Sunday July 27, 2014
Curious to know what happens when you spay or neuter your dog? Read on.
SHELTERS neuter pets before the public is allowed to adopt them, and vets routinely advise pet lovers to neuter because of the many advantages the procedure offers.
The biggest benefit is that neutering takes sex out of the equation. If you think it’s not a big deal, think again!
Girl dogs – bitches – have a six-month reproductive cycle that is punctuated by times when they go “on heat”, meaning that they are fertile and ready to mate. This time lasts about 18 days on average.
During this time, she will have an increased sexual drive, which means she’ll be scratching at the door and howling to go out and have fun. We’re not talking the odd whine here: we’re talking commotion 24/7.
What’s more, every boy dog in the neighbourhood will know it. The neutered males will know but won’t be too bothered. But the ones that are intact will be hanging about, waiting for her.
The bold ones will be howling, too, and scratching at the door. They get over-excited and will fight each other. If you’re in a doggy neighbourhood, there could be half a dozen of them at your gate.
Again, they’ll be there 24/7 for the whole 18 days. They can’t help it: this is nature at work.
Being in thrall to this drive makes pets miserable – and owners, too. By neutering your pets, you will have a girl who won’t be reduced to a sex slavering wreck every few months and a male who won’t be running off all the time.
After the procedure (see sidebar), you won’t see any difference in your dog’s personality. For one thing, dogs don’t have the op and then suddenly become sluggish, slow and fat! Dogs, when they get older, get a little fatter for exactly the same reason that we get fatter: Pups are constantly rushing around while older dogs lie on the sofa and watch the footie.
If your pet is a bouncy, cheerful character like Charlie – who is up for adoption this month – he will stay a bouncy, cheerful character. What you will see is a little more control.
Specifically, when a bitch is on heat, dogs will fight each other to get to her. They also mark their territory with strong-smelling urine. As neutering eliminates sex from the equation, it means your dogs won’t be involved in fights and their urine will be less smelly.
Neutering also means fewer trips to the vet. In sweet stories, the dogs fight, bark and snap and nobody gets hurt but, in real life, we’re talking blood and stitches.
In addition, some people think that as neutering reduces the level of hormones (like testosterone), you will also see dogs becoming less aggressive; however, studies are divided over whether this actually happens.
One way to interpret the studies is that dogs that are not neutered become used to fighting. As such, they become used to solving any problem with their teeth. So if you can prevent your dog from learning to fight, you are less likely to have a pet that bites when it feels threatened. However, as studies haven’t yet looked into this, this is speculation.
What is not speculation is that there are several important health benefits to neutering.
Every time a bitch goes into heat, she increases her risk of getting mammary tumours. Although spaying at any young age is considered useful, those who are spayed before they get into their first heat cycle have a significantly reduced risk for mammary gland tumours.
Unspayed bitches are at risk of pyometra and other uterine diseases that can be treated but that are expensive to deal with. Spaying means you avoid these problems.
Although you don’t see it every day, dogs are quite susceptible to false pregnancy. Bitches who think they are pregnant produce milk, become irritable, and display all sorts of behavioural problems during this time, and frequently become depressed, too. Spaying prevents this.
For male dogs, neutering removes the testes. As older dogs are prone to testicular cancer, having the operation reduces but does not entirely eliminate the risk of this life-threatening disease.
Also, intact dogs will have their prostate enlarge as they age. This can become uncomfortable, cause urinary problems and the prostate can become infected. Neutering prevents enlargement and reduces the possibility of infection.
Finally, while there are no official figures, an estimated 11,000 unwanted pets are put down (killed) every year in Selangor alone. We don’t like to talk about it but when we drop off animals at these places, there is a big chance that what we’re doing is asking someone else to put down the animal. So when you neuter, you become part of the solution: You are helping to make sure that your pet isn’t adding to the unwanted animal population.
This is why shelters often adopt the slogan: Save lives! Spay and neuter!
Ellen Whyte is currently ruled exclusively by cats but she sneaks out to talk to her dog friends.
BEST TIME TO NEUTER
AN OLD rule of thumb is to spay and neuter dogs at six months, just before they become sexually mature. The modern rule of thumb is that dogs need to be healthy and of adult weight. This can be at five months or even slightly earlier.
As the new rules are hard to interpret – they go according to a dog’s size and breed – you should talk to your vet. If you’re far away from a clinic, then the old rule of “six months and healthy” works fine. Tip: Do catch your girl dog before her first heat! You can take her during heat but it’s best to be just before.
