Spay and Neuter

The veterinarians and staff at Country Creek Animal Hospital in Allen, TX recommend that all non-breeding pets be spayed or neutered. These procedures can drastically improve your pet’s health and well-being:

Mitigate some inappropriate or socially unacceptable behaviors
Eliminate any unwanted litters/ pregnancies and complications there of
Dramatically decrease the risk of development of mammary gland carcinoma in females, especially if performed before the first “heat”/ estrous cycle
Practically no risk of having a life-threatening uterine infection in females called pyometra (would usually require emergency surgery to treat otherwise)
Help improve long-term prostate health in male dogs
Eliminates foul smelling urine in male cats if performed early enough
Eliminates “in-heat” behaviors of female pets
Eliminates male pets' desire to seek out a mate (trying to get out of the house/ yard, etc.)

What does spaying or neutering involve?

Both spaying and neutering are surgical procedures that prevent an animal from reproducing. Spaying and neutering is typically recommended for pets that are at least 5 months old and are not going to be used for breeding.

Spaying is performed on female animals and involves surgically removing the uterus and ovaries to prevent pregnancy.

Neutering is implemented on male animals and encompasses removing the testicles to eliminate fertility.

While each of these surgeries sound involved, they can usually be completed within a few hours and do not require an overnight hospital stay.

Your pet may experience increased discomfort in the days following surgery. Depending on your pet’s surgery, pain medication can be prescribed. These tips should be followed to ease your pet’s recovery:

Do not allow your pet to run or jump for the next few days.
Examine the incision daily to ensure proper healing.
Keep your pet confined from others, and allow them to have a quiet resting place.
Prevent your pet from licking the surgical site by keeping close watch or by using an Elizabethan collar.
Wait at least 10 days after surgery to bathe your pet. If your pet’s incision has opened or if you notice excessive swelling, redness, or discharge, contact our office immediately.

We can consult with you about when it would be most appropriate to have your pet’s spay or neuter procedure performed. Several factors like size, breed, overall health, status of dental development, etc. play into the decision.

For Pet Owners desiring to have their pet bred/ breed, we would recommend a thorough consultation of the entire breeding process, start to finish, to highlight some of the necessary measures to assure that your pet and it’s offspring remain healthy and have a great start in life. These consultations and examination would include pedigree analysis, screening for common ailments of particular breeds (orthopedic, eye, heart, allergy/skin, reproductive, cancer tendency, respiratory, endocrine/glandular, dental/orthodontic, vascular, neurologic, etc). Many of these assessments can be made at Country Creek Animal Hospital under the direct supervision of our Doctors and Staff, but we may refer you and your pet to a local specialist or veterinarians with a particular interest in canine reproduction and management.

Country Creek Animal Hospital, its Doctors, and Staff do not condone nor facilitate irresponsible pet breeding, but do whole-heartedly support those that are breeding sound and fit animals in a manner that is humane and benefitting the breed as a whole.

All surgeries at Country Creek Animal Hospital include a complete exam, lab work, pain management, intravenous support fluids, anesthesia and monitoring.