As a three-time Airedale owner, I know that the decision as to when to spay/neuter them can be a tough one. I wrote the following guide to show you everything you need to know about the process.
So, when should you spay or neuter your Airedale? Although it varies from dog to dog, you’ll typically want to spay/neuter your Airedale when they’re between the ages of 5 and 9 months.
That’s a wide age range, but there are a lot of factors to be considered. The best thing to do to get a more specific age is to speak to a vet, who will be able to assess your dog on a case-by-case basis. The reason that the age varies so much is mainly because of the differences between genders and individual dog personalities. Neutering and spaying too early can affect your dog’s development, while doing so too late increases the risk of an unwanted litter of puppies.
Spaying and Neutering: What Are They?
Even as a lifelong dog-owner, I sometimes get the terms mixed up. The difference comes down to sex:
- Spaying is for females
- Neutering is for males
It sounds a little goofy, but I remember it because N comes right after M in the alphabet: Males need to be Neutered. It’s not the best memory device, but it works!
Spaying
Spaying is the process of removing a female dog’s uterus and ovaries. It’s a slightly invasive process, as the surgery often involves making a small incision in the abdomen of the dog. Because of this, spaying takes more of a toll on your dog than neutering does, and you can expect to have them resting for a couple of days after the operation.
Doing so removes the dog’s ability to reproduce; it also eliminates her heat cycle (the period for which the female dog has the ability to get pregnant). This goes a long way in steadying both your dog’s behaviour and the behaviour of other dogs (particularly males) that it comes into contact with.
How Much Does Spaying Cost?
Spaying your dog will cost between $65-$500 to have the procedure performed. If you go to a shelter or humane society, you’ll likely have to pay less than you would at a vet, although doing it through a vet may lower the risk of the procedure going wrong.
In addition to that, you may have to pay for a consultation with the vet beforehand. This can cost anywhere from $45-$300.
Neutering
Neutering is when a male dog has his testicles removed via an incision made on the front of the scrotum. This process is much less invasive than spaying is, and you often don’t have to wait long for your dog to be back to their normal self (although they may have to wear a ‘cone of shame’ to prevent them from licking the wound). Neutering takes away your dog’s ability to reproduce; it also limits their testosterone levels, which can reduce aggression.
How Much Does Neutering Cost?
Neutering is slightly more affordable than spaying; you can expect to have to pay $50-$250 depending on the size of your dog and the type of organization you go to to have the operation performed. The same consulting fee will apply here.
When to Spay/Neuter Your Airedale
So, now that we know what the two are, let’s talk about big question: when do I want to spay/neuter my Airedale?
As I said above, the question is a little difficult to answer because there are a couple of factors that influence it. In general, though, male Airedales can be neutered once they’re 9 months old, and females can be spayed any time after 4 months old.
Below are a couple of things that are responsible for the differences in age:
Gender
Spaying occurs much earlier than neutering does. Some people say you can spay as early as 2 months, but I would recommend waiting at least 4 for your Airedale. Still, you want to spay before or immediately after the first heat cycle, which often occurs within 6-7 months of the dog’s birth. Vets will usually wait until closer to this age, because the dog will be more mature and thus stronger/more tolerant of the surgery.
Neutering, by contrast, happens after your Airedale has gone through puberty. This is so the lower testosterone levels that happen post-neutering don’t have a negative impact on the development of the dog. Recently, there has been a bit of a push saying you can neuter your dog younger (such as 5-6 months, or even 8 weeks in extreme cases). I’m not a vet, but I personally wouldn’t do this out of fear that it would alter my dog’s growth.
Development
Individual development is also a factor in when your dog should be spayed or neutered, and it will be up to your vet to make the judgement as to how these factors influence their timing. Some things can include:
- Your dog’s growth
- Any health concerns, like increased risk of cancer
- Behaviour
Because I don’t know your Airedale, I can’t really comment too much on these; however, you should make sure to be aware of them. If your vet says they want to neuter your dog outside of the age range mentioned in this article, I would listen to them over me.
