Spaying and Neutering
"Among male and female dogs with early-age gonadectomy, hip dysplasia, noise phobias, and sexual behaviors were increased...."
C. Victor Spain DVM, PhD, Janet M. Scarlett DVM, PhD, and Katherine A. Houpt VMD, PhD, DACVB
Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association
Dogs gonadectomized at ≤ 6 months of age had significantly increased odds of developing a behavioral disorder. The younger the age at gonadectomy, the earlier the mean age at diagnosis of mast cell cancer, cancers other than mast cell, hemangiosarcoma, lymphoma, all cancers combined, a behavioral disorder, or fear of storms.
Frontiers in Veterinary Science
In previous studies on the Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever and German Shepherd Dog, neutering before a year of age was associated with increased risks of one or more joint disorders, 2–4 times that of intact dogs. The increase was particularly seen with dogs neutered by 6 months of age.
Rachel Eddleman, DVM
Waiting until your dog is older decreases the likelihood of female urinary incontinence, orthopedic problems including cranial cruciate ligament tears, and certain cancers.
Cardiac Tumors occurred with similar frequency in males and females, but the relative risk for spayed females was >4 times that for intact females. For HSA, spayed females had >5 times greater relative risk than did intact females. The risk for castrated males was slightly greater than that for intact males, which had 2.4 times the relative risk of intact females. Thus, neutering appeared to increase the risk of cardiac tumor in both sexes. Intact females were least likely to develop a cardiac tumor, whereas spayed females were most likely to develop a tumor. Twelve breeds had greater than average risk of developing a cardiac tumor, whereas 17 had lower risk. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association February 1, 2014, Vol. 244, No. 3, Pages 309-319
J R Slauterbeck 1, K Pankratz, K T Xu, S C Bozeman, D M Hardy
Females that had ovariohysterectomy and males that had orchiectomy had a significantly higher prevalence of anterior cruciate ligament rupture than the sexually intact dogs. Larger dogs had an increased prevalence of anterior cruciate ligament injury compared with smaller or medium-sized dogs, with the increased rupture rates for sterilized animals holding across breeds and sizes. Sterilization of either gender increased the prevalence of anterior cruciate ligament injury, suggesting a potential effect of gonadal gender on prevalence of injury of this ligament.
C. Victor Spain DVM, PhD, Janet M. Scarlett DVM, PhD, and Katherine A. Houpt VMD, PhD, DACVB
Results—Among female dogs, early-age gonadectomy was associated with increased rate of cystitis and decreasing age at gonadectomy was associated with increased rate of urinary incontinence. Among male and female dogs with early-age gonadectomy, hip dysplasia, noise phobias, and sexual behaviors were increased....
M Christine Zink 1, Parvene Farhoody, Samra E Elser, Lynda D Ruffini, Tom A Gibbons, Randall H Rieger
Results— Females gonadectomized at ≤ 12 months of age and males and females gonadectomized at > 12 months of age had significantly increased odds of developing hemangiosarcoma, compared with the odds for sexually intact dogs. s.
HIP AND ELBOW WARRANTY
In order for our Hip and Elbow Warranty to remain in effect, we require that:
Males be neutered no earlier than 18 months and preferably at 24 months.
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Females be spayed AFTER 12 months of age and 3 months AFTER their heat cycle (to reduce risk of bleeding during surgery).
While ultimately the choice is yours when to spay or neuter your puppy, unless it is to save the life of an Aisling Puppy (i.e. Pyometra in a female or testicular torsion or other disorder in a male), alteration earlier than the recommended ages will void the Hip and Elbow Warranty offered by Aisling Labradors due to the increased risk of joint disorders.
While we support spay and neuter AFTER a dog has sexually matured, we feel that Dog Owners deserve to know the risks that come with that decision.