At Burford Veterinary Hospital, we offer traditional spay and neuter services. These are both day procedures, in which your pet spends the morning and afternoon in the clinic for surgery and recovery and is discharged to go home in the late afternoon that day. These procedures are routinely performed on a weekly basis. For both spay and neuter procedures, your pet will be under general anesthesia, monitored closely by a Registered Veterinary Technician. Your pet will receive a pre-medication injection of a pain medication and sedative, then induced into anesthesia and intubated, hooked up to general anesthesia, clipped and prepped for the procedure, and then moved into the surgery suite for the surgeon to begin. While under anesthesia, your pet will be given IV fluids, given more pain management and an antibiotic injection. Upon recovery, your pet will continue to be closely monitored with their vitals being checked routinely.

You will be given comprehensive post-operative care instructions and pain medication by one of our Registered Veterinary Technician upon your pet being discharged from the hospital. Before and after the procedure, we are happy to address any questions you may have.

Spay:

A dog spay procedure includes the surgical removal of the uterus and ovaries (ovariohysterectomy).
We recommend that all non-breeding female dogs get spayed. There are several benefits associated. These include:

• Prevention of potentially fatal uterine infection known as pyometra.
• Prevention of mammary cancer. Getting your dog spayed before their first heat results in less than 0.5% chance of developing mammary cancer.
• Eliminating risk of uterine and ovarian cancer.
• Eliminating the risk of hormone changes that can cause a false pregnancy following a heat cycle.
• Prevent accidental breeding.

The recommended age for spaying your dog depends on many factors. Please discuss with one of our veterinarians at any of your pets’ examinations!

Neuter:

A dog neuter procedure includes the surgical removal of both of your dog’s testicles (orchidectomy).

We recommend that all non-breeding male dogs get neutered. There are several benefits associated. These include:

• Reduces the risk of benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate that comes with age) and prostatitis (prostate infection).
• Reduces the risk of hormonally driven growths such as perianal adenomas (benign tumour around the anus) and perianal hernias.
• Totally eliminates the risk of testicular cancer (which is the second most common cancer in unneutered dogs).
• Can reduce hormonal behaviours such as mounting and marking.
• Can reduce certain types of aggression (typically male dominance aggression).

The recommended age for neutering your dog depends on many factors. Please discuss with one of our veterinarians at any of your pets’ examinations!