There are people who choose spay their dogs and neuter their dogs because they are aware of the difficulties that canine overpopulation has and in order not to face the inconveniences that come with the reproductive behaviors of dogs, although also in certain cases, they do it to solve the problem of aggressiveness that some dogs usually present.
However, neutering dogs brings with it some other benefits for them and is that according to researchers from the University of Georgia, they managed to show that neutered dogs tend to live longer. Which was a thesis proposed by those who promote sterilization for a long time, although in any case, until now it had not been scientifically proven.
Do you want to know why neutered dogs live longer? Then continue reading this post.
How many years does a neutered dog live?
Scientists from the University of Georgia investigated around 40.139 records on the death of dogs between the years 1984-2004, and they were able to observe that the average age in which the dogs that were not neutered died was between 7-9 years, while that of those dogs that were sterilized was between 4 -9 years.
Which means there was around two years difference between one group and the other And it is that when this study was carried out, it was already known that those living organisms that do not reproduce have a higher average life span that those who do reproduce, although the reasons for this were not very clear.
In the case of dogs, on the contrary, it was found that those dogs that were neutered were more likely to die from cancer or for developing some autoimmune diseases, while dogs that were not neutered were more likely to die from trauma or from infectious diseases.
Based on that, it can be said that this could explain, at least to some extent, the difference in life expectancy that have sterilized dogs and those that were not sterilized.
The researchers noted that the age of mortality In the cases that were studied, they turned out to be less than within the general canine population, since they consisted of reports of dogs that were referred to veterinary centers because they were presenting some disease.
However, they also explained that the difference between life expectancy between neutered and non-neutered dogs it can be extrapolated to the healthy canine population.
What is the best age to neuter a dog?
If you want to sterilize a bitch, the most advisable thing would be to do it after its second heat, while if it is a male it is best to do it after 5-6 months of life, never before it, because could negatively affect your growth as well as altering the homeostasis of your body.
Although in the same way, it is not advisable to castrate a dog that is more than seven years old, since at this point is considered an old dog. Likewise, it must not be forgotten that there are some differences between neutering and / or spaying dogs.
Differences between sterilizing a dog or not
Ligation / sterilize
In this case two ligatures are carried outIn both the spermatic cord of dogs and the horns of the uterus of bitches, a cut is also made in the middle. With ligation, the animal continues to produce hormones, however, it will no longer be able to reproduce.
Ovariohysterectomy / castrate
Not only are the gonads removed, but also the ducts.
Ovariesctomy / castrate
The gonads, testes, or ovaries are removed.
Hysterectomy / castrate
The spermatic cord or the horns of the uterus.
If you are thinking of neutering your dog to increase its years of life, remember that neutering also offers many other advantages for your health.