[JayJay]

I found this interesting link in an German dog forum and the best: The site is in English!

"Long-Term Health Risks and Benefits Associated with Spay / Neutering Dogs"



Click here to read the article

 

[Bubbaboy]

oh boy, that does not look good for those who fixed their dog before 1 year old.

 

[g00dgirl]

It is indeed an interesting article.  I think it fails to take into account behavioral benefits of neutering (less dog/dog aggression, less roaming) and totally ignores the benefits of neutering in regards to helping to control overpopulation.
Also, the article is from the National Animal Interest Alliance.  Now, I haven't heard of this group- but because of PETA's reputation I am very suspicious of the reliability of the article.  I need to do some more research on this!

 

[HannaBanana]

Here is one more - there are numberous article about the benefits of a later neuter.

 

[IloveJaxon]

ugh...Jaxon is scheduled to be neutered on Tuesday.  I am already worked up over it.  I hate that I have to leave him at all and I'm scared to death!  He's not even my first dog! lol  He'll be 6 months on December 4th (the day he's neutered).  I'm pretty freaked about it.

 

[Soccergk1987]

when did neutering get so scary lol... all my other dogs, when their testicles dropped they were at the vet getting neutered... and our girl we got neutered b4 her first heat.... they are fine... our female rott is 11 and the vet says she is the healthiest large dog he has ever seen... knock on wood she has never had one health issue and runs around w/ our younger dogs as if she was a puppy

 

[sharonL]

when did neutering get so scary lol...

As vet med gets more political these issues come up....You can find pro and con for everything and anything which has to do with pets....I say spay and neuter them if you are not going to breed them responsible!

 

[BurningRiver]

I do like that these articles try to present another side of an already very biased view.

Even though my pet puppies will always go on spay/neuter contracts, my views on altering have changed over the years for a variety of reasons. The first reason being that while spaying and neutering is very heavily pushed in the US, we have (by far) one of the worst pet overpopulation problems in the world. Aside from that, areas that have had mandatory spay and neuter in place for years are not seeing a decrease in shelter euthanization rates, and in some areas, there is question as to whether or not they're actually seeing an *increase* as more and more irresponsible people turn their intact animals into the shelters because they won't afford to alter them only to run out and purchase another puppy.

In many countries in Europe especially it is uncommon to alter their pets, yet people have no issues with keeping their bitches in season in doors and protected during their fertile times, nor do they have issues with allowing their intact males to roam. It is actually very common there to own intact pets all their lives and never allow them to breed. It all goes back to responsible pet ownership, not whether or not a dog or bitch retains its reproductive organs.

All that aside, I do have to say that the one bitch that I've had endocrine issues with (adrenal insufficiency and hypothyroidism) was altered when she was 6 months of age. Another was altered late and has had neither, while my third currently intact bitch has also had no issues. Given that the first became symptomatic approximately 2 weeks after her spay, I have a difficult time believing that her issues were unrelated to her spay.

 

[Newcastle]

It is indeed an interesting article.  I think it fails to take into account behavioral benefits of neutering (less dog/dog aggression, less roaming) and totally ignores the benefits of neutering in regards to helping to control overpopulation.

True, but to be fair, the author specifically states in the introduction that she will not be addressing those issues in the paper.

Also, the article is from the National Animal Interest Alliance.  Now, I haven't heard of this group- but because of PETA's reputation I am very suspicious of the reliability of the article.  I need to do some more research on this!

The article is simply found on the NAIA site - though for reference, the NAIA is basically the anti-PETA, focused on animal welfare issues rather than 'animal rights', and on enhancing the human-animal bond, rather than severing it.  I could post a link to the same article on the Davis (CA) Dog Training Club site, if that would help.  I'm on a number of e-mail lists with the author, and I can quite confidently state that she is not in the same camp as PETA.

 

[g00dgirl]

True, but to be fair, the author specifically states in the introduction that she will not be addressing those issues in the paper.

