It’s Complicated.

Living creatures, alas… are complicated, and there is a growing body of research indicating that there are health problems associated with neutering your pet! What are they? First is weight gain after neutering (which is still sometimes written off as a myth). This is a minor, manageable issue that crops up in some breeds more than others, though the word manageable really needs emphasis. Pet owners sometimes forget that they are the ones who decide what the dog eats for dinner.

A more serious issue, especially for people with athletic dogs, is that neutering dogs before they are done growing makes them more likely to suffer debilitating ACL injuries. This is most likely due to increased length of legs (sex hormones help tell the bones when to stop growing)

Further, dogs that are neutered are more prone to immune disorders, and twice as likely to suffer from osteosarcoma (bone cancer), while specific breeds such as Golden Retrievers, have been shown to be more prone to lymphoma and hip dysplasia. Of course, a higher chance doesn’t mean highly likely, and as with weight, these issues are more closely tied to some breeds than others.

We’ve known of these risks for some time, but more recent studies are provocative: Female Rottweilers live longer when kept intact for at least their first six years of life. In some cases, they also display a remarkable resistance to cancer (Rottweilers are notoriously prone to cancer). Neutered dogs, perhaps counter-intuitively, have been shown to display more aggression, fear, anxiety, and excitability than intact dogs, while intact dogs demonstrate less aggression and fear-based behavior. Intact male dogs are less likely to display senility. And to make matters even more complicated (we prefer to say “interesting”), recently published research from the highly respected journal, Frontiers in Veterinary Science, suggest that both breed and sex may need to be taken into account when choosing when or whether to neuter your dog. For example, they found that male Cocker Spaniels showed no ill health effects when neutered at 6 months, while females showed a significant increase in cancers if neutered before 2 years.

All of these findings challenge the notion that “fixing” your dog will necessarily improve your dog’s health, attitude and extend their life.

At the same time, these findings do not challenge many of the other benefits associated with neutering your dog: no unwanted litters, no need to segregate and confine your dogs during heat cycles, reduction of some problem behaviors, reduced licensing costs, and the reduced chance of certain infections and some cancers.

This is NOT a call to stop neutering your dogs. It is a presentation of additional information to help dog owners make more informed decisions.

Who is still balking at the idea that there might be health problems associated with neutering your dog, and why?

PS. you may have noticed this article is limited in scope to dogs. This is because most of the emerging data linking neutering to health problems relates to dogs. Given the lack of solid, recent data and the different health and management issues that go with cats, it would be a disservice to our feline friends to include them! 

Questions to Consider

Have you read the latest studies to see if your breed of dog is prone to certain post-neutering cancers and/or hip-dysplasia? 

Would the benefits be worth the extra effort to manage an intact dog?

Videos

• The Truth About Spaying and Neutering (editorial)

Read More

• Healthy and Happy Dog
• An Update on the Health Effects of Spay/Neuter in Dogs
• Health Consequences of Canine Spay/Neuter and Alternative Approaches
• Spaying and Neutering Options Can Avoid Adverse Effects