IT is a strange thing that people will happily arrange for their bitch to be spayed but when it comes to castrating a dog they seem rather, well, squeamish.

This just doesn’t stand up to reason. Spaying a bitch, a procedure called complete ovariohysterectomy, is a major operation.

It requires general anaesthesia and careful surgical entry into the bitch’s abdomen so that the ovaries and womb can be removed in their entirety. At least four large blood vessels must be located and successfully ligated if serious haemorrhage is to be avoided.

Care must be taken to avoid other vital structures and closure of the abdominal wound must be perfect, to avoid herniation.

Dog castration is much simpler and far less risky. The testicles are generally located outside the abdomen and both can therefore be easily reached through a single, small skin incision.

Each has an obvious, accessible blood supply, which is not particularly difficult to ligate. Closure of the wound is simple. The anaesthetic required is much shorter and the incidence of surgical complications is far less.

So why the great reluctance to castrate? Why do we feel so sorry for our poor male dogs that we just cannot bring ourselves to subject them to such a procedure? Why are some male readers fidgeting and crossing their legs just now?

It is true that it is often the male owner who objects to castration. It is also significant that people see a real, immediate benefit to spaying a bitch. She will no longer come into season and bleed for 10 days twice a year.

She will be unable to have unwanted puppies and is less likely to roam, now that she will not come into heat. She will not suffer from false pregnancies or womb problems. Is it just that the health advantages to castration are less, shall I say, clear-cut?

They are certainly there for all to see. Last week, at the surgery, I operated on two elderly dogs that were having difficulty passing motions because they were suffering from perineal hernias.

This painful condition occurs when the musculature around the anus breaks down. It is virtually only ever seen in entire males and is exacerbated by the very large prostate that can develop in older males.

The corrective surgery is complicated, uncomfortable and expensive and it is not always completely successful.

I also treated three dogs with testicular cancer, all of whom required operations to remove the tumours. We all hope they have not already spread.

Similarly, prostate problems are far more common in unneutered males, as are growths around the anus, which frequently ulcerate and bleed, called anal adenomas.

Males are less likely to exhibit that infuriating, instinctive aggression towards other male dogs if they are castrated, although neutering is not a replacement for good training.

Nevertheless, despite all these health advantages we still shy away from castrating our male canine friends.

Could it be that nowadays, with so many dogs being purchased as fashion accessories and as extensions of our own personalities, that we secretly delight in owning a big macho male pet?

Surely not!