There are many benefits of spaying or neutering your pet, read more about how this procedure can help your pets in the long run on the AZ PAWS blog

3 Benefits of Getting Your Pet Spayed or Neutered

As a pet owner, you may be familiar with the terms “neuter” and “spay.” However, you may be unfamiliar with the reasons as to why those things are important. Deciding whether or not to have your animal undergo the procedure is probably the biggest decision you will make as a pet owner.

There are a few things you need to consider when you are deciding what to do in terms of neutering and spaying. It’s important to know the benefits of the procedure before you decide to go through with it or not. Here’s what you need to know.

Your Pets May Live Longer
Deciding to spay or neuter your pet allows them to live longer than they would if you didn’t have the procedure done. This may be because deciding to neuter them or spay them may curb hormones that prompt aggression and impulsive sprints out into the street. Going through with the procedure also helps prevent cancer.

Spaying and Neutering Can Help Curb Bad Behavior
In young dogs and cats, bad behavior can be unacceptable. Dogs tend to be more aggressive before going to the vet clinic and having the procedure done. Cats tend to mark their territory, so getting them to the clinic at a young age will prevent that from happening. The longer you wait to have this done for any pet, the less chance there is that the procedure will work. If you wait too long, their bad instincts will be ingrained and it’ll be very hard to try and fix the problem. Puppies and kittens can have the procedure done when they are as little as two months old.

You’ll Save Money in the Long Run
Going along with spaying and neutering being used as a way to keep your pets healthy, having the procedure done may help save you money as a pet owner. As said in the section about keeping your pet healthy, they have a high risk of being diagnosed with cancer if they aren’t spayed or neutered. If your pet does end up diagnosed with cancer, there will be extreme costs that will come with caring for your animal during that time. You will also have a higher license fee if you don’t choose to spay or neuter your animal. Owners who have unaltered pets have to ultimately pay more than owners with pets who have been through the procedure.

Making the decision to have your pet take the plunge or not can be very difficult. However, choosing to have your pet spayed or neutered can do a lot of positive things for both you and your pet.