The benefits to NOT neuter was written.....

*Cross post*

I was a little hesitant to post this but I found the article/study very interesting and wanted to share I know you can't believe ALL studies and everything you read but I think it holds some truth to the whole neutering thing and some of the negative side effects it can have on our dog......Opinions opcorn:

http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

Its kinda scary, if you really read the differences in the pros and cons

I think I've seen that before.

The only thing that i don't like about that article is that they only discuss the pros and cons of NOT spaying and neutering. What about the other side of the story, the pros and cons OF spaying and neutering?

There are already many articles written on the pros of spay/neuter but very little on the cons as emphasized in the article. I know it is long, did you read the whole thing? LOL!

Technically speaking... the pros of neutering are the cons of not neutering and the cons of neutering are the pros of not neutering

Usually no thought is given to the possible negative affects of neutering or spaying, so its good to have it all put out there.

Well said

you can't win eather way these days. i suppose it all comes down to the particular mindset of the dog. i don't think harry would deal well with being neutered. he is already hard to keep the weight off, he has a huge appetite and he loves to run so he churns most of it into muscle luckily. but neutering may well have a very negative effect on him. busetr handled it well though. he is always very slim no matter how much excercie or food he recieves. plus he already has some behaviour problems that i don't think massive more amounts of testosteron being pumped into him would have helped. so as for our boys, the way it is works well. there isn't mush else you can do but try to make the best decision for your dog i suppose

I think if I had it to do over again, I'd wait for maturity at least before neutering a male dog. I regret that I did neuter my Doberman at 7 months of age. The bone cancer really scares me, especially since the breed is prone to it anyhow. The main reason I did was for behavioral implications, due to the fact that I have a male Chihuahua and two males is already risky business as it is....even with neutering. That said, I have heard about the bone integrity being compromised by early neutering. And my Dobe is indeed rather on the tall side which may be accounted for by the neutering, although his mother, I think was actually a tad on the tall side. Anyhow....good article and I agree. The pros and cons should be weighed more carefully and because of our drastic over population problem, the one side is pushed for to extreme. But what are you going to do? There are so many people out there who aren't careful about their intact dogs and that just adds to that desperate situation. It's a real dilemma.

I have had dozens of dogs over my past 48 years of life and there are pros and cons to anything in life. All of my dogs with the exception of 2 have been spayed/neutered and NOT ONE of them EVER passed away because they were spayed or neutered.

I have never had an overweight dog either. Simple fact is, things happen, it's life and for myself, I'd much rather have a, for example, a neutered male than have an unneutered one wanting to roam after every female dog in heat that happens to pass by my property or perhaps having every male unneutered dog at my door if my female were not spayed. I experienced this with a female I had 30 years ago, I opened the door one morning at my parents house and there sat 4 unneutered, neighborhood dogs looking through the storm door, crying. They came out of the woodwork. If you don't breed then there's no reason.

The Cons

Here is a great article put together by Jeannie Thomason of Animal Talk Naturally and The Whole Dog. This is right on. Although it is contrary to what we have ALL been told at some time in the past (including me), there is no doubt in my mind that early spaying and neutering is not ideal and that it does open the door to all of the following.

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:

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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