When is the best time to neuter a Poodle? What are the benefits and disadvantages of neutering a Poodle?

Jul 26,2025
9Min

It is best to sterilize poodles between 6 and 9 months old


Most dog neutering surgeries are more suitable between 6 and 8 months of age. Female dogs can be sterilized after their first heat. Pregnant female dogs can undergo sterilization surgery after giving birth to puppies. At the same time, attention should be paid to the dog's condition and dietary hygiene and good recovery, get more sun exposure, and apply hot towels to the dog's breasts. Pet owners don’t have to worry that spaying or neutering their beloved dogs will affect their active temperaments. When dogs reach adulthood, they will have an estrus period. At this time, the dogs will not only be anxious and anxious, but also cause a lot of trouble to their owners. Frequent pregnancy and nursing of puppies by a female dog will have an impact on her health.

Poodles cannot be neutered during estrus


Dogs are in estrus, which will occur twice a year, possibly during pregnancy, so after the male dog reaches maturity, This can induce the female dog to go into estrus. A series of pursuit behaviors have appeared, so if you want to perform birth control surgery on a dog, it is best to do it when he is about one year old, and not during his estrus. If you happen to encounter the dog's estrus, you should wait until it is over. It can be sterilized. If the sterilization operation is performed during his estrus, not only will there be massive bleeding, but it will also cause damage to his heart.


Benefits of neutering poodles

1. Neutering can reduce the number of times the dog lifts its legs to urinate.

Unneutered male dogs are affected by testosterone and like to raise their legs to pee everywhere to mark their territory. In the consciousness of male dogs, the higher they urinate, the more authoritative they are in front of other dogs. They will drag their owners to every tree, telephone pole, wall corner, anywhere they think needs to be marked to urinate. Some dogs will exhibit this behavior even indoors. Of course, a neutered male dog will still raise his legs to pee, but he will no longer be so "obsessed" with this matter and the frequency will decrease. To completely correct this habit, artificial training is needed.

2. Neutering can dilute a dog’s territorial awareness and improve its aggression.

Of course, if the dog itself has a bold and stubborn temperament, or does not have enough basic exercise, or has not been trained for normal social interaction, neutering alone cannot fundamentally solve the problem.

3. Neutering can reduce the risk of being attacked by other male dogs.

Even if your dog is naturally docile and good-tempered, unneutered male dogs are more likely to be targeted by other male dogs.

4. Neutering can help shift the dog’s attention from other dogs to the owner.

Unneutered male dogs always spend a lot of energy paying attention to other dogs, either looking for a "wife" or a rival. Neutering and proper training can greatly improve this, allowing the dog to focus more on its owner and serve him well.Just follow nature naturally.

5. Neutering can reduce mating behavior.

The mating behavior here not only refers to actual mating, but also refers to dogs making mating movements on toys or even the owner's legs or feet. . Neutering combined with owner education can reduce and avoid this indecent behavior.

6. Neutering can prevent male dogs from being overly excited when around female dogs.

Male dogs will be extremely excited when they are near female dogs, especially female dogs in estrus. This is easy to understand. They are always looking for potential partners. Be aware that this behavior is often the source of trouble or even tragedy. Male dogs that are near female dogs tend to purr, drool, rush, and sometimes even run away from the house. I’m afraid many dogs are lost or involved in car accidents because of this.

7. Sterilization can reduce the risk of prostate disease.

The prostate diseases here do not refer to prostate cancer, which is not common in dogs. The diseases here refer to prostatic hypertrophy, prostate cysts, prostate infections, etc. 80% of unneutered male dogs over five years old will develop prostate enlargement. Some dogs may have difficulty urinating or defecating as a result. Fortunately, when prostatic hypertrophy occurs, sterilization will quickly solve the problem, but prostate cysts and prostate infections are more difficult to treat.

8. Sterilization can prevent testicular cancer.

About 7% of unneutered male dogs will develop testicular cancer. Fortunately, this cancer rarely spreads and the cure rate is 90%. It should also be noted that dogs with cryptorchidism are 14 times more likely to develop testicular cancer than other dogs if they are not neutered.


Disadvantages of sterilizing male dogs

1. Neutering triples the chance of dog obesity.

Being overweight can easily lead to arthritis, heart disease, pancreatitis, and diabetes. After a dog is neutered, if the owner continues to feed it the same amount of food as before neutering, the dog will easily gain weight. This is because neutered dogs undergo changes in their hormonal metabolism and therefore no longer need as much food. Owners should pay attention to the changes in the dog's body when feeding, reduce the amount appropriately, and ensure adequate exercise, so that the dog will not become obese.

2. Sterilization increases the risk of hemangioma.

Hemangioma usually occurs in the heart and spleen. Neutered dogs are twice as likely to develop splenic hemangioma and four times more likely to develop cardiac hemangioma than non-neutered dogs. However, it should be noted that although hemangiomas occur in all dog breeds, they are more common and more likely to occur in certain dog breeds. These dog breeds include Afghan hounds, Bernese mountain dogs, Belgian shepherds, and Boston terriers. Bulldog, Doberman, Flat-coated Terrier, French Bulldog, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, Rottweiler, Scottish Terrier.

3. Sterilization meetingTriples the chance of developing hypothyroidism.

Hypothyroidism can cause obesity, lethargy, and hair loss, but these symptoms can be controlled with daily thyroid medication.

4. Sterilization increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Apparently reproductive hormones also protect the brain to a certain extent.

5. Sterilization surgery is risky.

Twenty percent of sterilization surgeries are accompanied by at least one complication, such as adverse anesthetic reactions, internal bleeding, inflammation or infection, abscesses, incomplete sutures, etc. Fortunately, most complications are not serious, less than five percent are life-threatening, but the mortality rate is very low, less than one percent.
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