Early Spaying And Neutering

[Nienke]

From: http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHea...euterInDogs.pdf

An objective reading of the veterinary medical literature reveals a complex situation with respect to the long-term health impacts of spay/neuter in dogs. The evidence shows that spay/neuter correlates with both positive and adverse health effects in dogs. It also suggests how much we really do not yet understand about this subject.

On balance, it appears that no compelling case can be made for neutering most male dogs, especially immature male dogs, in order to prevent future health problems. The number of health problems associated with neutering may exceed the associated health benefits in most cases.

On the positive side, neutering male dogs * eliminates the small risk (probably <1%) of dying from testicular cancer

* reduces the risk of non-cancerous prostate disorders

* reduces the risk of perianal fistulas

* may possibly reduce the risk of diabetes (data inconclusive)

On the negative side, neutering male dogs

* if done before maturity, increases the risk of osteosarcoma (bone cancer) by a factor of 3.8; this is a common cancer in medium/large and larger breeds with a poor prognosis

* increases the risk of cardiac hemangiosarcoma by a factor of 1.6; this is a common cancer and major cause of death in some breeds

* triples the risk of hypothyroidism

* increases the risk of geriatric cognitive impairment

* triples the risk of obesity, and with it many of the associated health problems

* quadruples the small risk (<0.6%) of prostate cancer

* doubles the small risk (<1%) of urinary tract cancers

* increases the risk of orthopedic disorders

* increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccinations

For female dogs, the situation is more complex. The number of health benefits associated with spaying may exceed the associated health problems in some (not all) cases. On balance, whether spaying improves the odds of overall good health or degrades them probably depends on the age of the female dog and the relative risk of various diseases in the different breeds.

On the positive side, spaying female dogs* if done before 2.5 years of age, greatly reduces the risk of mammary tumors, the most common tumors in female dogs

* nearly eliminates the risk of pyometra, which otherwise would infect about 23% of intact female dogs; pyometra kills about 1% of intact female dogs

* reduces the risk of perianal fistulas

* removes the very small risk (<0.5%) from uterine, cervical, and ovarian tumors

On the negative side, spaying female dogs

* if done before maturity, increases the risk of osteosarcoma by a factor of 3.1; this is a common cancer in larger breeds with a poor prognosis

* increases the risk of splenic hemangiosarcoma by a factor of 2.2 and cardiac hemangiosarcoma by a factor of more than 5; this is a common cancer and major cause of death in some breeds

* triples the risk of hypothyroidism

* increases the risk of obesity by a factor of 1.6 - 2, and with it the many associated health problems

* causes urinary spay incontinence in 4-20% of female dogs

* increases the risk of persistent or recurring urinary tract infections by a factor of 3-4

* increases the risk of recessed vulva, vaginal dermatitis, and vaginitis, especially for female dogs spayed before puberty

* doubles the small risk (<1%) of urinary tract tumors

* increases the risk of orthopedic disorders

* increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccinations

One thing is clear -- much of the spay/neuter information that is available to the public is unbalanced and contains claims that are exaggerated or unsupported by evidence. Rather than helping to educate pet owners, much of this has contributed to common misunderstandings about the long-term health impacts of spay/neuter in dogs.

The traditional spay/neuter age of six months as well as the modern practice of pediatric spay/neuter appear to predispose dogs to health risks that could otherwise be avoided by waiting until the dog is physically mature, or (perhaps in the case of many male dogs) foregoing it altogether unless medically

necessary.

The balance of long-term health risks and benefits of spay/neuter will vary from one dog to the next. Across-the-board assertions that spay/neuter will improve the health of all pet dogs do not appear to be supportable from findings in the veterinary medical literature. This is especially true of spay/neuter before physical maturity.

[Nienke]

