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'Caring and professional veterinary care'
Virginia Queensland

Desexing

WHY DESEX MY PET?

Desexing is an important way to reduce reproductive health problems in your pet, as well as removing the risk of unplanned pregnancies.  Unless your dog or cat is intended as a breeding animal, we would recommend desexing due to the numerous health and behavioural benefits that will be discussed below.

ENTIRE (Non-desexed) FEMALE ANIMALS HAVE INCREASED RISK OF:

1. Mammary Cancer: The risk of mammary tumours is significantly higher in entire female dogs.  This type of cancer is aggressive, and not only invades the mammary tissue but can also spread to the lungs.

2. Pyometra:  This is a condition whereby the uterus develops an infection which can be life-threatening.  It usually occurs following the dog being on heat.  It requires emergency surgery to remove the pus-filled uterus.

ENTIRE MALE ANIMALS HAVE INCREASED RISK OF:

1. Testicular cancer

2. Prostate cancer, Enlarged prostate, Prostatic infection

3. Undesirable behavioural traits, such as aggression towards other male dogs/cats and increased urine marking.

WHAT IS THE BEST AGE TO DESEX MY PET?

We recommend the ideal age to desex your pet is 6 months.  Most animals will reach sexual maturity between 6-10 months of age, so ideally they will be desexed prior to this.  This is particularly important for female dogs, as the risk of mammary cancer increases after having even one heat.

It is safest to desex your female dog when she is NOT on heat.  Being on heat means that the uterus and blood vessels are enlarged, which means more surgial bleeding and a more difficult and lengthy surgery.  This is why desexing a dog that is on heat is more expensive.

 

WHAT DOES THE SURGERY INVOLVE?

Desexing is typically a day procedure, with your pet being able to go home that afternoon.  An initial appointment is made in the morning, generally between 8-9am, where your animal is admitted to the clinic.  The Veterinarian will then give your pet a thorough physical examination, and ensure they are in a healthy state to undergo surgery.  We give our clients the option of Pre-anaesthetic blood tests for their pets, which can be run in the clinic and assessed prior to surgery.

At St Vincents Vets we feel very strongly about high standards of Anaesthesia.  We use the safest available drugs to sedate and anaesthetise your pet, and they are always given pain relief to allow for the smoothest post-anaesthetic recovery.  Our Veterinary nurses are trained in Anaesthesia, and use high quality equipment to monitor your pet during and after their surgery.

At your pet's discharge in the afternoon, our nurses will go through after-care information with you and answer any questions that you may have.

The incision is checked and sutures are removed in 10-14 days time at no additional charge.

ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS?

You are more than welcome to give the clinic a call to discuss any of the above information or other questions that you may have.