when to neuter?

[rich somma]

Answer-----NEVER !!!!!

Aside from vets and medical companies who sell surgical equipment and pharmaceuticals who peddle drugs NO current expert/researcher finds any scientific / health related reason to neuter a dog or cat etc.....

Neutering has been proven to cause numerous lifelong health issues....ranging from skeletal to physiological to shorten life spans......and many, many more......

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I strongly disagree with you, and science disagrees as well. When done after skeletal growth is complete, and growth plates are closed, there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that neutering causes "lifelong health issues" of any kind, nor that it shortens life spans.

In addition to preventing unwanted litters, (and with 5 million unwanted dogs being euthanized every year in this country, that's a huge benefit) neutering also provides the following benefits: 

• Neutering eliminates the occurrence of testicular cancer.
• Neutering markedly reduces the incidence of benign hyperplasia of the prostate gland, prostatitis and perineal hernias in dogs.
• Male dogs display hormonally influenced aggression toward each other, as do male cats. Neutering eliminates much of this behavior without affecting a male dog’s protective instincts towards his house and family members.
• Neutering will often decrease or eliminate other objectionable male dog behaviors, such as mounting furniture and family members.
• Male dogs and cats will cease roaming to find a mate because the hormonal urge to do so has been removed.
• Neutered animals are not sexually frustrated! Intact animals become sexually frustrated when responsible pet owners do not permit them to mate and satisfy those hormonally driven urges. Without testosterone, these urges are not present and the animals are more likely to focus their attention on their human family rather than on reproduction.

[Mark Wilson]

Admittedly, I've done no research on this topic given that my Doodle is just five months of age, but this thread piqued my interest so I did a quick search.  This is the first seemingly credible link I came across, which appears to be a fairly balanced review, though perhaps a bit dated....10 years previous.  I'm certainly not vouching for it, but it may be of particular interest to forum members since it cites some statistics for Golden Retrievers.  Much of the discussion relates to early spaying/neutering as much as it does spaying and neutering in general.

http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInD...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

We've actually had many discussions here on DK about the Golden Retriever studies on the effects of early desexing(there've been some more recent ones); here are two of the most informative:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/healthandmedicalissues/forum/topi...

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/interesting-article-about-...

[Mark Wilson]

Much appreciated!  I'll be doing a deep dive into this topic in the coming weeks.  Hadn't previously considered not neutering, but I want to ensure I have as much credible info as I can amass before making such an important decision for my new best friend.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Mark, as I mentioned previously, IF you purchased your pup from a reputable breeder, you really don't have a choice to not neuter, because ALL reputable breeders require it in their purchase contracts. The best you can do is try to postpone the age at which the contract specifies the neutering is to be done. 

[Mark Wilson]

Sadly, my best friend came to me with both Parvo and Hookworm.  When I addressed it, the breeder became unavailable and never responded so reputable may be a "stretch". I didn't do my homework and I take full responsibility for it.  I paid the vet bills and was done with her so I don't feel contractually obligated in any fashion.  I'm going to dig into the subject and do what's best for my guy.  Thanks again! 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You will find arguments on both sides. 

For me, it boils down to the difficulty of living with an intact adult dog, especially a male. In my experience, it causes lots of problems: marking in the house, even when housebroken, aggression towards other dogs and sometimes towards humans, and then you have the whole social aspect: many training classes and doggy daycares will not allow intact males, and you will be ostracized (and worse) by educated dog owners at dog parks and other public places. But each of us needs to make his own educated and responsible decision. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

In addition, if you get your dog from a reputable breeder or from a rescue group, you have no choice, because all reputable breeders include a spay/neuter requirement in their purchase agreements, and all rescues and shelters spay/neuter every animal before adopting them out. So for anyone whose dog didn't come from a BYB or puppy mill, the issue is moot.

[rich somma]

Just because you believe something you were told 'does not' make it true.  You may disagree with me but doesnt matter......what should matter is the health  and well being of the dog!

Be careful when/ if you look at the studies....are they done by someone paid by a party of interest?

Plenty of studies/ evidence to refute all of your assumptions and you can start here....link below...

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/09/30...

---------------------------------------------

Here is more although they are talking about early neutering as well.....

30-Year Campaign

For the past 30 years, our profession has urged the public to spay and neuter dogs and cats for a host of beneficial reasons, including population control and the avoidance of breast and testicular cancer. With client education and marketing, our profession has succeeded in making early spay-neuter programs our national custom, primarily for control of the population explosion.

Shelter medicine experts developed the concept of ultra-early neutering of kittens and puppies before adoption. This practice was embraced by thousands of rescue organizations across the nation, including the Peter Zippi Fund for Animals– founded in 1977 by yours truly–which has rescued and placed more than 11,600 animals.