Should I Spay/Neuter?
It’s widely accepted within the pet community that spaying and neutering are good practice, but it’s still a decision that I believe you should make for yourself. Below, I’ve listed some of the pros and cons of spaying/neutering your dog.
Pros
First, let’s discuss some of the upsides of spaying/neutering your pup:
Prevent Unwanted Puppies
This is probably the major reason that you want to spay/neuter your dog. Obviously, by taking away their reproductive ability, you’re preventing your Airedale from having unexpected puppies.
Animals shelters and rescue societies are already overrun with dogs that don’t have a home; there’s no need for you to add to the strain by bringing a litter of unexpected puppies into the world. Unless you plan to raise them yourself or sell them (which could be difficult, considering you won’t know what dog your Airedale is breeding with), these dogs will either have to be given away or put down.
Now, lots of people might think that they can simply protect their dog from having sex, and that will solve the problem. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. Even experienced breeders, who spend their lives carefully controlling their dogs’ reproduction, sometimes have slip-ups that lead to unexpected litters.
This problem is made worse by the Airedale, who is headstrong, intelligent, and loves a challenge. These dogs will jump fences, dig under walls, and break leashes to get to where they want to go; unless you plan to have 24/7 surveillance on your dog, having them spayed/neutered is the only way to know for sure that they won’t reproduce.
Lower Health Risks
Aside from the societal benefits (and the benefits on your mental health) that come with not having unexpected, unwarranted puppies, spaying and neutering can do a lot for your dog in regard to protecting their health.
Some of the common benefits include:
- Reduced risk of pyometra in female dogs, which is a life-threatening and painful disease of the uterus that is caused by bacterial build-up.
- Lower rates of prostate disease in males.
- Less chance of several types of cancer including testicular cancer for males and mammary tumors and breast cancer in females.
Now, obviously, everyone wants to keep their dog healthy, because it’s always sad when these companions pass on and leave us. It’s also much kinder to your animal; you can save your dog from contracting several painful and fatal diseases through one minor operation.
The health benefits of neutering and spaying are well-documented and peer-reviewed within the pet community.
Alter Behaviour
Another major pro to having your Airedale spayed is that it can alter their behaviour, often for the better.
Even though I love them, I’ll be the first to admit that these dogs can be difficult even at the best of times. Stubborn, sometimes aggressive, and born with a sense of wanderlust, a full-grown Airedale is a lot to deal with.
In females, spaying them eliminates their reproductive cycle, which means you won’t have to deal with your dog being in heat twice a year. For many female Airedales, attitude problems are already a concern; when they’re extra hormonal, these concerns can be exacerbated.
Additionally, you don’t have to concern yourself with trying to keep your dog occupied when she’s eager to find a partner. Once again, Airedales are determined and incredibly energetic, and trying to stand between a female Airedale and something she wants can be a major headache.
There are also major benefits for males being neutered. Having lower testosterone levels will keep your Airedale more in check and lower their aggressiveness. Although this is good for any dog, it’s especially important given how this breed tends to approach strangers.
At the best of times, Airedales can be slightly indifferent towards dogs they don’t know; at the worst of times, they’re territorial and competitive. Especially if they feel they’ve been challenged by another dog, your Airedale can get aggressive quickly, and you don’t want to have to spend your entire day at the dog park chasing them down to prevent them from fighting with/humping other dogs.
From personal experience, I can say that spaying/neutering your Airedale will remove the worst of their Airedale tendencies; they’ll likely be less stubborn, more easy-going, and less prone to wandering away to go on some hairbrained adventure in the wilderness.
Cons
Now, before I go too far into this section, I feel that I should reiterate: the vast majority of vets, and the pet community as a whole, recommends spaying/neutering your dog, for the benefits listed above.
