Neutering is an important aspect of preventative healthcare that most owners will consider. Vets recommend castration in male dogs and cats to stop their reproductive abilities, as well as reduce and prevent multiple health and behavioural issues. You may be wondering if there are any alternatives to castration. For example, can we vasectomise our canine and feline companions like in humans? Read on to find out more about how a vasectomy is done and why we don’t generally recommend it as a substitute for castration.
Table of contents
- How is a vasectomy performed?
- Why is the procedure not commonly performed?
- What behaviours will vasectomised dogs and cats maintain?
- Which hormonally associated problems are vasectomised cats still at risk of developing?
- Which medical conditions are vasectomised dogs still at risk of developing?
- Conclusion
How is a vasectomy performed?
A vasectomy involves tying off and resecting a small section of the ductus deferens. The ductus deferens is the tube through which sperm travels from the testes to the opening of the penis during ejaculation. By doing this, we remove the dog or cat’s ability to reproduce. It’s important to keep in mind that they do not become immediately infertile after the procedure. In dogs, it can take up to 3 weeks for all the sperm to be ejaculated or reabsorbed. Whereas in cats, it can take up to 7 weeks. Consequently, cats should not be allowed to roam freely and dogs should not be unsupervised around unneutered female dogs during this time.
Why is the procedure not commonly performed?
Vasectomising dogs and cats is not something that is carried out routinely. Unlike surgical castration, the testes are not removed. As a result, the procedure only inhibits fertility and has no impact on the production of testosterone. This means they retain intact male behaviours and are at risk of developing hormonally associated diseases.
(As an aside, castration is 100% effective, and cannot reverse itself if carried out correctly. Even in humans, about 1 in 2000 patients will spontaneously reverse the process, with the divided ductus deferens fusing and reopening – (Editor).
What behaviours will vasectomised dogs and cats maintain?
Vasectomised dogs and cats will continue to exhibit any testosterone-driven behaviours that they did when they were still intact. This may include:
- Desire to roam and seek out intact female dogs or cats
- Aggression, especially towards other male dogs or cats
- Urine marking and spraying
- Humping or mounting
Which hormonally associated problems are vasectomised cats still at risk of developing?
Vasectomised cats, like their unneutered counterparts, are much more likely to have the compulsion to fight, which can lead to some nasty problems. They may fight to compete for female cats, to defend their territory or to assert their dominance. Wounds that break the skin surface can develop into cat bite abscesses and these may need to be lanced and treated with anti-inflammatories and antibiotics.
Fighting also increases cats’ risk of becoming exposed to and infected with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV, aka cat AIDS) and feline leukaemia virus (FeLV). Both of these diseases are spread through cat bites and are contagious and incurable. Furthermore, the testosterone-fuelled desire to roam far and wide in search of a mate makes uncastrated cats more susceptible to road traffic accidents which can leave them with fatal injuries.
Which medical conditions are vasectomised dogs still at risk of developing?
Testicular tumours
While castrated dogs benefit from having the risk of testicular cancers completely removed, vasectomised dogs do not. Testicular tumours are common in older dogs. Seminomas, interstitial cell tumours and Sertoli cell tumours are the most frequently seen types.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia
Benign prostatic hyperplasia is the most common prostatic disease in older dogs, whereby the prostate gland becomes abnormally enlarged. The condition is linked to testosterone, which facilitates the growth in number and size of prostatic cells. Many dogs with BPH are asymptomatic but some may show clinical signs such as difficulty urinating, straining to defecate, blood in urine and ribbon-like faeces.
Perianal adenoma
Perianal adenoma is a cancer of the sebaceous glands located in the skin around the anus. It is the most common perianal tumour in older male dogs and its development is thought to be dependent on testosterone. The tumours are benign and slow-growing and may appear as single or multiple lumps. These masses can ulcerate and become infected.
Perineal hernia
Perineal hernias arise when there is weakening of the muscles of the pelvic diaphragm. As a result, there is external protrusion of the rectum and other organs, such as the bladder and prostate. The condition has multiple risk factors, including hormonal imbalances and enlarged prostate glands. Some signs that may be seen are difficulty or pain on defecating, constipation and perineal swelling.
With all the above conditions, castration is indicated, either as the treatment of choice or as concurrent therapy.
Conclusion
Vets recommend castration not only as a means of population control but also for the medical and behavioural benefits that it brings. However, vasectomies can only inhibit reproductive ability. In cats, the procedure will not remove any hormonally fuelled behaviours, which increases their risk of contracting infectious diseases. And in dogs, they will not be protected from the reduced risks of developing testicular and perianal tumours, prostate issues and perineal hernias. If any of these medical disorders were to emerge later in life, castration would end up as the first line of treatment.
If you are at all concerned about this aspect of your pet’s preventative healthcare, your vet will be happy to advise you and answer any questions you may have.
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Discussion
it has actually gets me quite disturbed thinking that dogs just so needlessly are castrated. We would never do this a human. Perhaps its about time we started treating animals better as a whole? They have emotions and souls just like us and we are destroying a part of their body that we would never do to ourselves. Animals are equals!!
Would you be able to add some information on the diseases which are more likely with full castration, e.g. some bone cancers and other cancers which are not seen in entire dogs but happen in fully castrated dogs. Increased incidence of hypothyroidism etc. in castrated males. This article is very one sided and appears to be only advocating full castration, which should not be considered in any animal with fear aggression until that dog has had a trial of chemical castration, since reducing the testosterone can serve to increase fear and lead to fear aggression.