EARLY SURGICAL ALTERATION SAVE OUR DOGS - EARLY SPAY AND NEUTER

From Save Our Dogs web site http://saveourdogs.net/documents- with Permission

My jaw nearly hit the floor when the Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), Santa Rosa, CA representative started describing research that CCI did in the early 1990s to understand spay/neuter impacts. CCI wanted to know if early s/n (less than 6 months of age) would yield results at least as good as their traditional spay/neuter age, which is usually over 12 months of age (typical is 17 months of age). CCI did a controlled prospective research study...the gold standard of research to understand cause-and-effect. CCI assigned half the pups in a number of litters to be s/n early, while the remaining pups in these litters were s/n at their traditional age. The results were unexpected. The early-age spayed females were significantly more dog aggressive than the traditional-age spayed females. Urinary incontinence was a much bigger problem in the early-age spayed females compared to the traditional-age spayed females. The early-age neutered males were more fearful than the traditional-age neutered males. The bottom line is that the early-age spay/neuter dogs had a significantly higher failure rate in CCI's program... a smaller percentage of them grew up to be working dogs. As a result, CCI will not spay/neuter dogs before 6 months of age, and usually waits until dogs are more than 12 months old to spay/neuter. The CCI rep said this research has been repeated by others. I believe one of them may be Guide Dogs for the Blind, as I was told by one of their trainers that they recently stopped doing early spay/neuter owing to results they were seeing that they don't like. Long before I ever heard about mandatory spay/neuter laws, I spent 6 years pouring over the veterinary medical research literature trying without success to find research of this type. Here I was sitting in the office of a state Assembly member, listening to a scientist describe the work that his group did. It has not been published anywhere. Needless to say, I spent the rest of the day bugging him to get this published. This has implications far beyond AB 1634 and guide/assistance dogs. It has implications for the health and well being of most dogs. There are very few controlled prospective research studies of dogs in veterinary medicine examining spay/neuter impacts. They are too costly for almost all researchers to do. Guide & assistance dog programs may be in a unique position to do these studies, as they breed many dogs and they maintain a degree of control over their dogs that is beyond what other breeders can do.

Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), Santa Rosa, CA, work on early surgical sterilization is summarized in their letter to the California State Assembly Business & Professions Committee

opposing AB 1634. CCI breeds over 600 dogs a year. Quoting from the CCI letter: â?oCalling AB 1634 the 'California Healthy Pets Act' is a misnomer. Surgical sterilization of preadult dogs has been shown to increase the risk for several significant behavioral and health problems. CCI did a study on the effects of prepubertal gonadectomy (i.e., sterilization) in 1990, and found significant increases in failure rates due to both medical and behavioral reasons in those dogs that had been sterilized early. This research has been repeated elsewhere with the same results. Increased incidence of health problems such as urinary incontinence, osteosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, obesity and orthopaedic problems as well as behavioral problems such as environmental fear and interdog aggression are strong arguments against prepubertal sterilization for any dog, but especially those destined for a working role.â? _<http://saveourdogs.net/documents_>

Assistance Dogs International, Inc., an umbrella organization over many guide/service/hearing dog organizations, has had similar results as CCI with early spay and neuter programs.

Editors Note: In general Leader Dogs for the Blind, Rochester, MI, does not spay or neuter until the dog is over a year of age for the same reasons CCI has stated. Leader Dogs have seen similar issues as stated by CCI as well as longer, taller, leaner dogs that were neutered before 4 months of age. If Truth in Advertising were applied to AB 1634 â?oThe California Healthy Pets Actâ? would be titled â?oThe California Pet and Working Dog Genocide Act.â?E. M. Gilbert Jr.

Edited August 29, 2007 by Nienke

[Smithson]

This is very interesting. What age would you suggest neutering a male dog, especially to control aggression.

[Nienke]

This is very interesting. What age would you suggest neutering a male dog, especially to control aggression.

Where it concerns stray-street dogs I would neuter before the dog or bitch can reproduce. That´s because IMO the enormous unwanted reproduction is by large a bigger problem than the side effects of the altering. With all other dogs that can be kept under controlled circumstances I would recommend altering after the dog and bitch is physical AND mental matured. When this is depends on the breed, small breeds mature quicker than large and XL breeds.

Neutering does not ´control´aggression. ´Controlling´agression one does by preventing it from developing in the first place. Aggression is often a learned behavior. The dog does something, it has success with it and, therefore, it will do it again. Through, proper education and training you show the dog that YOU are the one in charge, the leader of the pack. And it´s the task of the leader to protect the pack, thus not the dog´s task. The dog´s taks is to make alarm and call in the troops, that´s YOU.

In case the dog already shows agression, it is of extreme importance to first find out about what kind of aggression we are talking. For example, if the dog shows fear agression, neutering will not be of much help. If it´s dominance aggression, neutering might mellow the dog to some extent, but the end result depends for a great deal on the learned factor.

A dog that shows aggression by character (that is when there is no learned factor involved) should immediately be euthanized as they are life dangerous.

Nienke

[Smithson]

I'm referring to aggression towards other dogs, which is in the genes of some breeds. Besides doing everything to prevent aggression developing, it's also suggested to neuter dogs. I've read that neutering at a late age will do little to help.

What is your opinion on this and what would you say is a mature age for a med size dog? Thanks

[elfe]

neutering does calm down aggressions towards other dogs in males. also at later age. i have many males here who also came when already older, like 8 years. as they have to behave here in the pack to be able to stay they get neutered and in all i could see a positive change in this behaviour, it might take many months though. dogs which bit each other almost to pieces first can live now here together without problem. that does not mean they are dumb lambs now and still minor situations occur but nothing which would mean they cannot live together here in the same house. this is talking about mix dogs or dogs from non-aggressive breeds like golden or german shepherd. but there are always exceptions.

with pitbulls or other dog aggressive dogs neutering might calm them down a bit but not to an extent which will make them able to stay peacefully with others. just my experience and experience from others i have learnt.

