Rightly so, spaying and neutering is important to reduce the number of animals wandering the streets alone, living their lives in shelters, or ending up on “death row”.
But does this describe your animal and how its life will turn out?
Highly unlikely.
In fact we should look to Europeans who are less inclined to de-sex their pets. In certain countries it is even illegal unless there is a medical reason. Compared to the US many European countries don’t nearly the number of stray animals even though they don’t de-sex nearly as many dogs and cats (Sweden, Norway).
With neutering and and spaying your animal might face and entirely different fate as a result of the push to remove vitally important hormone glands.
Emerging research in dogs is showing that this common practice indeed comes with a slew of problems.
Here are the facts!
- Shortened lifespan – spaying female dogs prior to 4 years of age, reduces healthy pet life spans by 30%
- Cardiac hemangiosarcoma – 5 times higher risk in spayed females and 1.6 times in neutered males
- Bone cancer – up to 3.8 times higher
- Prostate cancer – up to 4.3 times higher
- Transitional Cell Carcinoma (bladder cancer) – up to 4 times higher
- Lymphosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, mast cell tumors – increased risk
- Abnormal bone growth and development – increased risk
- Cranial cruciate ligament ruptures – higher incidence in early-neutered males and females.
- Hip dysplasia – twice as common in early-neutered males as intact males. No effect on females.
- Patellar Luxation – 3.1 times higher
- Joint disorders – up to 5 times higher in Labraadors and Goldens, and affects up to 21% of German Shepherds
- Urinary incontinence
- Hypothyroidism
- Infectious diseases
- Adverse reactions to vaccines – 27% to 38% greater risk in neutered dogs
- Behavioral problems (noise phobia, fear behavior, aggression, “ADD” etc.) – increased risk
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease – increased risk
- Roll in and eat feces – more common in altered dogs
- Fatal acute pancreatitis – 22 times higher in neutered females
- Weight gain/obesity – 50 to 100 times more likely
- Decreased levels of energy – a common side effect
That’s not a pretty picture, wouldn’t you say?
SPAYING AND NEUTERING BEFORE PUBERTY IS ESPECIALLY PROBLEMATIC
If we think rationally for a minute, how would removing a child’s reproductive organs before puberty affect their growth, maturation, and development? Puberty and sexual maturation is vital for bone, brain and organ development.
Early age gonadectomy was linked to increase in noise phobia and undesirable sexual behaviors (mounting). A study showed that neutered dogs were more aggressive, fearful, excitable and less trainable than intact dogs.
A mix breed 2 year old female dog patient more than doubled her weight after being spayed at 6 months of age. Instead of weighing 25 lbs she ballooned to 60 lbs. Reason: her thyroid gland shut down almost completely. Thankfully with some hormone therapy she is losing the extra debilitating weight. She can play like a young dog again.
Urinary incontinence is also far too common, and so are CCL tears and behavioral issues.
SEX HORMONES DO DOGS NEED THEM?
Gonadal hormones are essential for many regulatory functions. They work in tandem with not only other hormone glands, but the entire body. Any woman going through menopause can tell a story about all the systems that are affected. Even constipation and diarrhea can result from estrogen deficiency.
Sex hormones also play a mayor role in immune system regulation because there are hormone receptors in immune cells. The role of these hormones is also important when it comes to self-recognition. Neutered dogs have a higher prevalence of autoimmune disease such as atopic dermatitis, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, colitis, hypoadrenocorticism, hypothyroidism, immune-mediated polyarthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, to name a few.
Women postpartum and around menopause often develop autoimmune diseases due to waning of hormone levels –nwhich is exactly what neutering does! Because female mammals in general have better immune capabilities than males, they are better at fighting viral and bacterial infections. But removing hormones makes them more susceptible.
I mentioned it in the list above, but it’s worth stating again: neutered dogs have a 27 to 38 percent greater risk of adverse vaccine reactions.
SCAR FORMATION
Any surgical intervention brings about the formation of unnatural alignment of fascia, which connects all parts of the body into a unified system. Since fascia is one of the light-conducting systems of the body, any disruption or alteration will diminish light coherence. The consequence of this is dysfunction and disease. Another physics aspect at a more macroscopic level is a reduced ability to move properly due to restrictions in the fascia. This can lead to fixation in the sacroiliac joints, CCL injuries and stubborn front-end lameness. Because internal organs, nerves and blood vessels are also surrounded by fascia, their function too can be reduced. The effects of even minor scar formation can be far-reaching.
URINARY INCONTINENCE
Removing organs alters the position of other remaining organs, including the bladder, making neutered dogs more prone to developing urinary incontinence and cystitis. Compounded by scar formation, this can further decrease nerve flow to the bladder and sphincters, leaving dogs with poor muscle tone and incomplete closure. Add to that the changed hormone levels that also control sphincters via estrogen receptors in females, and you have the perfect setup for urinary incontinence and recurrent urinary trace infections.
WHAT ABOUT RETAINED TESTICLES?
The incidence of developing testicular tumors in cryptorchid dogs is approximately 13 percent. This means that 87 percent of them will never develop a mass and would do just fine without invasive surgery. Though these growths can get quite large, they are usually benign and can be removed as the need arises. Dr Chris Zink recommends monitoring with ultrasound scans every two years.
