What are the costs of spaying and neutering a female dog, and are insurance and subsidies applicable?

Keeping a dog can be quite expensive. And once you've adopted a female dog and completed all of its vaccinations, it's common to have her spayed or neutered.

"How much does spaying cost?"
"I want to spay or neuter my dog, but I don't have the money..."
"Can insurance cover it?"

Many people have these concerns.

This time, we've looked into the cost of spaying or neutering. If you own a dog, especially a female puppy, we recommend you read this article and consider spaying or neutering your dog.

1. The Need for Spaying/Neutering

First, let's consider why owners of female dogs neuter their dogs. If, after considering the reasons, you feel that your dog doesn't need neutering, there's no need to force it.

Let's take a look.

・To prevent puppy breeding

＿Many people consider neutering their dogs to prevent puppy breeding.

As puppies breed, the number of dogs increases. This can lead to financial concerns about purchasing more food and toys, as well as the physical strain of caring for them. This can lead to concerns and limitations, leading to neutering.

News reports have reported cases where keeping multiple dogs has led to constant barking and unpleasant odors, causing a nuisance to neighbors and other people.

Keeping a dog simply because it's cute is extremely difficult. It's important to consider your lifestyle and financial situation and find a way to live comfortably for both you and your dog.

・Preventing Aggression

Some families neuter their dogs to keep them docile.

Dogs, both male and female, sometimes go into heat, their instincts taking over, causing them to become aggressive, disobey their owners, bark, and start fights.

This is because dogs are controlled by the sex hormones released during heat. Because your dog is in a situation where it is difficult to fight its instincts, scolding it in this situation is nearly impossible to get it to listen to you, no matter how firmly you scold it.

If your dog becomes violent when in heat, you should consider spaying it.

・Disease Prevention/Reproductive Organ Removal Due to Illness

＿Spaying involves removing the reproductive organs, but sometimes this is necessary due to reproductive disease.

Removing a dog's reproductive organs prevents it from having offspring. Removing the ovaries and uterus also helps prevent disease.

Various hormones are secreted from the ovaries, and spaying is said to be effective in preventing related diseases.

Spaying a dog is also effective in extending its lifespan, as it eliminates reproductive diseases and ensures that tumors do not develop in areas where reproductive organs have been removed.

In particular, it is said that the incidence of mammary tumors, a condition commonly seen in middle-aged and older female dogs, can be reduced to 0.05% through spaying!

*Mammary tumors are the milk-producing tissues located along the left and right nipples. Mammary tumors are a condition that occurs when these tissues become tumorous.

Ovarian diseases: ovarian cysts, granulosa cell tumors

Uterine diseases: hydrometra, pyometra (open pyometra, closed pyometra)

・Government Agency Recommendations for Spaying or Neutering

The Ministry of the Environment also recommends spaying or neutering pets such as dogs and cats, and has issued guidelines for keeping pets, citing examples of overpopulation.

[Reference materials]

Guide to proper adoption of puppies and kittens
Mandatory Spay/Neuter of Dogs and Cats

Overpopulation of dogs leads to poor living conditions, and not only government agencies but local governments across the country are working to address this issue. In addition, some local governments may even receive subsidies from animal welfare centers that perform sterilization procedures.

For these reasons, a movement to recommend sterilization for pet owners is gaining ground in society.

2. How much does spay/neuter surgery cost?

The cost of spaying or neutering a dog varies depending on the hospital, length of stay, and size of the dog, but is generally around 30,000 to 80,000 yen. Additionally, older dogs tend to cost more than puppies.

Spaying a female dog tends to be more expensive than neutering a male because it requires an incision.
It's a good idea to check beforehand.

3. Does pet insurance cover it?

The bottom line is that it doesn't apply. Pet insurance covers medical expenses for injuries and illnesses, and spaying is a procedure performed on a healthy pet.

However, if your pet suffers from another injury or illness and sterilization becomes necessary as part of treatment, you may be covered.

4. Will I receive a subsidy?

So, if insurance doesn't cover it, does that mean subsidies aren't available? We looked into the situation in each prefecture and municipality.

The movement toward providing subsidies is spreading in the Kanto region, and it appears to be applied in a few areas, but in other local governments, the subsidy program is still limited.

However, as mentioned above, the Ministry of the Environment also recommends neutering, so it's possible that subsidies for neutering will become more widespread in each region in the future.

For more information, please contact your local city hall, animal welfare center, or veterinary clinic.

5. Summary

This article summarizes the reasons for spaying and neutering and the costs involved.

Spaying has become commonplace recently, but many families are unable to undergo the procedure immediately due to financial reasons.

However, as mentioned above, spaying and neutering requires a lot of effort on your part, such as the risk of your dog becoming pregnant or becoming ill, and the cost of surgery increases when your dog is older. Therefore, if you are thinking of having your dog spayed or neutered at some point, it is best to do it while your dog is still young.