As a pet owner, deciding for or against spaying your Golden Retriever is one of the biggest decisions that you’ll have to take. In this blog post, we share everything that you would need to know before making up your mind.

One of the most important decisions that you’ll have to make as a responsible pet owner is to spay or neuter your pet.

• Neutering refers to removing a male dog’s testicles that improves his behavior
• Spaying refers to removing a female dog’s ovaries and uterus in a procedure that requires minimal hospitalization and offers long-term health benefits

In this blog post, we will help you figure out whether or not you should get your Golden Retriever spayed or neutered.

Here we go!

Benefits of Spaying or Neutering Your Pet

Take a look.

The Medical Benefits

• For male pets, neutering helps prevent them from getting testicular cancer and prostate problems
• For female pets, spaying results in a long and healthy life. It also helps reduce the chances of getting breast tumors, uterine infections, and other malignant cancers by 50%! For the best results, spaying your pet before the first heat cycle is highly recommended by experts

Take a Look at the Behavioral Benefits

Spaying/Neutering also comes with several behavioral benefits. These include:

• Male dogs don’t roam far away from home: Unneutered dogs have a tendency of running away from home in search of a mate. In fact, intact males are known to find the most creative ways of escaping the house. This comes with several risks--such as fights with animals, getting lost, getting injured, etc.

• Females don’t go into heat: Dealing with a female dog in heat isn’t easy as she’ll try to attract a mate by urinating, presenting herself, etc. Keeping aggressive stray dogs away from your house and dog is also a challenge during heat
• Better behavior: Several studies suggest that neutered males are well behaved compared to intact males. Unneutered dogs are more likely to mark their territory by spraying all over the house which is annoying to clean. Your dog will also be less likely to mount other dogs, inanimate objects, and people after being neutered
• Cost effective: In the long term, having your dog spayed or neutered is a fraction of the cost compared to having and caring for a litter

Mythbusters: Here Are Some Common Beliefs Associated With Spaying/Neutering

Let’s take a look at some popular spaying and neutering myths, shall we?

• Neutering and spaying causes the pet to become overweight

That’s not true at all. The real culprits in this case are overfeeding and lack of exercise. As long as you’ve got both covered, your dog will remain fit and fine!

• Neutering fixes all behavioral issues

While having your pet neutered is linked to decrease in negative behavior, it isn’t a quick fix. For some issues, proper training and guidance are necessary.

The Right Time to Spay Your Pet

Your veterinarian will help you determine the best time to spay or neuter your pet.

In most cases, anywhere between six to nine months is considered the ideal age. However, it is important to note that adult dogs can be neutered as well but, the chances of them developing postoperative complications increases with age.

This is especially true for overweight dogs or those with health issues.