PYOMETRA
On the flip side, intact female dogs can face a life-threatening issue if it’s not addressed promptly. Pyometra is an infection of the uterus as a result of accumulation of uterine layers. Unlike women, who shed the built-up material every 28 days, female dogs retain it if they don’t get pregnant and give birth. This can create the perfect terrain for bacterial proliferation as they get older. Windy had pyometra at the age of ten. Thankfully she made it through unscathed. Interestingly, she was fine in the morning and even went on a two-hour walk, but by the afternoon she was on the surgery table. This is how quickly things developed for my little Cairn Terrier friend.
BIRTH CONTROL OPTIONS
Just as for humans, there are options for your dog as well. Because most of these alternate routes are not yet mainstream approaches, you may need to do a little research to find a veterinarian trained to do them. But you’ll find that it’s worth it.
In males, vasectomy is relatively easy to perform. Another more recent approach is to kill sperm-producing cells chemically through injection of zinc gluconate into the testicles. It has the advantage of rendering the dog infertile, while only decreasing the amount of testosterone by about 50 percent rather than having none at all. Unfortunately, Zeuterin appears to be unavailable currently in the US.
For females it’s a little trickier. One solution is to only remove the uterus while leaving the ovaries intact (called ovary-sparing spay). Unfortunately, this procedure hasn’t been studied extensively yet and there is a risk of stump pyometra if small amounts of uterine tissue are left behind during hysterectomy. To diminish this risk the cervix is removed as well, which means that safe sex is out of the question. Penetration and excessive force on a shortened and scarred vagina could cause rupture and life-threatening peritonitis.
When I remind people that their female dog will still go into heat and also exhibit false pregnancies, I’m often met with a surprised face. With the sex hormones still present, their bodies will still cycle normally. This means that they will still have to be supervised very closely during those times, because they are still very attractive to intact dogs and may even decide to take matters into their own paws and escape to find a mate. Some discharge is still possible because vaginal tissue also responds to hormones, though it would be less than for an intact female.
Tubal ligation is an option as well, but it doesn’t remove the potential for developing pyometra, so it’s not really of much benefit.
MYTHS
There are a couple of myths about spaying and neutering I’d like to clear up.
Behavior
If you’re looking to change your dog’s behavior, the result may not be what you’re looking for – despite popular and yet poorly done studies that state otherwise. No changes were reported in dogs with territorial, fear-induced aggression and food aggression. On the contrary, a study showed that neutered dogs were more aggressive. Dogs castrated pre-puberty were just as aggressive as non-castrated dogs; and they had increased noise phobias and undesirable sexual conduct like humping. They also showed heightened excitability, and they were less trainable than intact dogs. Behavioral problems are significantly more prevalent in neutered dogs in general.
In humans, a decline in testosterone causes more anxiety and depression.
Mammary Tumors – Increased Risk?
The firm recommendation of spaying to prevent mammary tumors is still quite prevalent, but a recent systematic review of research on the subject indicates moderate to strong bias among the studies done, as well as weak evidence of risk for development of this type of cancer. The risk of other cancers in a spayed female dog is a huge 120 to 400 percent higher and also deadlier. With regular screening, mammary tumors are easily detected and removable, resulting in a good prognosis in many cases – especially since only about 30 percent of them are malignant.
My own intact childhood dog Windy developed mammary masses as she got older, but they never bothered her and were therefore not removed. She lived to a good age of 16 and died in her sleep of unrelated causes.
Prostate Tumors
When it comes to the prostate, we have to distinguish between benign and malignant tumors. Benign prostatic hypertrophy is due to the effects of testosterone and is therefore more prevalent in intact males. It can easily be addressed through neutering if the changes cause issues for the individual. Primary prostate tumors on the other hand are generally aggressive and highly metastatic. They are more prevalent in neutered dogs. (see statistics in list of problems)
TIMING IS EVERYTHING
If you decide to spay or neuter your friend, I recommend waiting until your dog is fully grown. For smaller breeds that can be nine to 12 months of age, while some of the large breeds take up to two or even 3 years to close their last bone growth plates. Better yet, wait until at least 3 years of age in females and 2 years in males to minimize the risk of CCL tears and joint issues.
SUMMARY
Based on this new knowledge, I’m sure you can appreciate that there isn’t a one size fits all answer to spaying and neutering. You need to consider these risks and benefits very carefully. If you’re a responsible dog owner, you should choose what best suits your dog’s situation.
CATS – THEY ARE DIFFERENT
Our ‘alien’ friends come with their own issues. Left intact you might end up dealing with catfights in the middle of the night or an amorous spectacle disturbing your sleep. Intact cats tend to mark their territory and make your home rather uninviting. Fighting also results in abscesses and increased risk of FIV infection.
The effect of removing hormone glands in cats has not been studied except for the fact that they tend to gain weight just like dogs.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
As you know by now, I always like to do my research and challenge out-dated beliefs. I hope this information helps you to make even better choices for your beloved furry companions.
If you want to learn how you can counteract the effects to your dog’s gonadal removal, start with checking out my FREE MASTERCLASS! From there you can schedule a consultation with me to design a tailored plan of action minimize the potential adverse effects and support hormonal health for your pet.
