Is It Normal That My Dog Is Still Anxious After Being Neutered?
Unfortunately, Yes your dog may still feel anxious after getting neutered. Here is things your dog may experience after you bring them home from getting neutered: anxiety, depression, clinginess, some aggression, tired and fuzzy feeling. After a dog gets neutered it is best for them to rest, and stay comfortable, take your prescribed medicine when needed and let your dog’s body do the rest. Your dog will be back to moving around in no time.
For the longest time I thought the only reason to get a dog neutered was to control the animal population. I never knew that there was so many thing that I did not know about my dogs health after talking to a veterinarian. Here are some questions that I asked him at my dog’s exam appointment.
I asked the veterinarian about my dog getting neutered.
Here is what he said.
Question 1: Does neutering calm a dog down, or give him better health?
Answer: There are many benefits to getting your dogs neutered. When you get a dog fixed yes it does calm them down to a certain degree. But it also reduces the chances of your dog developing canine cancers and even prostate disease. He noted that since my dog was so young that it would be best to go ahead and jump on this wagon as soon as possible. Younger puppies are very active and mature very fast. It is crucial to get them neutered while they are young because they can heal much faster than an older dog.
Just like you said earlier a lot of people do believe that the only reason to get a dog neutered or spayed is to control the population. This is a very important part of the process but overall it is the dog’s health that we are mostly concerned about. If getting your dog neutered only decreased their chances of getting cancer I believe that is a good enough reason to do it.
Question2: How long after my dog get neutered does it take him to calm down?
Answer: After your dog wakes up in the recovery room he may seem a little under the weather. If you have ever had a surgery you may know that feeling of waking up from being put to sleep. When you get him home put him straight into the crate on a soft bed that he is used to. Sometimes people will play dog soothing sleep music to comfort them while they heal.
Question3: Will my dog have any strange behavior after he gets neutered?
Answer: The things you can look for when you get your dog home from getting neutered is anxiety, depression, clinginess, some aggression, tired and fuzzy feeling.
Question4: What about my other dog, she is a female will she calm down after getting spayed too?
Answer: Getting you female dog is really not a lot of difference in the healing process. You won’t notice much if any aggression from a female dog after getting spayed. Female dogs recover may take a little long due to the bigger incision. But like my wife says girls are stronger and I won’t argue with her about that. You will want to treat the female dog with the same instructions as your male dog. Keeping your dog comfortable in a crate is what I recommend. Play some white noise music for them to relax to. This music really does seem to help with their recovery time, because the more they sleep the faster they heal. Give your dog the prescribed medicine as needed and just keep her hydrated and she will be back to herself in no time.
Why Spaying Your Dog is very important for her health. When you spay a dog you are helping prevent her from having any unwanted puppies in the future and also helping control the pet population. So many dogs get put down every day because the pet owner did not want to pay the 60$ to get them spayed. My dog Toby cost me $100 dollars to get her spayed. That covers the cost of her getting spayed and for the pain medicine for her to take for the next two days.
Most clinics like you to get your pet to them as fast as possible the younger the better they told me. The veterinarian told me his perfect age was 6 to 9 months old. But you can even get her spayed as young as eight weeks old as long as they are healthy enough to pass the exam.
Older dogs are a little higher on the risk for getting spayed if they are overweight cause it makes them at a higher risk of postoperative complications during surgery.
Did you know by spaying your dog it can reduce the risk of mammary cancer. It is best to do the spaying before her first estrus, or before she goes into heat. If you were thinking about not spaying your female dog just remember that by not getting it you are increasing her chances of getting mammary cancer which is a very common cancer found in female dogs. But if you are thinking, Spaying here is too late because she has already had her first heat, its okay you still have time. Spaying even after her first heat still reduces her chances greatly from getting mammary cancer.
Question5: Will getting my dog neutered help with his aggression?
Answer: Getting your dog neutered is extremely effective in reducing your dog’s drive for making more puppies; however it can also light a fuse to some aggressiveness. Sometimes a little aggression isn’t always a bad thing. I like to look at all the good things that getting my dog neutered are helping instead of a little bit of aggression. Most times this aggression will weaken to the point where you don’t even pay attention to it anymore.
How long after being neutered does a dog calm down?
The most important part of getting your dog neutered is the reduction of the chances of them getting canine cancers. The male dog will experience some aggressiveness right after getting neutered but what I have seen is over a period of time this aggression goes away and the dog seems to be more connected to me and my family he loves to play with the kids just like he did before.
While before he was off chasing everything moving, now he likes to hang out with me and the kids more. I have noticed a big change in my dog since he got neutered. Yes he did seem a little anxious when we brought him home but with playing the dog sleep music for him he seemed to be more relaxed and mostly sleep for two days. If scared me a little when the doctor said that he could develop some aggression after the surgery but thankfully I never got to see too much of that side of him.
