How much does it cost to neuter a small dog

There is a huge range in the possible cost to neuter a dog — anywhere from $50 to $600 — it depends many factors, including your geographic location, the type of veterinary provider you choose, and whether or not you elect additional services like screening blood work, IV catheter, or pain medication. 

 

A non-profit, subsidized low cost spay and neuter clinic is obviously less expensive than a privately-owned, fully-equipped AAHA-accredited animal hospital like Paoli Vetcare. the good news is that since spaying is a more complicated and time-consuming surgical procedure — all things being equal —  neutering a male dog is always less expensive than spaying a female dog.

 

 

What’s It Cost To Neuter a Dog Near Me?

Table of Contents

  • 1 What’s It Cost To Neuter a Dog Near Me?
  • 2 What is Neutering?
  • 3 What Are the Benefits of Neutering a Dog?
  • 4 How Much Does It Cost to Neuter a Dog?
  • 5 Regional Pricing for Neutering
    • 5.1 Prices from Local Delaware Valley Consumer’s Checkbook (2022):
  • 6 Why Are Costs to Neuter Higher?
  • 7 Standards: Veterinary Hospital vs. Low-Cost Clinic
    • 7.1 Why Choose a Veterinary Hospital?
    • 7.2 Why Use a Low-Cost Clinic?
  • 8 What Should Be Included in the Costs?
  • 9 Conclusion

 

 

What is Neutering?

 

Neutering, castrating, or “fixing” a male is the pet surgery in dogs or cats to remove the testicles (or balls). Although it’s a surgical form of birth control preventing unwanted pregnancies, it can also serve to prevent certain behavioral problems without decreasing your dog’s protective instincts.

 

The whole process lasts a few hours, and your pet is put under general anesthesia for the short surgical procedure so they won’t feel a thing. With any surgery, your pet will require a few days to fully recover, but most dogs act perfectly normal as soon as the anesthesia wears off. Keep reading to see the secret cost to neuter a dog revealed.

 

 

What Are the Benefits of Neutering a Dog?

 

There are many benefits to dog neutering, especially for your dog’s long-term health. While neutering prevents reproduction, it also reduces the chances of various health risks such as prostate infections, anal tumors, roaming resulting in hit-by-car accidents, dog fight injuries, and testicular cancers.

 

Neutering can also have positive benefits on your dog’s personality. Without the reproductive organs, your dog will not have high levels of testosterone, which means decreased restlessness, “humping,” escaping/bolting, and certain types of aggression (inter-dog aggression a.k.a. fighting). 

 

Since neutering is a foolproof method of birth control, it helps reduce the homeless dog population, thereby giving the pets that end up at animal shelters a better chance for adoption.  

 

 

How Much Does It Cost to Neuter a Dog?

 

The cost to neuter a dog depends on several aspects such as what breed dog you have, your dog’s age and health condition, where you live, and where you decide to go for the procedure. As a rough guideline, you can generally expect to pay about $300 for a basic, “no-frills” neuter surgery. 

 

 

Dr. Rowan Examines a Dog before Neuter Surgery

 

 

Regional Pricing for Neutering

 

Where you live plays a role in the cost to neuter a dog and the difference from region to region can be substantial. For example, a basic neutering package in major metropolitan areas such as Houston and Chicago starts at $325, whereas in New York City, it starts at $390. 

 

In general, prices in these urban areas are higher than those in rural communities. With that said, a myriad of factors affect the cost and the location of your hometown is only one of them. 

 

 

Prices from Local Delaware Valley Consumer’s Checkbook (2022):

 

cost to neuter a dog

 

 

Why Are Costs to Neuter Higher?

 

Although the range in pricing is large, their are good reasons for different cost to neuter a dog — it’s not just random. Many variables must be taken into consideration when it comes to the total cost for a neuter surgery. 

 

Larger, heavier, and older dogs require more anesthesia and surgical time for the operation, which may raise your bill. 

 

Prior medical conditions usually require additional testing and bloodwork to operate safely, increasing the cost to neuter a dog. People choose to do screening blood work on apparently healthy dogs to detect previously unknown underlying conditions or to establish a baseline for later comparison. 

 

Some vets will ask you to choose if you want them to place an IV catheter for additional safety during anesthesia and surgery, while other veterinarians will require catheter placement which adds to the cost to neuter a dog.

 

The cost to neuter a dog is always higher if your pup is cryptorchid — the relatively common preexisting condition of one or two of the testicles fail to descend normally into the scrotum. This condition requires more complex and invasive surgery, increasing the fee for the procedure.

 

 

Standards: Veterinary Hospital vs. Low-Cost Clinic

 

It’s a personal choice when deciding between a vet hospital and a spay and neuter clinic that depends on both your financial situation and your level of comfort with the particular facility you are considering for the surgery. The lower the cost to neuter a dog is clearly the biggest advantage to choosing a non-profit, subsidized clinic and — if you do your research — your dog should get adequate care. 

 

Low-cost vet clinics do high volumes of spay and neuter surgeries (30 – 50 per day!) so the vets are generally experienced having done large numbers of these particular procedures. Always check that the veterinarian who will be doing your pet’s surgery has had at least a year of surgical experience or — if a new vet school graduate —  is supervised by an experienced surgeon.

