Do we think that animals are affected by the removal of their uterus/ovaries/testicals?

When I asked this question earlier, the "best answer" was that the surgery is "quick" and "not life altering". Do we, as a society, feel that only humans react from having a forced hysterectomy/castration? So, is this person stating that animals do not care, feel pain, or feel a difference after these organs are removed in, as the answerer stated, "90 seconds"


As far as the preventative nature of these surgaries, yes, without testicles, one cannot get testicular cancer. However, recently, vets and researchers have found that removal of these important organs and their accompanying hormones raises risks for other types of cancer.


A woman with uterine/ovarian cancer, after having a hysterectomy, must be assisted by doctors and therapists. A man whose testicles are removed, well... You can imagine how his life is drastically altered. So, are we, as animal lovers, stating that our companions do not deal with these emotions/changes/pain?


*Not questioning need for population control!

Do we think that animals are affected by the removal of their uterus/ovaries/testicals?
People are programmed to feel pain a dog can handle it better than a person.





If you had no idea what was going on you would not know your organs were removed. The Dr tells you you are the emotional one. Not the animals. We have created them to be more like our human children. We give them emotional and psychological problems to deal with. Instead of realizing they are animals. They dopn't care if we euthanize their litter mates we do as humans. They have not concept of over population (okay maybe at my house)





Here is a picture by picture step of a neuter. Someone that does this 20xs a day can do it without you even seeing these steps.


http://www.goodsearch.com/Image.aspx?img...
Reply:I've always thought of this, wondering exactly what the animals feel after a spay or neuter. After all, a man wouldn't be quite a man without his... special place. When Michael Vick was arrested, I was really hoping that they would go by popular demand and neuter him, for the sake of science. After all, everyone wants to know the true effects!
Reply:animals do not express emotions the way a human does.


They do not think "oh man now I dont have a sex drive,"


"oh man now I wont hump things"


"Oh man now My b***s are gone, now I can't interact with the ladies"





I am sure they feel pain, from the operation, but they are medicated wit pain meds and soon get over it.


My first dog got over it within a days time,


my foster was the same ol' dog when I picked him up 3 hours after his sugery.





So my answer is no, it's NOT a life altering change for a dog. they do not get the same satifaction that humans knowing they are fertile. (matter of fact I am sure most of them hate having litters!!)
Reply:I am a supporter of spaying and neutering. By no means do I believe that animals do not feel pain...I know that they do. And I do believe that having these organs removed causes them to feel 'different' in some ways. However, human emotions and animal emotions are very different. We tend to humanize our pets too much, leading us to believe that our pets emotional reactions to events and situations are akin to our own. I do not for a moment believe that a castrated male dog feels like less of a male because he lacks testicles. Dog psychology and human psychology are simply not that closely related.
Reply:Dogs, as with most animals, exist on instinct. They are not emotional creatures, such as people. They attach no significance to their reproductive organs (as human beings do).





So emotionally -- no. I do not think that female dogs "want to be mothers", or wish that they had their uterus. I do not think that male dogs "miss" their testicles, or feel emasculated in any way.





I have seen too many incidences of pyometra, false pregnancies that do not end, and mammary cancer in unspayed b itches to believe that spaying is not beneficial. Scientists may seem to think they're tying the risk of other cancers to the removal of the organs, but, frankly -- in this day and age -- everything causes cancer.





I have seen intact males die of cancer, and neutered males die of cancer. The same with b itches. I don't think you can definitively say that spaying/neutering does or does not cause cancer.





Vets have been spaying and neutering dogs for decades -- we've had plenty of time to see that the hormonal affects of the procedures are *not* the same as in humans, that dogs do not need hormone therapy in order to function post-surgery.





As for the pain, well, yes -- any incision is going to be painful. Any surgery is going to have its effects. But as someone who has had to force my newly-spayed girls to be calm (i.e. don't leap off your dog house, don't go ripping through the yard and tackling your kennelmate) less than 48 hours post-surgery, I don't think the residual pain is enough to outweigh the benefit.
Reply:BOY are you lucky you added that last line!!! :)
Reply:Animals honestly do not process emotions the way we humans do. It is us who WANT to give them the same emotions that we expereince in similar situations.





I am very much aware of my little dog and what is going on with her. She had one littler which immaciated her so badly that I thought I would lose her altogether. After the pups were gone we got her Spayed. Surprisingly, she seems to still have a libido! Although she doesn't use it to get to male dogs anymore. Other than that, she seems to have absolutely no reaction to not being able to have more pups.





The enitre question though is maybe more of a philosophical nature, and I'm sure it can be argued either way depending on someone's perspective.
Reply:I just had my puppy neutered. After the anethesia wore off, he seemed to be just as kookoo as usual and hasn't a clue that he's not a "boy" anymore. Sometimes he licks back there, but I haven't yet seen the "Hey, something's different here" look. He doesn't try to mount my spayed femal anymore, but he's still obsessed with the scent of her urine. The only thing that concerns me is that the vet did not "fix" he scrotum--my dog was very well-endowed, and now that his nuts are gone, there is a huge flap of skin left. It's pretty unsightly.
Reply:Other than humans, dolphins are the only other animals that enjoy sex.