Edited August 30, 2007 by elfe

[Nienke]

neutering does calm down aggressions towards other dogs in males.

This depends again on the type of aggression and on the learned factor. If a dog has learned that by showing aggression s/he can dominate other dogs (the other dogs will back out), neutering alone won´t solve the dog to dog agression.

People tend to turn too quickly to spaying or neutering as a means that will solve aggression and other problems, without reviewing what has caused the problem, what triggers the behavior and what are the possibilities to solve the problem.

That at Elfe´s place after a while dogs tend to become less aggressive can be a result of the altering, but it can also because some dogs needed more time to sort out their place in the group. The latter changes each time a new dog or human is added to the pack.

Nienke

[Sheryl]

Another reason to neuter -- and the reason I neutered my dog -- is that it will reduce the tendency to wander far from home and hence risk fo being hit by a car.

I have the only house down a 100 m lane and on all sides of me is open land/forest, but when I first got my dog he would wander out onto the road and beyond, understandably in search of a female, but this put him at risk of traffic and attacks by other dogs (as a Chihuahua he is much smaller than anything else around). As soon as I had him neutered he was happy to stay within about a 100 m in all directions from my yard, safe from cars.

While neutering may not agressive behavior towards humans, it will certainly cut out one big cause of dog-dog fighting as well as decrease the need to wander far afield and maybe come into contact with other aggressive animals.

[Nienke]

Although, there's approx. 90% success rate in stopping roaming behavior in dogs, my choice with my dogs is putting up a proper fence plus proper eduation/training in stead of amputating his/hers reproduction organs.

If I remember well, reduction of dog-dog aggression after altering is only successfull in approx. 60% of the cases (if also accompanied with behavior rehabilitation).

[sbk]

Although, there's approx. 90% success rate in stopping roaming behavior in dogs, my choice with my dogs is putting up a proper fence plus proper eduation/training in stead of amputating his/hers reproduction organs.

If I remember well, reduction of dog-dog aggression after altering is only successfull in approx. 60% of the cases (if also accompanied with behavior rehabilitation).

I think that sterilization is a better solution for most people unless they plan on breeding their dogs.

Female dogs experience a "heat" cycle approximately every six months, depending upon the breed. A female dog's heat cycle can last as long as 21 days, during which your dog will leave blood stains in the house and may become anxious, short-tempered and actively seek a mate.

Female cats can come into heat every two weeks during breeding season until they become pregnant. During this time they may engage in behaviors such as frequent yowling and urination in unacceptable places.

Most people are not willing to experience a dog in heat every six months.

[November Rain]

Was keeping out of this, as I think my views are well known. Basically, in a country with stray problems, like Thailand, I think every dog should be neutered unless it is to be bred from & breeding should be carefully monitored by an external body (animal welfare). However, I see a different side of the coin to Nienke, as she deals mainly with loved, wanted, owned dogs & I deal with unwanted strays.

If all owners were like Nienke & kept their dogs securely in their compounds, only leaving when accompanied by their owners, then perhaps my stance would be less rigid. Sadly, Nienke is in the small minority of owners in Thailand. If dogs are free to roam, even for a very short time, they should be neutered IMO.

Edited September 1, 2007 by November Rain

[sbk]

Was keeping out of this, as I think my views are well known. Basically, in a country with stray problems, like Thailand, I think every dog should be neutered unless it is to be bred from & breeding should be carefully monitored by an external body (animal welfare). However, I see a different side of the coin to Nienke, as she deals mainly with loved, wanted, owned dogs & I deal with unwanted strays.

If all owners were like Nienke & kept their dogs securely in their compounds, only leaving when accompanied by their owners, then perhaps my stance would be less rigid. Sadly, Nienke is in the small minority of owners in Thailand. If dogs are free to roam, even for a very short time, they should be neutered IMO.

Nienke is in the small minority of owners everywhere, hence the large numbers of animals put down in the US and elsewhere.

[Sheryl]

I also question whether it is doing a dog a favor to leave him or her subject to intense reproductive urges that they cannot relieve. That seems a lot crueller to me than a simple surgery to remove organs that have no purpose other than reproduction.

Either the animal is able to act on its urges, in which case (special breeding situations aside) more unwanted strays in the world, or the animal is penned up and has to suffer constant (male) or intense intermittent (female) urges and frustration. Just my opinion.

[elfe]

sheryl, i second your opinion 100%.

also the risk of cancer in reproductive organs or infections is high and very common, especially in those which are kept from doing their desired reproduction.