With that being said, though, I myself am not a vet, and all I’m trying to do in this article is present information that you yourself can judge. Because of that, I’ve included some of the downsides of spaying/neutering your pet. I can’t tell you what to do, because I’m not qualified to, but I can stress that I personally listen to experts in manners concerning my pet’s health.
So, with that being said, some of the downsides of neutering/spaying include:
- Possible negative reactions to anaesthesia: When performing the spaying/neutering process, your vet will use a general anaesthesia to make the process less painful for your pet. About one in five dogs will have a negative reaction to this. Although the majority of reactions are not major, there is a slim chance that it could be life-threatening.
- Increased risk of health complications: Spaying can lead to increased urinary tract infections and urinary incontinence in female Airedales.
- Potential for hypothyroidism: There are some claims that spaying or neutering leads to higher thyroid levels, which may be linked to weight gain in dogs. However, these claims are not widely verified yet, so I would take them with a grain of salt.
Common Concerns
Finally, I wanted to spend the last part of this article talking about some frequently asked questions concerning spaying/neutering.
Do I have to spay/neuter my Airedale?
This is a tough question to address because, as I said above, I’m not a vet. My first piece of advice would be to seek expert help and consult with a real vet the first chance you get to help you make a decision.
With that said, though, no one can make you neuter or spay your Airedale. I would strongly advise you to consider the implications that this decision could have, though, not only on your own life, but also the lives of your dog and any unexpected puppies that they have as a result of you not spaying/neutering.
Will spaying/neutering change my Airedale’s personality?
This is a common concern amongst pet owners. A lot of websites will tell you that no, you’ll see no difference in your pet’s behaviour.
Personally, I find this to be a bunch overly optimistic lies. I just wrote about all the ways in which your Airedale will be better behaved if you spay/neuter them. Of course removing a major hormonal component from their body is going to change their personality.
The question then becomes:
- How major will this change be, and
- Will it be a negative change?
In regards to the first, I would say that it will be a fairly minor change. You can view spaying/neutering as sanding down the rough edges on your Airedale; they’ll have the same personality and tendencies, although those tendencies will be a little less pronounced.
As for the second question, that depends on your definition of ‘negative’. Your Airedale will probably less stubborn and will wander off less, which is probably a positive thing. However, you need to also consider that they might be less aggressive; if you like roughhousing with your dog, this could be a downside.
Will My Airedale get Overweight?
A big concern when neutering is that your Airedale will become less energetic, which can lead to them gaining weight. This claim has been widely refuted by the scientific community, who say that your decision to spay/neuter has no impact on your dog’s health.
Personally, I believe that your dog’s weight is always something that you are responsible for. It may be that they becomes less playful after being neutered; if this is the case, you should adjust their diet accordingly, or take them for more walks to compensate.
Is this process painful for my Airedale?
As a pet owner, I understand never wanting to cause your pet unnecessary pain. Again, some sites will try to sugar-coat here and claim that spaying/neutering won’t cause any pain; the truth is, your pet will experience some pain and discomfort (and the anaesthesia risk mentioned above). This is still a surgery, and they’ll have to deal with the resulting incision for as long as two weeks after.
However, once again as the pet owner, you need to be able to make the decision as to what’s best in the long term for your pet. So, while it’s true that there will be some short-term pain, spaying/neutering is often the right call to make in the long run.
My Airedale likes to hump other dogs, but they’re too young to be neutered. What do I do?
This is something that I had to deal with for a long time with Theo. He’s a super-energetic Airedale who was always a little larger than typical, and he liked to get competitive with other dogs.
My first advice would be to consult with your vet. It may be that they recommend an earlier neuter than normal, at which time you can just proceed with the operation.
If not, I would say be prepared to just keep a close eye on them. If possible, stay close to your Airedale when they’re off-leash to step in and prevent them when they try to do this. If that’s not doable (because dogs run a lot faster than we do), it may be that you have to keep your Airedale on-leash for the first year or so of their life until they’re old enough to go through with the procedure.