To a dog, being neutered or spayed is like a human having a minor, routine surgery.





As a dog lover, I do believe that dogs feel strong emotions, such as love for their owner and grief if a companion suddenly disappears. But attachment to their ovaries and uterus? Dogs don't even know what those are. How can you miss reproducing if you have no idea what it is?
Reply:I know what you mean about how difficult it can be for a human female to recover from a hysterectomy. My brother's mother-in-law had a very difficult and long recovery. Many months trying to feel normal again. I've also talked to other women about how difficult it can be.





But I don't think dogs feel the same way. Maybe it's because dogs are usually so much younger when they have the operation. They seem to bounce back very quickly. 7-10 days and they're back to normal. Of course I think they feel pain, but they don't "understand" what happened to them or mourn the loss of their sex organs. They don't enjoy mating the way humans enjoy sex.





If anything, I think females are happier not to go through heat. My female was depressed, looking out the window and crying for a male. And males have to be happier too! They aren't driven nuts over the scent of females in heat.





I think it's just so different for dogs because they don't attach any significance to their sex organs. They don't get embarassed that they're hanging out for the world to see. They don't notice if they're gone. Same thing with a three-legged dog. The three-legged dog doesn't feel sorry for himself.
Reply:personally as a human i have had a partial hysterectomy, truth be told, it didnt change or realy bother me one bit...





my pets? not one of thier personalities have changed since being spayed/neutered.





untill we can read the minds of our pets we will never know for certain...


but our pets dont attatch emotional investment on thier private bits and peices...to a man the removal of his testicles is more of an emotional downfall than pysical pain, to him it makes him feel less of a man...


to a woman having a hysterectomy perhaps it makes her feel less woman if she cannot conceive a child...however dogs dont have these emotinal ties to their reproductive organs so i dont feel they would "miss" them or become upset by it like we humans do...





My male has not once taken a look between his legs and started sulking or acting differently as if to question his masculinity...hes still the tough little boy he always was (he wasnt neutered till 1 1/2 yrs old.)





my guess would be that they do "deal" with the changes in hormones...but i doubt they mourn them or feel that they are any less dog just because these things are gone...








EDIT TO ADD: the changes in hormonal level is NOT sudden, medical studies show it takes about 6 months after a neture before the males testosterone levels have comeplety dropped... so it is a SLOW decrease in hormones...
Reply:Dogs adapt much faster than humans. I am sure my dog felt some pain when he woke up from the neuter- but he was given painkillers and cared for by my vet.





I 100% do not think he 'misses' his testicles- or even knows they are gone- he still marks things outside, he still tries to mate with females in heat and even locked with one.





I truly believe I did the best thing for me, my dog, and world in general. Those hours of pain are much better than the hours of pain a female with a difficult labour would go through, or the pain of puppies born who don't make it. They saved me pain too- the pain of knowing I was responsible for that litter born, the mother dog who died in labour, and the dogs dying in the shelter because someone bought those cute puppies instead of going to the shelter and adopting.








Hey Mary- that sack will shrink itself with time- my little boy also had a big flap right after and 3 months later it is almost completely gone.
Reply:Sorry but you're applying human standards to an animal.


Does it change the animals life? Of course.


Is the animal aware of the change? Probably not.


It is almost impossible to stop unwanted reproduction without sterilization. How many animals die during births?


Let's look at the animals quality of life.


Let's examine the hardships, neglect, abuse that is suffered by unwanted pets.


Should we all live in the Garden of Eden and all the animals live together in friendship with plenty of food. A nice dream.


Real life, sterilization improves the lives of our pets and saves millions from lives of misery.


It is the best alternative.
Reply:I TRULY feel horrible for having to neuter my male, because I KNOW that forced castration, or sterilization, affects EVERY being. These are major hormone producing organs, and affect the way a dog develops. With my puppy being netuered at 3 months (against my will, which is a long story in itself) I'm concerned his chest will not grow to be as thick and deep to support his going to be large frame. He's 6 months and 55 lbs. He's going to be a larger sized dog, and it concerns me deeply the effects of having a premature netuering has caused.
Reply:i totally agree with you i have a 9 week old havanese and he also shows emotion i wouldnt like to take away the things god gave him. its cruel and unusual punishment for a natural thing! So in case your wondering your not alone on this subject!
Reply:I'm not sure, but I thought that in female pets they usually remove the uterus, but not the ovaries. I think hormones come from the ovaries, not the uterus, so it seems like it wouldn't affect them as much as you seem to be implying. Now, the obvious difference is that they don't have sex. But removing the uterus then preventing them from having sex isn't really any worse than keeping the uterus, but still preventing them from having sex.





I do have a problem with removing a male's testicles. I think if I got a pet, I might have to get a female, since I wouldn't have the heart to do that to a male. On some TV show about wild animals I heard that when they want to control the population of lions, they give the male lions a vasectomy, but they don't castrate them. That seems like a more humane alternative. Although if you did that with your dog, you'd have to put up with them humping everything all the time. It'd be annoying.





In any case, note that these animals might not know what they're missing. I think these surgeries are generally done before they become sexually active. If my testicles had been removed when I was a kid, I wouldn't have missed them (unless someone explained to me what I was missing), since I wasn't really using them at the time.