What happens to dogs testicles after they are neutered

Suppose your male pet undergoes neuter surgery, and this is your first postoperative experience. In that case, you may be surprised that your furry pal still appears to be intact, especially if they were neutered later in life. To clear up any confusion, let’s explain your male pet’s surgical procedure. Here are the steps we take at Poway Animal Hospital to safely neuter your pet. 

Step 1: Your pet is placed under anesthesia

Neuter surgeries are extremely fast in cats, as long as both testicles have descended into the scrotum, but canine neuters take longer. Veterinarians use anesthesia on both species to ensure they remain pain-free and unconscious throughout the procedure. 

Step 2: Your pet’s surgical site is prepared

In dogs, an incision is made in front of the scrotum, and both testicles are pushed through this single incision and removed. One incision is made over each testicle in the scrotum in cats, so the cat and dog incision areas look different. Dogs are shaved to remove hair from the surgical site, while cat hair is generally plucked to avoid razor burn. Once the hair is removed, the site is scrubbed with a surgical antiseptic. 

Step 3: Our veterinarian removes the testicles

Next, our veterinarian will remove each testicle, ligating the spermatic cord to ensure no bleeding occurs. In large dogs, the scrotum may also be removed to prevent a postoperative scrotal hematoma, which can happen when the pet is too active after surgery and the empty scrotum fills with blood. Generally, the scrotum is left in the pet.

Step 4: Our veterinarian closes the incision in dogs

In the final step, a neuter surgery again differs in dogs versus cats. The dog’s single incision is sutured closed, whereas the cat’s double incisions are typically left open, or may be closed with tissue glue, so suture removal is not required. 

Step 5: Your pet recovers from anesthesia

Male pets are often awake and ready to go home only hours after surgery because their procedure is less invasive than a female’s. We closely monitor your pet for pain after their surgery and anesthesia until they are fully recovered and ready to go home with you.

Is your pet in need of a spay or neuter surgery? Contact us at Poway Animal Hospital to schedule an exam. 

Spaying a dog has many benefits, and most of us agree on that. Either spaying a female dog or neutering a male dog, it is a procedure recommended by veterinarians as it helps reduce litter abandonment, prevents certain diseases, and also reduces the risk of behavioral problems.

You should know that the complications of the procedures are not normal, they rarely happen. However, when dealing with surgical interventions, there can always be risks that must be taken into account.

That is why in this blog post we will provide you with more information about the possible complications after neutering a dog.

Again, we want to emphasize that the likelihood of having complications from spaying or neutering a dog is minimal when we take the proper protective precautions and the intervention is carried out by professional veterinarians. What’s more, it is considered minor surgery. However, we must still be vigilant in case any of the following problems arise:

• Bruising, irritation and swelling: that the site of the incision of the castration or sterilization is swollen, reddened or may have some scabs does not have to be a bad thing a priori. But you should keep in mind that it is a wound that should heal relatively quickly. In male dogs, it may even appear that they still have testicles in the scrotum, but this is due to the swelling and goes away after a few days. This means that it is not a postoperative complication of castration. However, if the swelling becomes too acute or there are purulent discharge, you should return to the vet as soon as possible.
• Vomiting and diarrhea: due to general anesthesia, your dog will become slightly dizzy and his metabolism will be somewhat altered. This can manifest itself in vomiting and diarrhea that can be normal. However, you should control them since, if it continues for more than 24 hours, it is necessary to return to the vet.
• Ovarian remnants: In some bitches, some ovarian tissue may remain after spay surgery. This can lead to hormonal problems, infections, or other complications. That is why, on very rare occasions, even neutered dogs can contract diseases such as pyometra.
• Risk of infection: the risk of your dog suffering an internal infection is minimal, but we should always look for signs in case the dog’s belly swells and becomes hard. Also, since the incision site will likely bother the dog, it will always try to lick the wound area. For this reason, we need to put an Elizabethan collar around his neck, or cover that area by adjusting an old shirt to prevent this from happening, since bacteria from his mouth can infect the wound or remove the stitches.
• Poorly healed wound: Similarly, if the dog licks the incision or hits something, the wound may not heal properly. In these cases, we must take them to the vet as soon as possible. Medicating them ourselves could make the situation worse.
• Death: this is the risk that anyone who has a dog fears the most. Putting a dog under general anesthesia can be scary, but problems rarely arise from it. Now, it is important to say that there are cases in which an adverse reaction to anesthesia can occur that unfortunately causes death. However, it should be noted that multiple studies have been able to show that the mortality rate due to spaying or neutering in dogs is practically nil, with 0.03%.

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