I wonder if the lack of skill to perform vasectomies on dogs is a factor in how this article is written – and I have been told by a number of vets that they do not have the skills or expertise to do a vasectomy on my dog, so lack of vet skills in the area is straight from the proverbial horse’s mouth!
It’s not exactly a difficult procedure – in fact, it’s a lot more straightforward than a spay at the end of the day! – and we are all trained how to do the procedure on a ferret (now that’s fiddly…).
The article is answering the question as to “why” we don’t. I’m not the author of the post, it’s Beverley’s opinion at the end of the day, and she’s explaining why we don’t routinely.
But we have looked at the adverse effects in other articles – I really like Sian’s article here, for example.
The hypothyroidism link I believe has only been documented in one breed of dog (and actually, Golden Retrievers seem to be a real outlier for side effects following neutering across the board), and I’m not sure it’s been replicated by other studies. The osteosarcoma and MCT risks are far better documented, but (except in very high-risk bloodlines) probably aren’t outweighed by the 14% increase in lifespan for neutered compared to entire dogs.
So I agree it’s a really nuanced conversation to have, which is why there’s a link to the other articles at the bottom!
Training changes behaviour, not removing vital organs which are responsible for a lot of processes.
As of treating it as preventative of cancer – I think it’s totally bonkers to remove organs before any diagnostics took place, even humans don’t remove their organs because they “may” get cancer. The truth is – if not one type of cancer then the other one. Will we just continue removing organs to prevent cancers? Why not put more emphasis on health testing dogs before breeding, before any serious medical procedure like this? Why not put more emphasis of how quality of food has direct effect on potentially increased risks of cancers?
I highly recommend “Should I Spay or Neuetr My Dog” by Puppy Culture where they showed pros and cons of having the procedure done and backing it up with evidence based sources.
If the reason is “I won’t be able to make sure my dog won’t make oopsie babies” and you already have the dog then by all means – just chop.
But we do remove organs in humans – elective mastectomy and ovariectomy, for example, are well recognised.
The actual evidence is really interesting on the impacts of neutering on longevity (14% longer lifespan for males, 26% for females if neutered), for example.
many people report that the unwanted behaviors may or may not change with neutering so that is a misconception and with vasectomy you spare testosterone whose benefits outweigh the risks long term. not to mention chemical castration is much cheaper and safer if you go that route.
It does depend on the behaviour, and when they’re neutered. But if you’re talking about aggression etc, then yes, you’re right – “calming a dog down” is never a good reason to neuter, because it won’t work!
In terms of testosterone’s benefits outweighing risks, the data don’t actually suggest that – in the biggest study performed, neutered dogs lived 14% longer than entire ones…
I agree it’s a complex area with a lot of pros and cons, and I have no problem with chemical castration using deslorelin implants etc, but it is a LOT more expensive (as it needs to be repeated every 6-12 months) than surgical neutering (about the same price, but a one off).
Very misleading article , castration does not make male dogs less aggressive and the change you see in their personalities is more typical of a depressed mental state
The article says that dogs and cats may retain aggression towards other entire males. This is definitely associated with high testosterone levels in cats and to a lesser degree in dogs.
Your statement that dogs are depressed after castration is not backed up by any data I’m aware of – do you have a source for that claim? I’d be interested to see it if you do!
However, you are right that personality changes are not associated with castration, and that other causes of aggression in dogs may be worsened by the procedure – we did an article on this here: https://vethelpdirect.com/vetblog/2018/05/18/dogs-really-nervous-neutering-need-sort-hrt/
As always – reality is nuanced and complex!
There are plenty of studies of male animals including humans that get deppression when they don’t have testosterone, that is not secret knowledge, why would a dog be different from a rat, human ect…
I agree 100%. Testosterone is important to living man or dog.
Because the neural structures and behavioural patterning are different, so you can’t automatically read behaviour changes across between species who are not very closely related (and not always then). Remember, primates and rodents are quite closely related (which is one reason why rats are often used in studies of human disease, more than say cats or dogs).
Secondly, quite a number of studies is available have suggested that castrated dogs are more playful and energetic than neutered ones, which does not support the idea that they are depressed.
The impact on anxiety is, to me, much more of a concern than a hypothetical depression (an affective state that is notoriously hard to measure even in humans, let along non-verbal mammals).
As far as I can tell, no study in dogs or cats has actually tried to tell if depression is more prelvent. However, they have noted decreased energy and the changed in behavior could be signs of depression as far as I can tell. This really needs to be studied.
But agree with the original commenter, this article is horrible misleading via presenting risks of keeping hormones but not the numerous benefits. The current conclusion for dogs is that the longer the hormone exposure, the better health and behavior statically according to a study last month (backed by numerous other studies over the years –some is old studies supporting removing gonads are highly misleading due to not considering vet access into the equation). Why is this site misleading it’s viewers with this article?
Because the impact of lifetime hormone exposure is still a highly contentious issue, and there are other large studies that come to different conclusions. In fact, the really big data research (analysing hundreds of thousands of dogs in developed western countries with good vet access) find a marked increase in lifespan for neutered dogs (more for females, but statistically significant for males as well).
We would be remiss if we ignored the wider dataset because one or two studies supported a different view.
Yeah because being playful occasionally is definitely a sign that your dog isn’t depressed. Like Robin Williams……He wasn’t depressed right??
Dog behaviour is not the same as human behaviour, and can’t be mapped across – which is sort of what I just said!
But certainly increases in energy and activity are not associated with depression in animal species.
Robin Williams also had very high energy as you can see in all his performances and interviews. Definitely was not a depressed individual……
Different species, different behaviour!