The Negative Aspects of Neutering

This is great summary of the currently known medical drawbacks of spaying or neutering our pets that was put together by my good friend, Jeannie Thomason, of Animal Talk Naturally and The Whole Dog. Certainly, we need to control the unwanted pet population but the responsible pet owner needs to understand the ill-effects of dramatically reducing their pet’s sex hormones through gonadectomy, especially at the early age that is oftentimes recommended by the staunch advocates of neutering or even their veterinarian. This is very important information that will impact the quality and length your pet’s life.

The Negative Aspects of Neutering Your Pet

Written and compiled by Jeannie Thomason of Animal Talk Naturally and The Whole Dog.

I know it is very important for pet owners to spay/neuter their pets, especially if they can not keep them confined to their homes and yard properly (grrrrrrrr) or if they only think in dollar signs (boy are they wrong!)  but I have been doing some research lately and have also come upon the following information that I wanted to share with a few of you that I know are responsible dog owners just as food for thought.

Here is the information I have gathered on the ill-effects of desexing through direct observation, substantial anecdotal evidence from reliable sources (breeders/trainers/veterinarians, and affirmed published medical reports.

Altered Females:

- Increased aggression in altered females. (recent study)
- Increased occurrence of urinary calculi.
- Increased difficulty passing urinary calculi.
- Increased likelihood of vulvar pyoderma (urine scald)
- Increased likelihood of urinary incontinence.
- Increased likelihood of adverse reaction to vaccinations (27-38%).
- Notable decrease of activity/drive. (this is important to those whose animals aren’t just pets but are trained to do work too)
- Increased chance of “perpetual puppy syndrome” undesirable urination.
- Inhibited social adjustment if spayed prior to complete cognitive development (usually a good time AFTER sexual maturity).
- Substantial likelihood of appreciable demeanor change after spay (menopausal women know about hormone drop.. it’s not fun)
- Increased likelihood of cognitive disorders if spayed before sexual maturity.
- Increased likelihood of, or speeded progress of, degenerative osteological disorders.
- Notable decrease in muscle mass (again, not all dogs are lawn ornaments or carpet speedbumps)
- Generally live 2 (or greater) years shorter than unaltered littermates in controlled studies.

Altered males:

- Increased occurrence of urinary calculi.
- Increased difficulty passing urinary calculi.
- Increased chance of urinary obstruction.
- Increased likelihood of urinary incontinence.
- Increased likelihood of adverse reaction to vaccinations (27-38%)***
- Notable decrease in activity/drive. (same as above in female list)
- Increased chance of “perpetual puppy syndrome” undesirable urination.
- Inhibited social adjustment if castrated prior to sexual maturity.
- Substantial likelihood of appreciable demeanor change after castration (same concept as above in female list… reproductive hormones affect more than just reproduction).
- Increased likelihood of cognitive disorders if castrated before complete cognitive development (usually a good time AFTER sexual maturity).
- Notable decrease in muscle mass (yep, same as above)
- Generally live 2 (or greater) years shorter than unaltered littermates in controlled studies

(***Here is a link to an article on the increased likelihood of adverse reactions:

http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/abs/10.2460/javma.2005.227.1102?prevSearch= )

After reading this, do you feel as though you’ve been told the whole story about things by your veterinarian? I don’t know about you, but to me it certainly doesn’t sound as if altered animals are more healthy than their brethren who were left as Nature started them out to be. But that’s just me.

Jeannie Thomason

The Whole Dog

The Whole Dog News