I have this issue so often. Vets in my state want to spay/neuter my pups at 4 motnhs old. I prefer they are done between 12-18 months. Any articles to send home with families on this issue?
Re: Articles on why to spay/neuter later vs. early
I've been to some seminars in the past couple of years provided to breeders on the subject of early spay/neuter. It's your puppy buyer's decision, of course - but I urge mine very strongly to hold off awhile on spay/neuter. In fact, our contract addresses this issue specifically. I know this is not the old school philosophy, and many if not most vets still press clients to get it done early for any variety of reasons. But here is some information that I hope you will share with your vet - at least explore your options for the sake of your puppies' LONG TERM overall health.
In short, there is compelling research that has been done within the last 5-6 years that has brought into question the traditional wisdom (?) of spaying or neutering around 6 months of age for health reasons.
This one is a 12 page PDF written in 2007 by Laura J. Sanborn, M.S. in a style that non-vets can assimilate (thank heaven!) - but in summary, the disadvantages of neutering male dogs are:
- 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 dogs 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
There is a similar summary in the document regarding disadvantages of spaying bitches.
www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html
This one is just another discussion of the same issue written in 2005 by Chris Zink, DVM, PhD, DACVP. The original thread wanted to know if there was a connection between spay/neuter and hemangiosarcoma. This one has some shocking statistics regarding that connection.
The authors of both of the above referenced articles have extremely solid academic credentials to support their positions.
Hopefully you will find this information helpful. If you agree with it, the credit goes to those cited. If you don't - please don't shoot the messenger! Just remember whatever your decision, we all have to do what we are comfortable with in our own breeding programs and our way may not be for everybody. I'm not posting this here for any other reason than perspective on a potentially hot issue. Also, I make sure that the client knows, and their vet knows, that we are NOT against spay/neuter - just the early practice of it.
Re: Articles on why to spay/neuter later vs. early
I use this article mainly by Chris Zink. I print it with the final puppy packet and send the link earlier in the process when someone shows interest in 1 of my pups.