[girlx]

is neutering the same as castration?

i neutered my male dog but he still has testicles (shriveled up though they may be)... he still fights with other male dogs and shows aggressive behavior to humans...

i wonder if castration would have stopped that?

[Smithson]

What type of dog do you have?

[Nienke]

I also question whether it is doing a dog a favor to leave him or her subject to intense reproductive urges that they cannot relieve. That seems a lot crueller to me than a simple surgery to remove organs that have no purpose other than reproduction.

Either the animal is able to act on its urges, in which case (special breeding situations aside) more unwanted strays in the world, or the animal is penned up and has to suffer constant (male) or intense intermittent (female) urges and frustration. Just my opinion

Above is anthropomorphism. This, for me, is one of those fascinating things in ethology, the study of animal behavior, to look at the behavior in an objective way, without putting human thoughts and feelings in the animals. Not an easy task.

In cats, 'they' have found out that a female and male can develop physical and/or mental problems when kept unbred. Therefore, with cats spaying and neutering is recommended. But unlike cats, dogs in general, do NOT develop mental or physical problems when they don't get the chance to mate during their lives.

Of course, when dogs are able to roam freely, females often end up with puppies every half a year and dogs mate whenever they have a chance. And this brings lots of (serious) health risks to the animals. These risks or cons plus the risks/cons on over population are much larger than the risk on problems due to altering. Therefore, I choose for altering these dogs.

If all owners ... ...kept their dogs securely in their compounds, only leaving when accompanied by their owners, then perhaps my stance would be less rigid. Sadly, Nienke is in the small minority of owners in Thailand. If dogs are free to roam, even for a very short time, they should be neutered IMO.

It's not that I don't agree with what NR says (see above), which I also have stated several times in my posts, if read well.

Some people really believe S/N is better for the health of the dog, based on the information they have received. I understand now, that the information about all the pro´s on S/N is only part of the whole truth.

Although I'm not an expert in this, the purpose of the reproductive system and its different hormones is not only to reproduce, there is more to it. Everything is connected in one way or another and for a reason. If one organ or something else is taken away from the body, the whole system will experience an imbalance with possible illness as a result. The abovementioned reports show that this is very much possible.

There are also dog owners who decide for S/N out of sheer indolence: 'because of the blood dripping on the carpet', 'the male cries and/or fasts for a couple of days', 'the female changes mood similar to a changed mood of a woman (be glad with a dog it's only twice a year!)', 'the male will roam' or 'it's a hassle to keep male and female apart during heat cycles'. These people just don't want to be confronted with this kind of hassle, so the balls are chopped of or the organs are ripped out, in stead of putting time, effort and money in proper education/training, behaviour rehabilitation (sometimes needed for older dogs), proper fencing and/or proper physical and mental stimulation of the dog. .

It's actually the last group I struggle with most, that so many people so easily mutilate their dog, with quite a risk on health issues, pure for their own convenience.

Last but not least:

There can be cases where S/N is recommended, such as with pyometra. And if I'm not mistaken Elfe came with an example of a female who's skin problems stopped after spaying. Sometimes, with a behavior problem neutering is recommended, but only after a complete history is taken, as altering alone will not always solve the problem. Girlx gives a nice example here, where only neutering wasn't successful.

[November Rain]

is neutering the same as castration?

i neutered my male dog but he still has testicles (shriveled up though they may be)... he still fights with other male dogs and shows aggressive behavior to humans...

i wonder if castration would have stopped that?

Neutering for males is castration. For females it is the equivalent of a complete hysterectomy (uterus & ovaries). What you may be seeing as shrivelled in your dog is his scrotal sac, which is left (the testes are removed, but the sac left alone).

I have heard of vets in my area leaving one testicle, believing that the removal of one is enough. It's not. Sperm can still be produced from one testicle.

[November Rain]

Nienke, please don't think I'm knocking you or your research. I have the greatest respect for you & a huge amount of gratitude for all the help you've given me. I do read your posts very carefully & understand where you're coming from.

Unfortunately, because of my experiences, both with unwanted dogs & with incidences of pyometra, VG, prolapses & the like, I have a whole different view of neutering & its necessity. I understand that you see the health risks to that one individual dog, where I see the accumulated health risks to many through STD's, overpopulation et al.

[Nienke]

NR, no offence taken at all!

I do understand the situation you are facing on a daily basis very well, and because of that I don't disagree with your decision to promote S/N. I've stated this several times already in my posts.

An example: a GSD male that it still with me awaiting a new home, was immediately neutered after arrival. Just to prevent him from being bred in the future. It's a choice between risking his health or the health of many unwanted puppies. I would not have had him neutered if I would have kept him myself.

Nienke