Whats the difference between neutering and castrating a dog?

ok i called the vet today to enquire about getting my male dog 'fixed' and the receptionist said "Do you want him neutered or castrated?" I thought castration was the removal of the organ.... I just don't want any puppies..... I know he needs neutering but.... whats the difference?

'Neutering' can apply to either sex - it means removing the sex organs. 'Castrating' means removing the testicles, so refers to males only. Removing the uterus is called 'spaying'. I don't know what the receptionist meant - maybe it was her first day on the job! For the benefit of whoever gave me a thumbs down, here's the Wikipedia entry: 'Neutering, from the Latin neuter (of neither sex[1]), is the removal of an animal's reproductive organ, either all of it or a considerably large part. It is the most drastic surgical procedure with sterilizing purposes. The process is often used in reference to males whereas spaying is often reserved for females. Colloquially, both terms are often referred to as fixing. While technically called castration for males, in male horses, the process is referred to as gelding'. Ye gods, this is hard work - here's the dictionary definition of 'castrate': 'Definitioncastrate verb [T] to remove the testicles of a male animal or human.' Next time, can you all just take my word for it? It's no coincidence that I am level 6 with 15% best answer, y'know!

To neuter a male animal you remove the testicles and leave the sac. To castrate, the whole thing is removed like on a gelding (castrated male horse) or a bull not used for breeding.

Was your receptionist an idiot? Lol! Castration and neutering are the same exact thing. The term "neutering" CAN be used for either sex, but most vets I've seen have used "spaying" to refer to neutering a female dog. You say she even refered to the dog as a "he" so she wasn't at all confused about the dog's sex.Either way, both terms mean the dog cannot reproduce anymore. That's what you want. EDIT: Do this many people really not know what neutering means?

well castrate mean to remove the testicles and neuter means to move around some parts inside to make it impossible for reproduction. so yes you are right. you knew the answer all along.=)

I imagine neutering means snipping the vas defrens. So semen cannot flow to the testes. Castration is probably cheaper, but you will always notice they are missing!

They are the same thing.Typically, the term "spay" is used for females, "neuter" for males.Castration is the same thing--but where I am, anyway, it's used more for livestock than dogs/cats.

no difference just different words from different vets.my horse way gelded the same was a dogs neutered.on steers they use the band method it removes everything on a horse it's illegal to use the band method.

Dogs don't get castrated,they get neutered.I would be leery of a vet who hires a moron like that to work for them.I know the term is sometimes used interchangably, but castrate conjures up visions of the whole thing removed,neutering involves the internal part being removed.I don't know of any vet who removes the entire sac these days, that's done with livestock.Any employee at your vet's should know that.

Nothing on a male as far as I'm aware

some vets are doing vasectomies on dogs and calling it neuteringcastration is removal of the testicles in males