Our organization looked at the data and felt that early spay-neuter was the best answer to address the horrible situation in American shelters, where animals are euthanatized because they were born feral, dumped or unwanted. 

Mounting epidemiological evidence shows that we might be jeopardizing the well-being of pet dogs with the early neuter policy. The data are not persuasive for felines, but there are some issues with the size of the urethra in early neutered tom cats that may affect their health.

My special interests in practice have been cancer medicine and pet hospice. It is earth shattering to consider that some of the cancers we have been battling may have been enhanced by early neutering instead of the reverse! 

Zink points out a retrospective study published in 1999 by Ware, et al, that found a five times greater risk of cardiac hemangiosarcoma in spayed vs. intact female dogs.

Hemangiosarcoma is one of the three most common and devastatingly fatal cancers in larger dogs, especially German shepherds and golden retrievers. We see it most commonly as malignant growths in the spleen, but 25 percent of cases involve the heart and 25 percent appear in multiple locations. 

Ware’s study also found a 2.4 times greater risk of hemangiosarcoma in neutered dogs as compared to intact males.

This information has been around in journals for almost a decade, but it takes time to consider large epidemiological studies as evidence-based medicine useable in decision making.

A 2002 epidemiological study of 3,218 dogs done by Cooley and Glickman, et al, found that those neutered before age 1  had a significantly increased chance of developing osteosarcoma. Another study showed that neutered dogs were at a two-fold higher risk of developing osteosarcoma.

Lack of Proof

We need to re-examine the common belief that neutering dogs helps reduce prostate cancer. In fact, Obradovich, et al, in 1987 reported that neutering provides no benefit in protecting dogs from prostate cancer. Neutering definitely offers protection from recurrence of androgen hormone dependant perianal tumors.

Clear epidemiological evidence exists that female sex hormones cause mammary cancer. There is a slightly increased risk of mammary cancer in female dogs allowed to endure one heat cycle and the risk is increased with each additional estrus until the dog is 21⁄2 years old.

In dogs, 30 to 50 percent of mammary tumors are malignant. In cats, the rate of malignancy is 95 to 98 percent. Therefore, all mammary tumors in dogs and especially in cats should be surgically removed and biopsied as soon as they are detected. Early detection and excision can improve the prognosis.

It is well known that the incidence of urinary incontinence in early-spayed female dogs is higher than in non-spayed female dogs. This is due to the role that ovarian hormones play in the maintenance of genital tissues and urogenital contractility. 

Aron, et al, in 1996, reported that male dogs neutered early had an increased risk of developing urethral sphincter incontinence. A health survey of several thousand dogs by the Golden Retriever Club of America showed that spayed or neutered dogs had a greater risk of hypothyroidism. In 2001, Howe and Slater reported an increase of infectious diseases in dogs spayed or neutered at or before 24 weeks of age versus over 24 weeks of age. The 2005 AKC-Canine Health Foundation reported a higher incidence of vaccines reactions in neutered dogs as compared to intact dogs.

DO THIS INSTEAD--- A vasectomy is recommended for males and tube tying for females. Both procedures have reduced trauma and allow the animal to grow naturally.

Be careful, we were once told smoking does not harm us, the world is flat, and the beatles would never make it! There is now an abundance of legitimate studies available to you. There is a reason why a dog has these organs and glands ,they are a necessary and important part of the dogs body.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

LOLOL...you really need to check your sources a little better, like I do. I don't get my info from quacks like the mercola site, and neither does anyone else who has any education, knowledge, or common sense: 

https://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/mercola.html

https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/9-reasons-to-completely-ignore-jos...

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/glp-facts/joe-mercola-alternativ...

http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2015/05/dr-karen-becker-offers-some-classi...

https://www.thedodo.com/five-dog-pages-you-need-to-stop-linking-to-...

I could go on and on with more proof of the fraud and quackery of mercola's site, but that should be enough for anyone with any intelligence. 

And BTW, you make a huge mistake when assume that I believe "something I was told", or that I "make assumptions". You are actually the one making assumptions, since I do my research, and that's where my info posted above comes from. The difference is, I do my research on reliable science based sites, not quack sites and snake oil salesmen like you. The science supports neutering at the appropriate age. http://www.animalhealthfoundation.net/blog/2012/06/how-spaying-and-...

And speaking of a dog's health and well-being, I sincerely hope your poor dog doesn't develop  testicular cancer or hyperplasia due to your neglecting to have him neutering, and that he can learn to live with the lifetime of sexual frustration you've sentenced him to.  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Oh, BTW: The source I cited is a not-for profit animal health organization, with no conflict of interest. Unlike Mercola and Becker. LOL

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Alice Villalobos is also not a great source. http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/vet-alice-villalobos-pawspice/h...

 However, in the article you copied above, and the Zink study she cites, she is talking about early spay and neuter, not spaying and neutering at an appropriate age.