A headline caught my eye this morning.
It said “Spayed and Neutered Dogs Live Longer!”
So I went off to investigate.
A new study on over forty thousand spayed and neutered dogs has shown that they live on average a year and a half longer than their intact friends and relatives.
Forty thousand dogs! That is a huge study. The results must be indisputable right?
But before you rush off to separate your pal from his gonads, let’s give that study a closer look.
Because the two groups of dogs died from very different causes.
What did they die of?
The spayed and castrated dogs were more likely to die from auto-immune diseases and cancer. The average dog owner has little or no power to influence whether or not his neutered dog will suffer from these conditions.
The intact dogs on the other hand, were more likely to die from infectious diseases and trauma. Both largely preventable by responsible ownership.
One explanation for these statistics is that neutered dogs are less likely to roam as this behaviour is often triggered by a desire to find a sexual partner. Roaming puts dogs at higher risk of both infection, and accidents.
It is also possible that neutering in some way improves the dog’s ability to fight infectious diseases. We simply don’t know yet if this is the case.
There are some other factors worth noting
All hospital patients
It is worth pointing out that this study was carried out using records of dogs that had been presented as patients at a veterinary hospital. Dogs that had had no need of veterinary treatment, or that were never presented for veterinary treatment, were not included in this study.
An American study
The study was carried out in the USA where there is a widely held belief that neutering is the responsible pet owner’s duty. This could mean that the unaltered dogs in the study were not given the same level of care as those that had been neutered.
Again, we just don’t know.
Because there are so many variables, we cannot assume that the conclusions of the study can be applied to the wider population of domestic dogs. But it is certainly an interesting study to add to our growing pool of information on this important topic.
Mammary cancer
The neutered dogs in the study were more likely to suffer from cancer than the intact dogs, with the exception of mammary cancer. So it is reasonable to continue to assume that protection against mammary cancer can indeed be achieved by neutering at a relatively early stage in life.
You can read more of my thoughts on this on the Labrador Site: Should I have my bitch spayed? You can also find more links and information on this interesting topic on the Skeptvet website
Can science help us train our dogs?
Personally I’m an advocate of speying. Up until recently all my dogs have been bitches, GSDs’, Setters’ and Goldens’ and every one has suffered either from pyometra and/or mammery tumours. I now spey shortly after their first season. Up until now none have suffered any adverse effects from this procedure other than a slight deterioration of coat condition, as expected. The dogs, have also been neutered; this has also affected their coat condition. In preference I would leave all dogs (incl’ bitches) intact because there is an arguement for that, and some that have been neutered/spayed too early fail to develop secondary sexual characteristics and can be left in limbo beteween puppy and adult. But for purely health grounds I will continue to remove those parts from both sexes that can prove problematic.
Thanks for your comment Richard, I too have recently had a bitch with pyometra and it is a scary experience.
Pippa
I don’t know what to do with my 15 month old choc lab. He is not aggresive & really good at training until he is distracted by a female or a castrated male. As soon as he gets their scent i can’t get him back which is a worry for me & him. I have spoken to a lot of people who have had their choc lab castrated & although they say it stops the roaming they have said that their dog is now getting (excuse the expression) humped by other male dogs. Will he calm down as he gets older? Any tips or advice would be welcome thank you
Hi Karen,
Labradors are often very distracted by other dogs, and training needs to take this into account. Neutering your dog will remove his interest in bitches on heat but it will not stop his training breaking down in the presence of any other dogs. This sounds like a training, not a hormone, problem.
There are a number of articles on the Labrador Site to help you proof training in the presence of other dogs, but unfortunately the site is down at the moment. I will put the links up when it is back online.
Pippa
Humping behavior is natural and if a male dog is humping another male dog what’s the problem beside that some humans become embarrassed? But please remember, these are dogs, not people.
I worry that vets are neutering too early! before dogs are a year or bitches have reached 1st oestrus.
Surely they should be allowed to reach maturity before neutering? I am not Anti-neuter but I think timing needs to be addressed.
Hi Pat,
One reason for spaying bitches before their first heat is that it almost completely removes the risk of mammary cancer. However this risk may vary considerably from one breed to another. There are so many factors to take into account that I feel the decision probably needs to be made on a ‘dog by dog’ basis. Hopefully most vets are following the developments in this rapidly moving debate and will be willing to discuss these with their clients.
Pippa
Intelligent debate. I have also read that dogs neteured early (before the age of 1) suffer more ligament and joint problems.
Sorry = posted this earlier on the wrong thread…
This article puts it all on the table, I think
http://www.caninesports.com/uploads/1/5/3/1/15319800/spay_neuter_considerations_2013.pdf
I am against neutering for owner’s convenience when , most likely, sound management and training would nip any behaviour problems in the bud. With irresponsible owners, however, a different matter.
I will not home a pup if the potential owner tells me they are going to neuter it. It tells me that they can’t even be bothered to find out if the poor little soul might have a problem…….
