Are there any benefits to one over the other? Are they both just as safe? If anyone can link me to some objective sites, that would be very helpful.
Chemical castration:
Pros: No anesthesia required (per manufacturer)
Outpatient service
Cons: Lack of veterinary interest in offering the product (I do not).
Testicular cancer can still occur.
Thanks. So, is it more likely that a dog would get testicular cancer, than have serious complications to the surgery?
Yes. Also, the chemical used for castration is intended to be injected into the testicle of the awake dog. Does that sound pleasant?
In intact male dogs, testicular cancer is the second most common cancer. I see testicular cancer fairly frequently. I castrate in the neighborhood of 20 dogs each week, and would guess that I have seen a single (maybe two) anesthesia related deaths in 15 years.