Problems after Castration/Spaying?

Has anyones dog/s either male or female had health problems after having them Castrated/Spayed? I'm only curious as my friends dog has had no end of health problems since he was castrated ie:fits/stroke etc and he was a healthy dog before he was castrated at 8 years of age due to an enlarged prostrate....vet advised her to have him done. Just wondering if maybe this could be linked in some way. I've known friends with rabbits who have had them spayed/castrated and some have dropped dead from strokes etc not long after. I realise rabbits are different from dogs but it made me think there might be a connection. All people I know with dogs that haven't been done have lived really long lives with less problems. Just interested in your thoughts. Thanks

this is an interesting thread ,having done thousands of anaesthetics on animals i wonder if the neutering is not the problem but more the health risk from operating on an animal at 8 years old, was it a large breed dog? did she have pre- op blood tests done before being given an anaesthetic? enlarged prostates are a serious problem and do lead to cancer so castrating him was the only thing they could probably do,it may well be that the dogs health was already going down hill and giving him an anaesthetic made it happen quicker!!,

This sounds like my dog, but in reverse!
My BC was neutered at 8 ( a few months ago) because of an enlarged prostate, prior to that he'd had a stroke when he was 6. Since the op, the problems he had because of his prostate have disappeared, but as expected, he's put on weight and his coat's not as nice as it once was. To be honest, the only other thing i've noticed is that he's slightly more nervous lately, have no idea why.

No the dog is a small cross breed and yes she had all pre op blood tests done, which were all normal. The dog was very fit and healthy but after the op it started to have small fits each year...not often but the vet has done various tests on it's heart etc which came back all normal. The dog is nearly 12 years old now and a few months ago it suffered a stroke which thankfully it's recovering well from but it just made me wonder if it was connected.

the nervousness could be due to having no testosterone in his body, some dogs that are shy or nervous cope better with life because of the hormones as they naterally give them more confidence,unfortunatley neutering nervous dogs can make the problem worse when we get a nervous dog in we get the owners to work on confidense building programmes months before we neuter

The fits may be due to the dog having an anaethetic but it would be very differcult to find out for sure and the stroke happening 4 years later is more just old age sadly but dogs can recover and lead normal lives after a stroke! hope this helps you

Thanks Murphydog, that's really interesting! He's a sensitive soul, our Mo, doesn't like raised voices/fireworks etc, it's not extreme nervousness, never has been, he just heas off if things get loud and paces if fireworks go off, but we've noticed he's more inclined to be that way since the op, and it makes sense that it's a lack of testosterone. Thanks for that, good to understand him a bit more. It's not a problem really, he's manageable, it's just when idiots set off fireworks on nights you're not expecting it makes him miserable...like sooooo many other dogs sadly.

I agree with Murphy, the recent stroke for your friends dog is probably to do with age rather than the op ( although I am aware some may disagree) I also agree that dogs can and do make fantastic recoveries, my BC is one of them and our last BC, Gelert, had a stroke at 14, but lived another year with no more (and sadly other old age things got him in the end)
Hope the little one gets better. Hugs. Ax

poor you i know how you feel my old dog is frightened of fireworks! have you tried the bach rescue remedy? when i first got my old dog he was frightened of thunder,fireworks ,strong wind and the microwave!!!!,i started him on rescue remedy and valium on the worse times like most of november !!!! and new year!!! but now hes okay with the microwave but i dont feed him when i want to use it!! and only need valium for nov 5th any other time he is starting to stress i give him some rescue drops and he is calm and happy!!! thank god!

Hi Murphy,
Slightly off topic I know, but it is about post castration problems...
We had him and the biff on valium a couple of years ago and they were awful on it, the vets had previously given them sedatives as the Biff is truly awful!!!! On the valium, they sat on my knee shaking all night. They are not small dogs and I'm not a big person...never again!!!!!!
I'm interestedin the recue remedys though and someone suggested kalms tablets???? Also intend to try a DAP diffuser. They have app ( I think it's called that), vets give us enough for the worst nights ( ie new year and nov 5th ) and we keep them in, in the dark with tv sound up the rest of the time. The vets have said that they will still be scared on the app ( or whatever they are) as it just sedates them and they can't move. I challenged them over that as they snore..very loudly. Anyway, we know Mo shouldn't have them because of his stroke, so he had half a tablet only on Nov 5th this year and coped on new years eve (that was pre op though!)It's just when idiots get there hands on really loud ones and let them off in July!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Arghhhhh!!! Poor dogs.
Sorry feel like i hijacked the thread a bit there. Apologies.

hi yeh we have hijacked this thread sorry lisa, i think you prob mean acp which is a sedative,i used these on my dog to start with but as your vet has said they do not stop the dogs feeling the fear they just cant get away from it,and the other problem with it is you cant guarentee what effect you will get cos the more relaxed your dog is when it gets it the more it will work! i found sometimes my dog was drugged the next day and sometimes they just didnt work!! which is why i changed!! its a shame you had such a bad response to the valium there is another drug that is supposed to be great for sound phobias cant remember the name but will try and find it an pm you,i use dap deffusiers all the time they work really well but do need to be used at least 3months b4 bonfire to get the best effect!