I.
MYTHS
Myth #1: A dog will feel like less of a “man” or “woman” after being sterilized.
This myth stems from the human imposing their own feelings of loss on the animal.
In fact, your dog will simply have one less need to fulfill. A dog’s basic personality is formed more by environment and genetics than by sex hormones, so sterilization will not change your dog’s basic personality, make your dog sluggish or affect its natural instinct to protect the pack. But it will give you a better behaved pet.
Neutered dogs have less desire to roam, mark territory (like your couch!) and exert dominance over the pack. Spayed dogs no longer experience the hormonal changes during heat cycles that turn your pet into a nervous dog that cries incessantly and attracts unwanted male dogs. Sterilized dogs are more affectionate and less likely to bite, run away, become aggressive, or get into a fight.
Myth #2: Spaying and neutering will cause weight gain.
Dogs do not get fat simply by being sterilized.
Just like humans, dogs gain weight if they eat too much and exercise too little or if they are genetically programmed to be overweight. The weight gain that people may witness after sterilization is most likely caused by continuing to feed a high energy diet to a dog that is reducing its need for energy as it reaches adult size.
Myth #3: Dogs will mourn the loss of their reproductive capabilities.
Not true.
Dogs reproduce solely to ensure the survival of their species. They do not raise a puppy for eighteen years. They do not dream of their puppy’s wedding. They do not hope for the comfort of grandchildren in their old age. Female dogs nurse for a few weeks, teach the puppies rules, boundaries, and limitations and send them off to join the pack. Male dogs are not “fathers” in the human sense of the word; they do not even recognize puppies as their own.
Source: https://www.cesarsway.com/dog-care/spay-and-neuter/spay-and-neuter-myths
II.
FACTS
Is spaying/neutering safe?
Spay and neuter surgeries are the most commonly performed animal surgeries. Most animals experience relatively little discomfort (anesthesia is used during surgery, and pain medication is generally given afterward) and are back to their normal activities within a day or two.
Will my animal’s personality change after spaying or neutering?
Spaying and neutering will only reduce or eliminate the behaviors that you don’t want, such as aggression and urine marking. Neutered males are less likely to roam, fight, or mark their territory with urine, and spayed females experience less hormone-related moodiness. In exchange, your companions will likely become more interested in you (rather than finding a mate) and will still protect your family.
Will spaying/neutering affect my animal’s weight?
NO.
Cats and dogs become overweight and inactive because their guardians feed them too much and exercise them too little, not because they are sterilized.
Should I let my female animal have one litter before having her spayed?
It’s best to spay animals before they reach sexual maturity in order to reap the full health benefits. Spaying your female companion animal before her first heat cycle means she will have one-seventh the risk of developing mammary cancer. Spaying also eliminates female animals’ risk of diseases and cancers of the ovaries and uterus, which are often
life-threatening and require expensive surgery and treatment.
How can I teach my children about the ‘miracle of birth’?
Allowing your animal to reproduce only teaches your children irresponsibility. Every year, 3 to 4 million animals are killed in U.S. animal shelters, most simply because of a lack of good homes. Bringing more animals into a world that is already short of homes means that animals in animal shelters will die. Numerous books and videos are available to help you teach your children about reproduction responsibly.
What if I can find homes for all my animal’s puppies or kittens?
Even if you manage to find loving, lifelong homes for all the puppies or kittens, that means that there will be that many fewer homes for puppies and kittens in animal shelters who desperately need to be adopted. And unless you ensure that every puppy or kitten you place is spayed or neutered before going to his or her new home, they can go on to produce litter after litter of offspring themselves. Just one female dog and her puppies can result in 67,000 dogs in six years, and one female cat and her kittens can lead to 370,000 cats being born in seven years.
III.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT SPAY & NEUTER
Benefits of Spaying & Neutering Your Pet
Sterilized animals live longer, happier lives.
Spaying eliminates the stress and discomfort that females endure during heat periods.
Why it's so Important
The single most important thing that we can do to save cats and dogs from all the suffering and death that their overpopulation causes is to spay and neuter them. Spaying and neutering are routine, affordable surgeries that can prevent thousands of animals from being born, only to suffer and struggle to survive on the streets, be abused by cruel or neglectful people, or be euthanized in animal shelters for lack of a loving home
Why it Makes a Big Difference
Just one unaltered female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies in only six years.In seven years, one female cat and her offspring can produce an incredible 370,000 kittens!
Spaying/Neutering saves Tax Dollars $$$
Houston and surrounding counties spend millions of taxpayer dollars each year coping with problems that a failure to spay and neuter causes. The one-time cost of spaying or neutering is far lower than the expense involved in rounding up strays, feeding and housing abandoned animals, and euthanizing those for whom homes can’t be found.
Cities and counties all over the country are aggressively addressing the animal overpopulation crisis, requiring everyone who chooses not to spay or neuter to pay a hefty breeder’s fee. Areas with mandatory spay-and-neuter laws have reported a significant reduction in the number of animals who are taken to their facilities and subsequently euthanized.
Houston as of now does not have these regulations.
Many Resources Available to Help with Cost
Many communities have low-cost or free spay-and-neuter clinics that make it easy for everyone to do the right thing and have their animals sterilized. Call 1-800-248-SPAY to find your nearest low-cost spay-and-neuter clinic nearest low-cost spay-and-neuter clinic.
Low cost spay–and–neuter clinics in the Houston area include:
LINKS
info@northsidedawgs.org
www.facebook.com/northsidedawgs/
MYTHS
Myth #1: A dog will feel like less of a “man” or “woman” after being sterilized.
This myth stems from the human imposing their own feelings of loss on the animal.