I think it was more just grumpy. I know after surgery I am not a delight to be around either. But overall I think getting my dog neutered was a complete success. It’s been a year now and he is so relaxed now and just likes to hang out and follow me around the yard, and of course chase some squirrels at the park. My biggest wonder was how long after being neutered does a dog take to calm down? What I seen was in two weeks he was up to being his self again. Each day got a little better than the last and once his testicles healed up you can’t even notice that he got fixed.
Will spaying my dog calm her down?
It’s crazy to me how fast female dogs can become sexually active. Did you know that a dog can become sexually active by the time she is six to twelve months old. Her hormones are surging as she produces estrogen and she begins to start her reproductive cycles that will soon lead to estrus, which means when she goes into heat as we know it. The female dog is receptive at breeding with other male dogs. Most female dogs will have two times a year that they will experience going in to heat.
An easy way to know if a dog is in one of her cycles is when you see a bunch of male dogs following her around. I don’t know where all these dogs come from but they always show up like clockwork.
Before spaying your dog she will have these behaviors:
When a female is in one of her cycles she will urinate a lot to attract all the male dogs with her scent. If you have ever noticed that your female dog will some time pee on your carpet or maybe in the bed well these may be exactly why she is doing it. Female dogs attract the neighborhood male dogs by urinating and just because she is in a house doesn’t mean she won’t do it. This is another great reason why spaying your dog is so important because once you do she won’t be staining up your carpets anymore with her urination scent. She can also leave a bloody discharge on top of all the other messes she will leave on your carpet during these times or her cycle. You can look to experience these behaviors twice a year.
By spaying your dog you will not see a decline in her active abilities. She will still be just as playful as she ever was. She will still show you all of the affection like she always has.
Here is a list of myths that I have heard about spaying your dog:
- Don’t Spay Your Dog Until After Her First Heat
- Letting a Dog Have One Litter Will Calm Her Down
- Spaying Is a Quick Fix for All Behavior Problems
Although spaying is beneficial in many ways, there are a few potential effects to be aware of:
A small number of studies report that unspayed female dogs that are aggressive to family members may become more aggressive after they’re spayed. This could be caused by a decrease in estrogen and oxytocin, both of which may have calming, anti-anxiety effects.
Spay surgery increases the risk of developing urinary tract infections in females.
Five to twenty percent of spayed females suffer estrogen-responsive urinary incontinence (or “spay incontinence”), which means they have poor sphincter control and are less able to hold their urine. At least one study found a slightly higher risk in dogs who were less than three months of age when spayed. The risk is higher for overweight dogs, and dogs of certain breeds. Fortunately, this kind of urinary incontinence is almost always easily controlled with medical treatment.
Dogs who undergo spay surgery before they reach their adult size may grow slightly taller than they would have without spay surgery.
Spay surgery could slightly increase the risk for dogs to develop transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, osteosarcoma, and hemangiosarcoma—particularly breeds that are already predisposed to these types of cancer.
Spaying dogs prior to five months of age may slightly increase their risk of developing hip dysplasia and cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) rupture, especially in breeds that are already predisposed to these conditions.
Spay surgery can increase a dog’s of developing hypothyroidism.
Physiological changes after spaying may affect your dog’s metabolism and appetite, making her prone to weight gain. Spaying puppies before they are five months of age could put them at greater risk of becoming obese. This potential drawback is easily controllable using an appropriate diet and exercise. If you notice that your dog looks overweight, you can decrease the amount of food you give her and increase her exercise. If you’re not sure if your dog is at a healthy weight, please consult a veterinarian.
4 common behavior changes you will notice in your male dog after he is neutered:
After being neutered, male dogs will display other beneficial tendencies besides a reduction in their aggressive nature. Take a look below to see some of the most common changes you will notice in your male dog after they have been neutered.
Here is some behaviors your will experience after your dog is neutered.
- Getting your dog neutered will decrease his chances of getting canine cancer
- It is best to get your dog neutered as soon as possible, younger dogs seem to heal faster.
- When a dog gets neutered he may experience some aggression, anxiety, depression for a few weeks. Most dogs seem to do great with a full recovery.
- After you dog gets neutered you may see that he is staying closer to home and not running off so much.
- After your dog gets neutered you will notice that he doesn’t go around marking his territory like he used to.
- Once your dog is all healed up from getting neutered you will notice that the aggression is gone and now he seems to be closer to you and your family.
Conclusion:
I hope you learn something from this blog about the unknown of your dog getting neutered and if the surgery really does calm them down for just make them meaner.