormones are completely out of their system. Please feel free to reach out if you have any other questions about post-op care following a dog's spay or neuter.

No, spaying or neutering does not alter a dog's personality or demeanor. However, neutering or spaying can help reduce certain behavior issues if done early enough. For instance, male puppies showing signs of aggression or excessive humping may benefit from neutering by six months of age. After this point, such behaviors may become ingrained and less likely to change after neutering or spaying.