In fact, your dog will simply have one less need to fulfill. A dog’s basic personality is formed more by environment and genetics than by sex hormones, so sterilization will not change your dog’s basic personality, make your dog sluggish or affect its natural instinct to protect the pack. But it will give you a better behaved pet.
Neutered dogs have less desire to roam, mark territory (like your couch!) and exert dominance over the pack. Spayed dogs no longer experience the hormonal changes during heat cycles that turn your pet into a nervous dog that cries incessantly and attracts unwanted male dogs. Sterilized dogs are more affectionate and less likely to bite, run away, become aggressive, or get into a fight.
Myth #2: Spaying and neutering will cause weight gain.
Dogs do not get fat simply by being sterilized.
Just like humans, dogs gain weight if they eat too much and exercise too little or if they are genetically programmed to be overweight. The weight gain that people may witness after sterilization is most likely caused by continuing to feed a high energy diet to a dog that is reducing its need for energy as it reaches adult size.
Myth #3: Dogs will mourn the loss of their reproductive capabilities.
Not true.
Dogs reproduce solely to ensure the survival of their species. They do not raise a puppy for eighteen years. They do not dream of their puppy’s wedding. They do not hope for the comfort of grandchildren in their old age. Female dogs nurse for a few weeks, teach the puppies rules, boundaries, and limitations and send them off to join the pack. Male dogs are not “fathers” in the human sense of the word; they do not even recognize puppies as their own.
Source: https://www.cesarsway.com/dog-care/spay-and-neuter/spay-and-neuter-myths
II.
FACTS
Is spaying/neutering safe?
Spay and neuter surgeries are the most commonly performed animal surgeries. Most animals experience relatively little discomfort (anesthesia is used during surgery, and pain medication is generally given afterward) and are back to their normal activities within a day or two.
Will my animal’s personality change after spaying or neutering?
Spaying and neutering will only reduce or eliminate the behaviors that you don’t want, such as aggression and urine marking. Neutered males are less likely to roam, fight, or mark their territory with urine, and spayed females experience less hormone-related moodiness. In exchange, your companions will likely become more interested in you (rather than finding a mate) and will still protect your family.
Will spaying/neutering affect my animal’s weight?
NO.
Cats and dogs become overweight and inactive because their guardians feed them too much and exercise them too little, not because they are sterilized.
Should I let my female animal have one litter before having her spayed?
It’s best to spay animals before they reach sexual maturity in order to reap the full health benefits. Spaying your female companion animal before her first heat cycle means she will have one-seventh the risk of developing mammary cancer. Spaying also eliminates female animals’ risk of diseases and cancers of the ovaries and uterus, which are often
life-threatening and require expensive surgery and treatment.
How can I teach my children about the ‘miracle of birth’?
Allowing your animal to reproduce only teaches your children irresponsibility. Every year, 3 to 4 million animals are killed in U.S. animal shelters, most simply because of a lack of good homes. Bringing more animals into a world that is already short of homes means that animals in animal shelters will die. Numerous books and videos are available to help you teach your children about reproduction responsibly.
What if I can find homes for all my animal’s puppies or kittens?
Even if you manage to find loving, lifelong homes for all the puppies or kittens, that means that there will be that many fewer homes for puppies and kittens in animal shelters who desperately need to be adopted. And unless you ensure that every puppy or kitten you place is spayed or neutered before going to his or her new home, they can go on to produce litter after litter of offspring themselves. Just one female dog and her puppies can result in 67,000 dogs in six years, and one female cat and her kittens can lead to 370,000 cats being born in seven years.
III.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT SPAY & NEUTER
Benefits of Spaying & Neutering Your Pet
Sterilized animals live longer, happier lives.
Spaying eliminates the stress and discomfort that females endure during heat periods.
- Eliminates the risk of uterine cancer,
- Greatly reduces the risk of mammary cancer.
- Neutering makes males far less likely to roam or fight
- Prevents testicular cancer
- Reduces the risk of prostate cancer.
- Altered animals are less likely to contract deadly, contagious diseases, such as feline AIDS and feline leukemia, that are spread through bodily.
Why it's so Important
The single most important thing that we can do to save cats and dogs from all the suffering and death that their overpopulation causes is to spay and neuter them. Spaying and neutering are routine, affordable surgeries that can prevent thousands of animals from being born, only to suffer and struggle to survive on the streets, be abused by cruel or neglectful people, or be euthanized in animal shelters for lack of a loving home
Why it Makes a Big Difference
Just one unaltered female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies in only six years.In seven years, one female cat and her offspring can produce an incredible 370,000 kittens!
Spaying/Neutering saves Tax Dollars $$$
Houston and surrounding counties spend millions of taxpayer dollars each year coping with problems that a failure to spay and neuter causes. The one-time cost of spaying or neutering is far lower than the expense involved in rounding up strays, feeding and housing abandoned animals, and euthanizing those for whom homes can’t be found.
Cities and counties all over the country are aggressively addressing the animal overpopulation crisis, requiring everyone who chooses not to spay or neuter to pay a hefty breeder’s fee. Areas with mandatory spay-and-neuter laws have reported a significant reduction in the number of animals who are taken to their facilities and subsequently euthanized.
Houston as of now does not have these regulations.
Many Resources Available to Help with Cost
Many communities have low-cost or free spay-and-neuter clinics that make it easy for everyone to do the right thing and have their animals sterilized. Call 1-800-248-SPAY to find your nearest low-cost spay-and-neuter clinic nearest low-cost spay-and-neuter clinic.
Low cost spay–and–neuter clinics in the Houston area include:
- BARC -3300 Carr St. Houston, TX 77026
- Emancipet-4410 Navigation Blvd. 713-321-2713
- SNAP-1801 Durham Dr. Houston, TX. 713-862-8001
LINKS
info@northsidedawgs.org
www.facebook.com/northsidedawgs/