My bad, somehow I totally missed that  

 

[Mastray]

Thanks for sharing with us!!

Like most stated there are always pros and cons to... everything really. I've heard that before... I even met a lady today that said that she was waiting till her english mastiff was over a year before she neutered him. I don't see anything wrong with it as long as you are responsible for your pet.

Nikki's 12 and has never been spayed... NEVER HAD PUPPIES... etc. Not that that was MY CHOICE... my parents just didn't do it. Now that I am her guardian... the only reason why I haven't is because she's so old and I'm worried that she couldn't handle it.

Personal preference I guess... as long as you are responsible but I agree... if you're not going to breed responsibly then why not neuter/spay. If you want to wait a while before you do it... okay... just be RESPONSIBLE for your pet!  

 

[LauraSanborn]

Hi Folks, I've been starting to accumulate information from research studies about the behavioral effects of spay/neuter.  I may write a paper about that in the future.   I can say from what I've seen so far that, like the medical effects, the behavioral effects of spay/neuter in dogs are a mixed bag, and not the black and white picture some make it out to be.  Some studies show decreases in certain types of aggression when neutering male dogs.  Other studies show a higher incidence of various behavioral problems with spay/neuter in both male and female dogs.  

One of the most interesting studies I've heard about was from a controlled prospective research study done by Canine Companions for Independence (CCI).  They breed and train retrievers to assist disabled people.   In this study the pups from a number of litters were randomly divided into those that were s/n before 6 months of age and those who were s/n at CCI's traditional s/n age of more than 12 months (average is 17 months) .  There are very few studies of this type examining any aspect of spay/neuter in dogs.  Most of these studies are retrospective in nature.  

What CCI found was, for s/n before 6 mo. of age: the males had more problems with environmental fear, the females have more dog-on-dog aggression, and the females had higher rates of urinary incontinence.   The bottom line is that the failure rate to be working service dogs was higher for the dogs s/n before 6 mo. of age than after 12 mo. of age.    CCI will not s/n their dogs before 6 mo. of age as a result of this study.   CCI has not yet published this work but they say they are working on a formal research paper.   I heard about it from Paul Mundell, National Director of Canine Programs at CCI.  CCI also says these results have been repeated by others.

 

[Ky_IsisnOnyxsMama]

im no expert lol but i can add this...

i had 2 golden retrievers (different times)that both lived over the age of 15..one is 16 now...and lives in mass still b/c i didnt want him to make the flight all the way to hawaii too far and too long for him...

both were male...never fixed...never had pups ...we were very careful with them both...both healthy all way around...dogs werent related in an y way...the first one died after being hit by a car that lost control and hit the dog and my parents garage....

 

[sharonL]

There is always going to be information to support the procedures and to avoid them.  I still say Spay and Neuter!!!! High numbers of aggression/fear or incontinent dogs is not the norm! Can it happen, from "research" I guess it can, do you see it often NO!

 

[BurningRiver]

Not wanting to start an argument, rather, just making an observation, but I personally know quite a few (including myself) who have incontinent spayed bitches.

Now I need to qualify this by saying that I do not feel that a risk of incontinence is a valid reason not to spay, as most times, it is minor and completely manageable (I use parsley to control my bitch's incontinence), but based on personal experience, I do know of quite a few people in show circles who have incontinent adult spayed bitches (some are on DES some are not, some use parsley as I do).

I also want to point out that I feel that there is way too much information *supporting* spaying/neutering and not enough presenting the other side of the coin. In fact, there are a very select few (including the one above). I do feel that people have the right to hear both sides of the issue prior to making informed decisions. Having said that, this is the part of me that wishes to encourage owner responsibility (ie: doing a bit of research prior to making a decision regarding their pets), which the US seems to have a general lack of these days.

Bottom line is that I feel that our pet population issues is an owner responsibility issue, not an issue of whether a dog or cat retains it's reproductive organs. And I feel that it's only through education that we can at least try to remedy this issue.