Dog Diseases Caused by Unneutered or Spayed

Unwanted puppies aren't the only bad results that can happen if a dog is not spayed or neutered. Dogs that have not been fixed are subject to many different potentially lethal diseases. According to the "Dog Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook," all of these diseases can be avoided by spaying or neutering your dog. These diseases are some of the reasons why animal shelters automatically spay or neuter dogs surrendered to them.

This translates roughly to "pus womb" because that's what happens to the unspayed female dog when infected with this disease. There are two types--draining and non-draining pyometra. Both are lethal. According to "The Veterinarian's Guide to Your Dog's Symptoms," the female dog will have increased thirst, increased urination, distended abdomen, a swollen vulva and may have foul discharge from her genitalia.

Not being spayed makes a dog far more susceptible to getting uterine, ovarian or breast cancer. The most of these is breast cancer. According to respected veterinarian and author Dr. Bruce Fogle, spaying your dog before her first heat gives her a 99 percent chance of never getting breast cancer.

Unneutered male dogs are susceptible to prostate and testicular cancers. They also grow tumors on the testicles which may or may not be cancerous, but still need to be checked out. According to dog Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook, undescended testicles get tumors 50 percent more often than descended testicles. Symptom of a tumor in an undescended testicle include strange swellings in the abdomen. The only cure is neutering.

This is an infection of the sheath or the head of the penis. Symptoms include the dog licking at himself, having problems urinating and having a foul-smelling thick pus drip from the genitals. When the dog gets up from sleeping, a small puddle of this discharge will be left behind. Treatment is a course of antibiotics.

If the dog ever gets strange discharge, swellings or loses its appetite, it needs to go to the vet immediately. The sooner these diseases are caught, the larger the chance the dog will survive.

In many instances, part of the cure is to spay or neuter the dog. Even if the dog recovers from the disease, if it is left entire, it will get the disease again.