 

While nonprofit and corporate spay and neuter clinics have recently boomed because of their low prices, a cheaper cost to neuter a dog doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best choice for you. 

 

 

Cost to Neuter a Dog at a Vet

 

 

Why Choose a Veterinary Hospital?

 

Using a “regular” vet to get your dog neutered generally means a higher cost to neuter a dog. However, this higher price isn’t for nothing. 

 

When you take your dog to the vet for this procedure, you’re also paying for an IV catheter, high-quality anesthetic, intravenous fluids, antibiotic and pain medications, anesthesia monitoring equipment, dedicated nursing care for anesthesia recovery, and your dog may need a cone or protective collar after the procedure to keep from scratching at the sutures. These items don’t just mean the procedure will cost more — it means that your dog will be in a safer environment. 

 

When it comes to choosing a vet to get your dog neutered, the safest option should be chosen. The vet will conduct the procedure with all of the high-quality amenities necessary to keep your dog properly stabilized. 

 

Why Use a Low-Cost Clinic?

 

While low cost to neuter a dog doesn’t always mean low-quality, the experience is different when compared to an AAHA-accredited animal hospital like Paoli Vetcare

 

Low-cost clinics rely on grants and contributions to obtain the trained veterinary staff and equipment necessary for surgical procedures, so they often don’t have the same high-quality anesthetic, pain medications, and monitoring systems as a full-service vet would:

 

  • Low-cost clinics don’t provide a consultation with a vet who performs a thorough physical exam for your pet before surgery.
  • Low-cost clinics usually don’t offer or require blood work before surgery
  • Low-cost clinics usually don’t offer or require the placement of an IV catheter or give intravenous fluids to your dog during the procedure
  • Low-cost clinics do not have the staff to provide individual attention and monitoring of your pet before, during, and after surgery
  • Low-cost clinics don’t monitor ECG, blood pressure, and maintain constant body temperature for your pet during the neuter surgery
  • Low-cost clinics are not the best option for higher-risk patients:
    • Giant breed dogs
    • Older pets
    • Overweight and obese dogs
    • Brachycephalic breeds — flat, smushed faces
    • In-heat or pregnant female dogs
    • Aggressive dogs
    • Pre-existing medical conditions

 

It’s been reported that there is a correlation between low-cost clinics and post-surgery complications. While this isn’t the case with all clinics, it is a variable to consider when choosing a clinic for the procedure — so always do your research and check reviews. 

 

Low-cost spay and neuter clinics are not usually set up to handle emergencies or hospitalize pets overnight if there are complications. They may not have the ability to handle anything outside of a normal, healthy patient surgery and recovery. If a vet hospital is prepared for these contingencies, the cost will necessarily be higher.

 

Low-cost spay and neuter clinics can be a good option for young, healthy, low risk dogs and for those who can’t afford the cost of a full-service veterinary hospital. They deserve to be recognized for the necessary and important work they do to help solve the tragic pet overpopulation problem. 

 

Using a low-cost clinic may be your best choice — just recognize there are common sense reasons why one surgery is $50 and another is $500. 

 

For a full-service animal hospital, it costs a lot of money to purchase and maintain veterinary equipment, to hire and train skilled staff to work that equipment, run blood work, and monitor your pet. The practice owner must purchase and run a full-service veterinary hospital and pay veterinarians who perform surgery, supervise anesthesia, monitor recovery, as well as recognize and respond to any complications.

 

 

Vet Tech with Puppy

 

 

What Should Be Included in the Costs?

 

Now that you’ve learned how many factors are at play, you can understand the necessity of meeting with one of our veterinarians to get a free estimate of the cost to neuter a dog prior to surgery.

 

New client exams are always complimentary at Paoli Vetcare, so your dog can get a thorough physical exam and an individualized surgical estimate at no cost to you. Check out our Free New Client Exam page to learn more and our Client Reviews page to see why so many choose Nextdoor Neighborhood Favorite Paoli Vetcare for their furry family member’s care.

 

 

Conclusion

 

Once you’ve decided to get your dog neutered and want an estimate, call or schedule your free first exam appointment online with Paoli Vetcare. You can rest easy knowing that Paoli Vetcare offers a modern, fully equipped, high-quality surgical suite along with expert pet professionals to provide the highest quality of care. 

What is the best age to neuter a small dog?

When should I neuter my male dog? Small dogs do not have as many orthopedic issues, therefore it is fine to neuter them on the younger side at 6-12 months of age. For large dogs that are very prone to orthopedic injury/diseases we now recommend waiting to neuter until 9-18 months of age.

How long does it take to neuter a small male dog?

A neuter surgery involves the complete removal of the testes, which removes the pet's ability to impregnate a female cat or dog and reduces the male pet's desire to search for a mate. Neutering male cats and dogs takes between two and 20 minutes.

Do small dogs need to be neutered?

Dogs: According to the AAHA Canine Life Stage Guidelines, small-breed dogs (under 45 pounds projected adult body weight) should be neutered at six months of age or spayed prior to the first heat (five to six months).

Is it worth neutering a dog?

Spaying and neutering do have some clear health benefits for dogs. Testicular and ovarian cancers are moot, and there's evidence that spaying lowers the risk of mammary cancer and uterine infections. Fixed dogs also live longer on average.