Chemical Castration: Pros & Cons

Our Experience......

Chester has been Chemically Castrated since 2020.

I made the decision to chemically castrate Chester after a incident with a Vet made him very fearful and the option to leave him for surgery became more traumatic than it would be beneficial.

Initially I trialled a 6 month chip to see if the castration would benefit his nervousness or make it worse, obviously I didn't want to make him permanently more nervous! Then I choose the 12 month chip just to make absolutely sure I was making the correct decision for us.

What is Chemical Castration?

Chemical castration is performed by placing a hormonal chip (Suprelorin) under the dog’s skin. There are 2 different chips available, one that lasts for 6 months and another that lasts for 12 months. The chips works by reducing the testosterone produced causing the testicles to reduce in size. Once the chip beings to lose its effect the testicles regain their size and begin to produce testosterone and sperm again.

Here are our Pros and Cons:

Pro's

1. No Vet Stay - Vet appointment takes as long as a regular check-up

2. No Recovery Time or Wound Care

3. No General Anesthetic

4. Reversible

5. Temporarily Assess Any Behaviour Changes

6. Reduced Unwanted Sexual Behavior

Con's

1. Increased weight gain - Also Surgical Con

2. Changes in coat quality (Personally I love the extra fluffs)

3. Takes up to 8 weeks to start working from implantation

4. Slight personality changes - (Chester is more puppy like)

If you have any more questions surrounding Chemical Castration or specifically about mine and Chester's experience drop them in the comments below!

Thanks for Reading

Sarah & Chester x