Conflicting thoughts

[hopefulinva]

Hi friends: Thanks for your responses. My question is genuine, and I request you to not treat my post as a troll. I really appreciate the posters who have tried to help. Some of your posts are very enlightening.

I'm glad! =) Let us know if there's anything else you need - I always love a friendly debate so if you want to get in to it a little more, feel free to PM me.

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[Jamr0ckin]

That is why I stated that "I usually opt for the other compelling reasons to get their pets fixed." And for the record, I am far from a critic of spaying and neutering pets. Quite the opposite. I just feel that it is important to better understand some of the associated health risks/benefits. Like the article states:

One cannot ignore the findings of increased risk from osteosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, hypothyroidism, and other less frequently occurring diseases associated with neutering male dogs. It would be irresponsible of the veterinary profession and the pet owning community to fail to weigh the relative costs and benefits of neutering on the animal’s health and well-being.

I would say that neutered dogs are over-represented in these studies for all those things listed. It is more likely that an animal being brought to a veterinary teaching hospital has been sterilized, as that is standard of care unless the animal is used for breeding. Let's face it.. if Spike is going in for treatment at the vet school for radiation and surgery, it is very likely he was neutered at a young age because the DVM recommended it. I therefore, think that saying neutered dogs are at higher risk than intact dogs isn't necessarily true.

 

[sumstorm]

I would say that neutered dogs are over-represented in these studies for all those things listed. It is more likely that an animal being brought to a veterinary teaching hospital has been sterilized, as that is standard of care unless the animal is used for breeding. Let's face it.. if Spike is going in for treatment at the vet school for radiation and surgery, it is very likely he was neutered at a young age because the DVM recommended it. I therefore, think that saying neutered dogs are at higher risk than intact dogs isn't necessarily true.

If you are going to say 'standard of care' you need to share where that standard of care originated from. Different standards are set by different organizations; which one(s) are you referring to? I did a quick search and can't find a 'standard of care' that directs us to neuter, only ones that detail the methods and care provided regarding procedures. Also, why do you think that studies on S/N are only conducted at vet schools? Our behaviorists conduct a decent amount of studies among shelter populations, many of which are not altered prior to adulthood. I would actually argue that quality breeders (with intact animals) are as likely to use veterinary services at a teaching hospital, thus a teaching hospital will still see well-cared-for intact animals, as well as animals that were neutered as adults (shelter rescues with devoted owners.)

 

[Jamr0ckin]

If you are going to say 'standard of care' you need to share where that standard of care originated from. Different standards are set by different organizations; which one(s) are you referring to? I did a quick search and can't find a 'standard of care' that directs us to neuter, only ones that detail the methods and care provided regarding procedures. Also, why do you think that studies on S/N are only conducted at vet schools? Our behaviorists conduct a decent amount of studies among shelter populations, many of which are not altered prior to adulthood. I would actually argue that quality breeders (with intact animals) are as likely to use veterinary services at a teaching hospital, thus a teaching hospital will still see well-cared-for intact animals, as well as animals that were neutered as adults (shelter rescues with devoted owners.)

Perhaps I should have said that it is the standard recommendation ( I don't know of any vet that doesn't recommend neutering for non-breeding males). I didn't say they were ONLY conducted at teaching hospitals, but that is where a large amount of studies are conducted. Maybe I'm a little biased from my experiences with breeders, but I don't know of any breeder that followed through with referrals to teaching hospitals.

I was discussing a study like the one provided here, and the 4 vets I work with all agreed that altered pets were over-represented during their clinics. As I have not attended vet school, nor have I conducted any study myself, I was drawing my conclusions from experiences and the opinions/observations of the DVMs I work with.

ETA: I believe in spaying and neutering all non-breeding dogs, but don't necessarily agree with very early sterilization. We recommend OHE/castration of large breed dogs at 1 year of age. I am not arguing with the fact that early altering can increase risks of certain diseases/conditions, just making an observation about the studies conducted and the relative increased risk.