Although you should ask your vet, the usual procedure is that you don’t feed your dog after midnight but let her or him have all the water they like. The next morning, go to the clinic and hold your pet while the anaesthetic is administered. Then go home while the vet carries out the procedure. You can pick up your pet in the afternoon after the anaesthetic has worn off.
In our home, we have a policy of treating pets who’ve had “the op” with extra gentleness and care for a week after, because of bruising that typically comes with any operation. Also, anaesthetic can make your pet feel a bit queasy for a day or two as well.
Both our boy dogs bounced back in a day, whereas our girl dog took five days to heal completely. In the last 10 years, heavy anaesthetic and huge stitches have given way to lighter sedation and keyhole surgery; for a proper explanation of the op, you should speak with your vet.
If you can watch operations on TV and don’t mind graphic illustrations, you can also visit this page: http://www.pet-informed-veterinary-advice-online.com/dog-spaying.html
http://m.thestar.com.my/story.aspx?hl=The+big+snip&sec=lifestyle&id
http://www.thestar.com/life/2013/03/01/dont_want_your_golden_retriever_to_get_cancer_dont_neuter_it.html
Healthwise
SHELTERS neuter pets before the public is allowed to adopt them, and vets routinely advise pet lovers to neuter because of the many advantages the procedure offers.
The biggest benefit is that neutering takes sex out of the equation. If you think it’s not a big deal, think again!
Girl dogs – bitches – have a six-month reproductive cycle that is punctuated by times when they go “on heat”, meaning that they are fertile and ready to mate. This time lasts about 18 days on average.
During this time, she will have an increased sexual drive, which means she’ll be scratching at the door and howling to go out and have fun. We’re not talking the odd whine here: we’re talking commotion 24/7.
What’s more, every boy dog in the neighbourhood will know it. The neutered males will know but won’t be too bothered. But the ones that are intact will be hanging about, waiting for her.
The bold ones will be howling, too, and scratching at the door. They get over-excited and will fight each other. If you’re in a doggy neighbourhood, there could be half a dozen of them at your gate.
Again, they’ll be there 24/7 for the whole 18 days. They can’t help it: this is nature at work.
Being in thrall to this drive makes pets miserable – and owners, too. By neutering your pets, you will have a girl who won’t be reduced to a sex slavering wreck every few months and a male who won’t be running off all the time.
After the procedure (see sidebar), you won’t see any difference in your dog’s personality. For one thing, dogs don’t have the op and then suddenly become sluggish, slow and fat! Dogs, when they get older, get a little fatter for exactly the same reason that we get fatter: Pups are constantly rushing around while older dogs lie on the sofa and watch the footie.
If your pet is a bouncy, cheerful character like Charlie – who is up for adoption this month – he will stay a bouncy, cheerful character. What you will see is a little more control.
Specifically, when a bitch is on heat, dogs will fight each other to get to her. They also mark their territory with strong-smelling urine. As neutering eliminates sex from the equation, it means your dogs won’t be involved in fights and their urine will be less smelly.
Neutering also means fewer trips to the vet. In sweet stories, the dogs fight, bark and snap and nobody gets hurt but, in real life, we’re talking blood and stitches.
In addition, some people think that as neutering reduces the level of hormones (like testosterone), you will also see dogs becoming less aggressive; however, studies are divided over whether this actually happens.
One way to interpret the studies is that dogs that are not neutered become used to fighting. As such, they become used to solving any problem with their teeth. So if you can prevent your dog from learning to fight, you are less likely to have a pet that bites when it feels threatened. However, as studies haven’t yet looked into this, this is speculation.
What is not speculation is that there are several important health benefits to neutering.
Every time a bitch goes into heat, she increases her risk of getting mammary tumours. Although spaying at any young age is considered useful, those who are spayed before they get into their first heat cycle have a significantly reduced risk for mammary gland tumours.
Unspayed bitches are at risk of pyometra and other uterine diseases that can be treated but that are expensive to deal with. Spaying means you avoid these problems.
Although you don’t see it every day, dogs are quite susceptible to false pregnancy. Bitches who think they are pregnant produce milk, become irritable, and display all sorts of behavioural problems during this time, and frequently become depressed, too. Spaying prevents this.
For male dogs, neutering removes the testes. As older dogs are prone to testicular cancer, having the operation reduces but does not entirely eliminate the risk of this life-threatening disease.
Also, intact dogs will have their prostate enlarge as they age. This can become uncomfortable, cause urinary problems and the prostate can become infected. Neutering prevents enlargement and reduces the possibility of infection.
