How To Prepare For Neutering Male Dogs

Hi, I'm Jamie Crittall from Beech House Veterinary Centre in Surrey, and I'm here to talk to you about dog breeding. How to prepare for neutering your dog, or castration, as we call it. It's really important that you speak to your veterinary surgeon to find out when they think the best time is.

I think anything from 5 or 6 months of age onwards is ideal. Neutering a dog or castrating a dog is the surgical removal of their testicles. It's done under general anesthetics, so of course, your dog needs to be fit and healthy.

So, your vet will want to examine your dog, and it's a perfect opportunity for you to ask any questions or concerns that you have and hopefully, they'll reassure you that this is the best thing to be done because those benefits so outweigh the risks. One thing that can happen is, because their metabolic rate goes down slightly, they can tend to put weight on a little bit, but this is so easily compensated for by reducing the amount that you feed, and even better, by feeding a diet that's designed specifically for neutered dogs. To neuter a dog, he has to have a general anesthetic, and therefore, it's absolutely essential your dog is starved.

I always tell my clients to starve from 9:00 the previous evening. They can still have water overnight, and then they come into the veterinary practice and they're admitted to make sure that they are still fit and healthy. They're operated upon, and then we'll phone afterward to say "Everything's gone well," and then give you a discharge time for when you can come and pick your dog up.

It's this period where the wounds are going to be healing. Classically, it will take about ten days, but it's really essential that you keep him as calm and as quiet as possible. And that's just lead exercise I say to my clients, probably just going out to the loo 3 or 4 times a day, just so that everything heals really really nicely and you don't have any complications.

A quick checklist: Make sure you've starved your dog. I say 9:00 the previous evening, but check with your vet what their preferences are. They can still have water overnight, but again, check with your vet.

Bring them in at the time that your vet wants. And it's always really useful if you've taken them for a short walk to make sure that they've gone to the loo. Make sure you give your correct details and that you are available in case your vet needs to contact you.

You're going to be nervous, and of course, they want to reassure you once everything has happened and it's gone well. So, be at the end of that telephone because you'll feel so much better when you know your dog is fine. .