Bad Effects of Spaying and Neutering in Dogs Urinary Incontinence Spayed female dogs are more likely to be incontinent; cats do not seem to have this problem, at least rarely. Spayed females that develop incontinence will show improvement with the use of female hormone therapy. This hormone is the missing link after spaying. Urinary tract problems Spayed females are more likely to develop urinary tract infections. Whether this is due to obesity from spaying or spaying itself remains to be considered Obesity Spayed pets are more likely to gain weight, there is no doubt about it. In particular, spaying before the first heat will increase the chances of obesity after spaying. Hypothyroidism ahem, note that it is hypothyroidism and not hyperthyroidism. Dogs are more likely to have this problem than cats. Spayed dogs are more likely to develop hypothyroidism than unspayed dogs. There is a clear tendency for obesity in diabetic neutered animals. In cats, obesity increases the prevalence of diabetes very substantially. Bone cancer osteosarcoma is most often seen in large dogs whose bones are already overgrown, making them more susceptible to osteosarcoma. Spaying or neutering before the first birthday significantly increases the chance of developing osteosarcoma. Abnormal bone structureNeutering pets too early can create a number of problems, and the skeleton is one of them. As the animal grows, hormones secreted by the reproductive system are involved in determining the length and shape of the bones. When spaying or neutering is performed too early, the body loses these hormones at once, making the skeleton grow out of control, and the growth cycle becomes longer and out of proportion. This in turn makes the pet abnormally taller and the bones more abnormally shaped. Spaying and neutering dogs does not lead to a longer life according to my colleagues and I. The spaying and neutering rate for European pets is much lower than in the United States. However, there is also no evidence that the average life expectancy of European pets is shorter than that of North America. The irony is that scientific studies that strongly advocate that spayed and neutered pets live longer have smacked them in the face; in a 2009 study, female Rottweilers spayed and neutered before the age of four lived 30% shorter than unspayed Rottweilers. Spay/neuter advocates love to use statistical charts to tell you “look, these spayed animals live longer” – like I said before, how do you know if it’s the spay/neuter effect or the difference in parenting practices and level of medical care between owners that makes the difference? Statistics can be selective, and it’s especially convenient to manipulate and misinterpret, which is the same for both sides, so don’t read a few icons and accept the other side’s claims wholesale. No university is happy to do this type of long-term follow-up study because it is so costly and minimally profitable. Most of the studies are conducted by pet insurance companies, but some insurance companies have been studied and have stated that “there is little correlation between whether a pet is spayed or neutered and its potential lifespan.” In 2016, several more studies were published that showed serious negative effects on spaying and neutering before the age of one (or before the first heat). Spaying at the right time for the right reasons allows the female to make it through her first heat intact and then 3-6 months later. This is just before the second heat, when spaying is more feasible. Female hormones have a significant impact on all parts of the body, not just the reproductive tract, so don’t ignore blind early spaying – many advocates of early spaying don’t know what they’re advocating. If you do plan to spay or neuter, do it in the male’s second year of life. Some dogs are recommended to be neutered early due to medical or behavioral misconduct, so make sure you try something you can regret. For example, the use of androgen blocking injections – if blocking androgens still doesn’t help, then surgery won’t help either. The difference is that the egg is gone after the surgery, and it’s useless to regret it.
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