Lots of really useful references in that document, thanks Jo
I have had male dogs beginning with a gift the day I was born 74 years ago. My daddy and brother had hunting males, and none of us ever took the manhood away from a one of them, with no bad results that I could ever see. I have had Yellow Labs for years, and my present one, Bear, has the build of Charles Atlas. He roams for sure, but after considering all factors, pro and con, except in some rare instance I would never castrate a healthy male Lab.
Pippa,
This past summer we lost our Lab Mix rescue at seven years old to an auto immune disease we did not know about and in three hours while on vacation with us she bleed to death internally. She was spayed at four weeks by the rescue that adopted her out at that age. All major mistakes in my opinion.
So, I had my suspicions, on early spaying as to me it’s like doing a hysterectomy on a seven year old girl. Hormones go wild etc. I found a lot of research done by U of CA at Berkley on waiting until they are 18 months old. The breeder we finally secured our Lab Puppy from has a lifetime guarantee against certain issues BUT if the bitch is spayed prior to 18 months the guarantee is void, same with neutering males and the breeder follows the same study I found.
Our puppy will be spayed as I am training her now for Therapy work and we don’t want a mistake breeding anyway. But not until she is mature.
Thanks
Bud
Hi, I just had my 11months old lurcher boy done. It was very difficult decision as he is lovely natured and good with other dogs, doesn’t hump in public yet. I purely had him done for 1 reason, that is to stop him being attacked by other intact males. My dog do like to say hello to every dog he sees while out walking, and he can go quite far in the woods. This worried me that he may get a female dog pregnant and I will be too slow to stop him. I did wait until he was almost 1yr old as I wanted him to mature naturally. I also didn’t want my children to be bitten by other dogs if our dog was attacked… I do feel really bad to have him done. But the safety of my children, myself , and my dog himself to not experience an attack was what made me make my mind up.
It is true that there aren’t enough information about when is the right time to castrate a dog, all Vets are giving one sided story.. I do think dogs have good memory, so if a dog was castrated at age 2, wouldn’t it be traumatic for the dog ? It had already learned what it is like to be a full male, vice versa if a puppy was castrated it will probably not remember much but will grow up as a puppy in mind.
I truly hope there will be a vet , a kind vet who can really explain the both side and allow the owner to really think carefully before deciding which ever way.
Hello pippa, here’s the thing……
We have a 3 year old black lab dog,very placid ,friendly etc. next year his sister will be put to breed and we are hoping to have another lab,his niece.we have not had Jack spayed,husband didn’t want this ,(a man thing me thinks),anyway we will get his niece done as we do not want any unwanted happenings going on. So is it too late to get him done,he is three and will be four when his niece will come to us. Advice please pippa. Thanks very much
Hey
I have a nearly 6 year old male golden retriever and have not had him castrated.
He is a beautidul dog with a lovely sociable nature.
I am considering getting him castrated now purely because of the general scent he seems to have. No amount of washing or dental hygiene seems to eliminate this and various people have suggested it is hormonal because he is in tact.
He does have a tendency to whine and wiper around bitches nearing or in season and will not leave them alone but this doesn’t happen very often.
There would be no other reason other than this smell that would have me castrate my beautiful boy x
While other dogs may be able to detect your dog’s sex hormones with their noses, it’s unlikely that you can. Any odour on your dog is more likely to be from the oil in his coat. Neutering won’t change that. Ear problems, and anal gland problems can also cause dogs to smell. Get your vet to check him over 🙂
Hi, I have an 8month old yellow lab. He is very sociable, gentle and generally well behaved.
We are debating to get him castrated as was recommended by our vet. I am in two minds as
he has no issues and even though he is getting a very large boy I consider him still a pup.
We don’t intend to stud him he is purely a family pet. However, now he is lifting his leg to pee no doggy day care is willing to take him without castration. I have only used a day care once so this is not really an issue as he is lucky and can go to work with either myself or my husband. I could really do with some good honest advice. A hard descison to put a healthy dog through that.
I have read so many articles and studies on neutering Labradors as I have a 7 month old yellow lab. I have always had male Labradors since I was a girl and believed, until now, that neutering at 6 months was the way to go to make for a more contented dog and take away the risk of testicular cancer. All my previous dogs were neutered at 6 months. However, I have decided to wait til this one is at least 12 months old as I now know that neutering the dog any earlier can cause the dog to grow unnaturally bigger and can also increase the risks of certain cancers. I lost my 12 year old in January to one of those cancers very suddenly and it was heartbreaking as he was as fit as a fiddle otherwise. No joint problems. I have another neutered 9 year old whkbso far is fit and healthy and had a dog who lived to 16. Previously I lost one at 7. Looking at this let’s me see that there are no guarantees one way or the other but you can do what you believe is best fir your dog and by that, I believe waiting til they are a year old or more is the best option now. Abnormal growth caused by neutering too early is just not an option in my opinion.