Having unwanted Samoyed pups littered across the place is definitely not an enjoyable sight. This exposes these innocent pups to dangerous and unhealthy environments, lifestyles, and even uncaring owners. One of the most efficient ways to reduce unwanted breeding among dogs is by neutering or spaying them. When you neuter or spay your Samoyed, you basically reduce their reproductive capacity, either by castrating the male or taking off the ovaries in the female.
The ideal time for spaying or neutering depends on conditions like gender, heat cycle, home environment, and even body size. Ideally, you should neuter your male Samoyed after 6 months while you can wait for as long as 9 months to spay your female Samoyed. Neutering your Samoyed reduces health risks like mammary gland tumors and prominently testicular and ovarian cancer.
There is so much to know about neutering your Samoyed. First, are there health risks you should be worried about when neutering your Samoyed? What do you stand to benefit from neutering your Samoyed aside from population control? Also, how do you prepare your Samoyed for neutering and how do you cater for it after the spaying surgery? Let us examine all these.
The Best Age to Spay/Neuter Your Samoyed (Male and Female)
The time for neutering your Samoyed is not definite. You can wait as far as 10 months to neuter your Samoyed or even neuter it as early as 2 months.
Ideally, you should wait until the first 4-6 months before spaying your dog. You should discuss it over with your vet to see when is best for your specific Samoyed.
There are several factors to put into consideration when determining the best age to neuter your Samoyed. Let us explore them.
The Body Size of Your Samoyed
The body size is more crucial when you are spaying/neutering a female Samoyed. If you have a relatively bigger female Samoyed, there is no problem waiting till the 10th- 12th month before neutering, but for smaller ones, you should hit for 9 months or even as early as 6 months.
The Heat Cycle of Your Samoyed
Of course, your female Samoyed goes into heat too. For this period, you would notice a significantly hiked receptiveness (on the part of your female Samoyed) to sexual advances from male dogs. The heat period of your Samoyed commonly runs for 2 weeks.
However, there are special cases where it could extend to 4 weeks.
A female Samoyed would experience its first heat cycle around 5 months while some could take as far as 10 months to go into their first heat.
Spaying your Samoyed before its first heat cycles goes a long way in preventing a notorious form of breast cancer called canine mammary cancer.
Health Benefits of Spaying/Neutering Your Samoyed
Aside from controlling population bursts, there are many other health benefits to gain from neutering/spaying your Samoyed.
First, neutering your Samoyed reduces the risk of it getting testicular or ovarian cancer. This is one woeful cancer that dogs are susceptible to in the latter stages of their lives.
Spaying your female Samoyed before its first heat cycles is efficient in reducing its risk of uterine cancer or mammary gland tumors.
Studies have generally shown that spayed Samoyeds have an enhanced tendency to live longer and healthier. Aside from these core benefits of spaying your Samoyed, spaying your Samoyed reduces other behavioral ills.
A spayed Samoyed is less likely to roam or get extremely keen on its territory. You are far less likely to see a spayed Samoyed spraying its domain. Typically, there is a well-reduced propensity to aggression on the part of your male Samoyed when it is neutered.
This means your Samoyed will have a suppressed appetite to pick up fights with other dogs and pets and is less likely to bite people. Most importantly, spaying reduces the restlessness in your Samoyed, often caused by overbearing sex hormones.
Cons to Neutering/Spaying
Often, people are mistaken into a moral argument if neutering your Samoyed is ethically right. Well, the truth is there is nothing cruel in neutering your Samoyed. It is even crueler allowing unprotected Samoyed pups to spread across the place.
The good news is that the surgery is almost painless. Vets carry out neutering and spaying surgeries, adopting techniques as minimally invasive as they can get.
Typically, your Samoyed would be anesthetized during the operation. It is not awake, while other vets could enhance pain reduction via other neutered medications.
Yes, your Samoyed could suffer in the course of the surgery. This is why vets now keep a keen eye on its pulse and oxygen levels to make sure that your Samoyed is not compromised while the surgery is going on.
With evolving veterinarian surgical technologies, spaying/neutering operations are now conducted in far lesser time – often less than 60 minutes. The incision wouldn’t leave more than a scar in most cases, more importantly, that scar is clothed by the fur of your Samoyed.
