Why Do Dog Owners Cut Off Their Balls?

If you are curious why some dog owners cut off their dog’s balls, you have landed in the perfect place.

Let’s find out more about male dog neutering (aka castration) and if it might be the right thing to do for your dog.

Why Do Dog Owners Cut Off Their Dog’s Balls?

The main reason dog owners have their dog’s balls removed is to make them infertile, so they can’t get a female dog (also known as a bitch) pregnant.

Doing so can also potentially provide beneficial health and behavioral changes by reducing the dog’s testosterone levels.

While there is some dispute around whether or not dogs should be castrated, many vets recommend it for most dogs that are not being kept for breeding purposes.

NOTE – You might also find this post interesting about why dogs get stuck together after mating.

Potential Health Benefits of Having a Dog Castrated

There are some excellent potential health benefits that can come from having a male dog neutered by removing its testicles.

Let’s take a closer look. Some of the health benefits of canine castration can include:

1. It eliminates the risk of testicular cancer.
2. It significantly reduces the risk of prostate cancer and other prostate diseases.
3. It creates a reduction in diseases affected by or related to testosterone levels.
4. It reduces the risk of dogs getting a hernia, particularly a perineal hernia, an excruciating condition requiring surgery.
5. It improves behavior (more on this next).

Potential Behavioural Benefits of Cutting off a Dog’s Balls

Chopping off a dog’s balls doesn’t just render them infertile. It also stops their testicles from working correctly.

Testicles don’t just make sperm. They are also responsible for producing testosterone.

So, by removing them, the dog’s testosterone levels will drop significantly.

This can lead to improved behavior, less aggression, less stubbornness, and a reduction or elimination of sex drive.

This means the dog won’t try to have sex with other dogs, people’s legs, a random cushion, etc.

Many dog owners find this helpful, especially if their pup has a high sex drive and obsessively tries to hump random objects and animals.

Lower testosterone levels also mean they are much less likely to scent marks and much less likely to stray when they smell a female dog in season and fertile season.

NOTE – You find this post interesting. It asks the question: Do dogs like their collars?

How Dangerous is Canine Castration?

Neutering male dogs is a very safe and routine operation for most dogs.

It is done under a general anesthetic, which comes with additional risk, and any operation has some level of risk.

However, having a vet remove a dog’s balls is undoubtedly considered a very safe procedure that most veterinary surgeons carry out on a daily or weekly basis.

Should You Have Your Dog’s Balls Removed?

If you do not want to breed with your dog and a female to have some puppies, it is probably a good idea to have your dog castrated.

The risks are very low, the cost is not huge, and both health and behavioral benefits can come from it.

Consult a Vet and Ask if You Should Have Your Dog’s Balls Cut Off

Of course, with neutering and any other topic related to your dog’s health, you should always consult your vet if you are in any doubt whatsoever.

With all these types of decisions, there are pros and cons to be weighed up and evaluated.

No one can better help you with this than your vet, as they know you and your dog.

While you think it over, this video has some interesting advice from a qualified vet, so feel free to check it out:

 

Note – You might also enjoy reading this post. It answers the question – why do people cut off dog’s tails?

Final Notes On Why Some Owners Cut Off Their Dog’s Balls

Dog owners cut off their dogs’ balls to render them infertile, to avoid unwanted puppy litters, and for the behavioral and health benefits of castration.

A final note – Dog theft is a grave and hideous crime, but sadly it is still much more common than we would like. One dog theft is one too many.

One of the reasons people steal dogs is to breed from them, so if your dog has had its balls removed and therefore can’t breed, it may be less likely to be stolen.

Some owners even put “neutered” tags on their dog’s collars to deter dog thieves.