Neutering

Why is it, that vets are not universal in their advice, as to what age a dog should be castrated, or a bitch spayed!

Luika is humping for England at the moment, and I have always opted for castration since it has stopped this in our previous dogs, and I do not want to chance leaving him entire for health reasons.

It's been 13 years since we had Zak castrated, and I think this was done when he reached maturity around 1 year old.

Would appreciate your thoughts on this please.

[wildmoor]

Some vets will do this from 16wks but I advise against for health reasons, with the GSD you should wait untill it is both physically mature and mentally mature, obviously you will need to take into account of your home situation;
"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 1 year of age, significantly increases the risk of osteosarcoma (bone cancer); 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
• triples the risk of hypothyroidism
• increases the risk of progressive geriatric cognitive impairment
• triples the risk of obesity, a common health problem in dogs with many 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"
Long-Term Health Risks and Benefits Associated with Spay / Neuter in Dogs
Laura J. Sanborn, M.S.
May 14, 2007

"Spay/neuter of immature dogs delays the closure of the growth plates in bones that are still growing, causing those bones to end up significantly longer than in intact dogs or those spay/neutered after maturity"
Salmeri KR, Bloomberg MS, Scruggs SL, Shille V. Gonadectomy in immature dogs: Effects on skeletal, physical, and behavioral development, JAVMA, Vol 198, No. 7, April 1991.

"Compared to intact dogs, another study found that dogs neutered six months prior to a diagnosis of hip dysplasia were 1.5 times as likely to develop clinical hip dysplasia."
van Hagen MA, Ducro BJ, van den Broek J, Knol BW. Incidence, risk factors, and heritability estimates of hind limb lameness caused by hip dysplasia in a birth cohort of boxers. Am J Vet Res. 2005 Feb;66(2):307-
12.

'Spay/neuter before 5 ½ months of age is associated with a 70% increased aged-adjusted risk of hip dysplasia compared to dogs spayed/neutered after 5 ½ months of age, though there were some indications that the former may have had a lower severity manifestation of the disease. The researchers suggest “it is possible that the increase in bone length that results from early-age gonadectomy results in changes in joint conformation, which could lead to a diagnosis of hip dysplasia.'
Spain CV, Scarlett JM, Houpt KA. Long-term risks and benefits of early-age gonadectomy in dogs. JAVMA 2004;224:380-387.

"Spay/neuter in dogs was found to be correlated with a three fold increased risk of hypothyroidism compared to intact dogs."
Panciera DL. Hypothyroidism in dogs: 66 cases (1987-1992). J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1994 Mar 1;204(5):761-7

[LOVEGSD]

I too am all for neutering Nina but we didn't get Diesel done until he was 2. We didn't however have any humping from him.

[Wooferhound]

From a behaviour point of view Iwould not castrate a dog until he had reached full maturity and was socially acceptable.

I would wait it out...2 -2.5 years of age, unless he is humping all and sundry. Having said that castrating isn't always effective and this humping problem may be a 'phase', therefore a trial of Tardak may be an option for you, but will depend on your vet and their experience of it. My vet actually offered this to me to trail, its and injection that lasts for 4 weeks ( I think i've mentioned this before on here...but don't quote me!). Basically it will give you the chance to see if castration will work for your dog, it's a really good indication!

Jo

Really appreciate your input.

The vet has suggested that we castrate Luika when he reaches maturity around 1 year old. They also plan to x-ray him then to try and establish why he is cow hocked.

I may wait however, until he is around 1 1/2 - 2 years of age. I think we had Zak done when he was 1. He lived such a healthy life and almost reached his 13th birthday.

hello everyone,after introducing ourselves last May we have'nt been on the site very often.Today I noticed the neutering messages and my Jack is now 20 months old,very large and strong,and not neutered.I do not accept that neutering is a good idea at all.One academic paper suggests that neutering should only be done for sound health reasons in breeds suspectible to hemangiosarcoma.I lost Jacob in Nov 2007 to this disease and he came to me neutered.German Shepherds have a high risk of this cancer,probably genetic,and neutering increases the risk.It seems to me that I would be compromising Jacks health by castration so I wont do it for this reason.Interestingly,in Sweden neutering is hardly done at all and I think this is because the Swedish veterinary profession is aware of the health risks.
I'm not clear why anyone wants to neuter their dogs,A dog is a dog and should we not accept them as nature intended?trevor

[zaclucy]

Hi Trevor

Welcome back. I had not heard this before. I lost my last boy to this disease, and he had been neutered. I now have Barney, who is 21 months old, and I have been toying with the idea of having him 'done', but, I think I will have to look into this further now. I would be devastated to loose another one to this disease.

Janet x

hi janet,
if you google laura j.sanborn you will find her paper on the long term health risks.she is/was a reseacher at Rutgers University in USA and has collated all the scientific research papers on neutering and present both for and against,though its very clear the disadvantages outweigh the benefits,at least for the dog if not the owners.may I inquire why you want to neuter?
trevor

[kita]

I would definately neuter my next male dog (if I was stupid enough to get another male that is!).

Reason?

I live in a town centre, when there is a bitch in season in the neighbourhood (which nowadays is very frequent) my dog does not eat for 2 weeks, paces the house, howls and barks at the door and generally is impossible to live with. I take him out for a 3 hour walk/run (when he was younger), come back, he lies down for 5 mins. and is up again howling/barking at the door. He only wants to walk where the bitch has been and refuses to move anywhere else. Because people are told by trainers etc. to walk a bitch in season late at night and early in the morning to avoid male dogs - they walk past the house at 11 at night. This means my boy will not settle (stop barking) until about 3/4 in the morning. They then walk past the house again at about 6 which sets him off again for the next few hours. Result: I am lucky if I get 2 hours sleep!!! I have to take him out as it is not fair on my neighbours to have a dog barking all night and day. When it gets near the end of the bitches season I take him out and because he is now getting desperate and cannot find the bitch he decides I will have to do and tries to 'mount' me!!!!!!!

Try walking a dog the size of a Great Dane past men working in garages when the dog is trying to hump you!!!!!!

All the training in the world will not over rule this behaviour, he does not hear/see/register anything else. The only time he has ever growled at me was in this period when I refused to take him out of the door and tried to make him lie down.

I have had other people be so worried about their dogs going off their food that they end up taking the dog to the vet (they don't realise there is a bitch nearby in season).

Now that my dog is old (13) I find it difficult to tell whether he is reacting to a scent or whether he is in pain, the signs are so similar (panting heavily, off his food, cannot settle etc.). It is really not fair to him now to be not eating properly for 2 weeks and I really fear his heart giving out when he gets so worked up, nothing will calm him down.

I always had bitches before and people said to me I should try getting a male as I did not know what I was missing!!!!!

I did not have him neutered as at other times he is no trouble, no humping or anything. Given my time over again I would definately get him done!! For his sake and mine. I would do it about 2 years old so that he is mature first.

Sue

[kita]

One other thing - I see tons of dogs that run off after a scent when they are taken over the dock lands where they are let off lead. The owner just thinks the dog is being disobedient and end up punishing the dog for running off. I hear countless people telling their dogs as they yank the dog past me 'thats the last time I let you off the lead' etc.

I have told many a person not to blame the dog as it is just doing what is natural and trying to find the bitch in season. Some understand but many don't and you know that the poor dog is going to end up being punished for not coming back!

I have even seen one dog actually catch a bitch in season and start to mate with her. It ended up being battered by the owner of the bitch and its own owner!!!!!!! The bitch was off lead!!!

Sue