So you see, aside from the risks that come with spaying your Samoyed (particularly before puberty), there is no definite disadvantage to neutering your Samoyed – biological or ethical.
Risks Associated with Spaying/Neutering Too Early or Too Late
There are not many significant risks when your Samoyed is neutered according to standard practices. However, your Samoyed is at risk, especially when neutered before puberty. Let us explore some of these health risks that your Samoyed may be prone to if neutered.
Neutering Your Samoyed Can Lead to Obesity
A neutered dog Samoyed when fed the same rations as the intact Samoyed is prone to uncontrolled weight spikes. This is because neutering your Samoyed alters its hormonal makeup and general metabolism.
The truth is, a neutered Samoyed doesn’t need as much food as before. You have to be very conscious of the amounts of food you feed it. Such additional weight gain could lead to more problems like heart disease, diabetes, and pancreatitis.
Neutering Your Samoyed Increases the Risk of Hypothyroidism Thrice
It is normal that the disruption of the reproductive hormones (due to the neutering) will disturb the endocrine system. This could lead to low thyroid levels in your Samoyed. Indeed, this could further lead to lethargy and strange weight gains.
Some alarming health risks come with neutering your Samoyed at the wrong age. Typically, this occurs when your Samoyed is neutered too early – say before puberty.
The most prevalent case is the abnormal development of hip bones and joints. Reproductive hormones have a large role in the formation of the bones of your dog.
In the case where your Samoyed is neutered too early, there would be insufficient reproductive hormones to play this role. Increased cruciate rupture is often a consequence of the lack of estrogen to moderate growth.
What happens then?
You would see that the legs of the Samoyed suffer uneven growth. With such abnormal growth, your Samoyed is much more prone to torn ligaments and hip dysplasia.
You would be amazed to learn that a neutered dog is 4x more likely to suffer bone cancer. This is, however, more common in bigger dogs than the Samoyed.
Tips to Prepare Your Samoyed Before Surgery
It is important to get your Samoyed set for the surgery. This enhances the smoothness of the operation. Here is what you should do before taking it to the vet for neutering/spaying.
Make Sure Your Samoyed Gets Used to the Crate or Carrier
It is common for your vet to ask you to bring your Samoyed in a carrier or crate to the neutering appointment. Other than your vet mandating you to do so, it is also wise on your own part to take your Samoyed there in a crate due to the traveling convenience.
Obviously, you can’t discount that your Samoyed may be agitated or uncomfortable traveling from home to strange environments. If you would take your Samoyed there in a carrier, ensure to familiarize it with staying comfortably in the crate days before the spay appointment.
This reduces the chances of your Samoyed getting restless on the trip to the vet.
Don’t Display Anxiety Before the Surgery
Ensure you exude calm when taking your Samoyed for the surgery.
Samoyeds are emotionally intelligent dogs. If you are unusually nervous, they could sense it. This can make them nervous too.
You don’t want to get your Samoyed tense before taking it for the spaying trip. It could lead to complications along the line.
Make sure to transfer calm and assuredness to it. Pet it, show it love and play with it say in its crate. You want it to be comfortable and calm when going for the surgery.
No Water and Food Before the Surgery
Aspirations and vomiting are not entirely uncommon during surgeries. To reduce the possibility of such, make sure not to feed your Samoyed the night leading into the surgery. Don’t give it water to drink either.
Tips to Take Care of You Samoyed After Surgery (Environment, Diet, Recovery, Mood, etc.)
The effects of the anesthesia would wane quickly in your Samoyed after the surgery. In most cases, your Samoyed should be up and going after 30 minutes. It is essential to give your Samoyed premium care after the surgery.
Your Samoyed must be taken straight home after the operation — avoid the temptation to spend time somewhere across the journey back.
Don’t feed them at once, so the food doesn’t cause complications due to the anesthesia. In fact, we recommend that your Samoyed shouldn’t be fed for about 3 hours after surgery.
Reduce their activity in the days immediately following the surgery. They should not be running and jumping for at least 8-10 days. Make sure to examine the incision after the surgery. Twice a day examination is good enough for the next 2 weeks after the surgery.
Bleeding is common as well, but swelling and significant discharge of pus are signals of complications like puss. It is paramount to visit the vet immediately if you notice this.
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