Finally, while there are no official figures, an estimated 11,000 unwanted pets are put down (killed) every year in Selangor alone. We don’t like to talk about it but when we drop off animals at these places, there is a big chance that what we’re doing is asking someone else to put down the animal. So when you neuter, you become part of the solution: You are helping to make sure that your pet isn’t adding to the unwanted animal population.
This is why shelters often adopt the slogan: Save lives! Spay and neuter!
Ellen Whyte is currently ruled exclusively by cats but she sneaks out to talk to her dog friends.
BEST TIME TO NEUTER
AN OLD rule of thumb is to spay and neuter dogs at six months, just before they become sexually mature. The modern rule of thumb is that dogs need to be healthy and of adult weight. This can be at five months or even slightly earlier.
As the new rules are hard to interpret – they go according to a dog’s size and breed – you should talk to your vet. If you’re far away from a clinic, then the old rule of “six months and healthy” works fine. Tip: Do catch your girl dog before her first heat! You can take her during heat but it’s best to be just before.
Although you should ask your vet, the usual procedure is that you don’t feed your dog after midnight but let her or him have all the water they like. The next morning, go to the clinic and hold your pet while the anaesthetic is administered. Then go home while the vet carries out the procedure. You can pick up your pet in the afternoon after the anaesthetic has worn off.
In our home, we have a policy of treating pets who’ve had “the op” with extra gentleness and care for a week after, because of bruising that typically comes with any operation. Also, anaesthetic can make your pet feel a bit queasy for a day or two as well.
Both our boy dogs bounced back in a day, whereas our girl dog took five days to heal completely. In the last 10 years, heavy anaesthetic and huge stitches have given way to lighter sedation and keyhole surgery; for a proper explanation of the op, you should speak with your vet.
If you can watch operations on TV and don’t mind graphic illustrations, you can also visit this page: http://www.pet-informed-veterinary-advice-online.com/dog-spaying.html
http://m.thestar.com.my/story.aspx?hl=The+big+snip&sec=lifestyle&id
Don’t want your golden retriever to get cancer? Don’t neuter it
Controversial new study says neutering your dogs can triple their risk of cancer or joint disorders
Neutering dogs can double or triple their risk of cancer or joint disorders, a controversial new study reveals.
In fact, the risk of lymphatic cancer (lymphosarcoma) was three times more common in early neutered males than non-neutered males. And cancer of the blood vessel walls (hemangiosarcoma) was quadrupled in late-neutered females than non-neutered.
The study also found neutering male and female golden retrievers produced weak protection against mammary or prostate cancer, contrary to popular belief.
Researchers at the University of California Davis studied 759 golden retrievers registered at their Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.
Golden retrievers are popular and common but also more vulnerable to certain cancers and joint disorders than other breeds, the study pointed out.
The results can only be extrapolated to other breeds to a certain extent, lead researcher Dr. Benjamin Hart told the Toronto Star.
What’s a dog owner to do?
“Two things. Certainly avoid early neutering, before a year. This takes away the developmental effect of gonal hormones,” said Hart, a veterinary professor and animal behaviourist at UCD.
“A golden retriever is not much of a behaviour (aggressive) dog. Why not just not neuter unless you have to? There is nothing to be gained by neutering a male early.”
“If it’s females, don’t spay too early. Wait until she’s a year or 13 months so you can get past the knee and elbow and hip dysplasia problems. That’s early enough in goldens.”
The president-elect of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, Dr. Jim Berry, called the research “very interesting” and said vets hadn’t had anything “quite as comprehensive” to refer to before.
He cautioned the golden retrievers studied by Hart were sicker dogs than in the general population because they had been brought to a university clinic. The research, he also said, wasn’t conclusive enough yet for him to change his advice to patients but it did add an important element.
Berry also cautioned that the “outrageous” numbers of dogs and cats who are killed to deal with overpopulation outweighs other considerations right now.
Hart has been debating his results — since they were published in PLOSone — with staff at animal shelters, which often forbid adoptions of unneutered animals regardless of age.
“I don’t want to adopt a dog if the neutering doubles or triples the chance of a hip disorder,” Hart said. “I can be a responsible pet owner. People should have the dignity of deciding for their pets.”
He advocated a vasectomy or tubal tying for dogs before a shelter adoption instead of neutering.
“These operations are much less expensive and less traumatic for the dogs. The weird thing is we don’t teach these simple operations yet in vet schools, but shelter vets could learn it in an afternoon wet lab.”
The Ontario SPCA chief veterinary officer disputed the findings.
“There is no clear or obvious link between these diseases and neutering, we can say there is no clear nor proven causal relationship. There were various issues with this study such as the lack of numbers of cases for comparison, lack of discussion of limitations and potential bias, and therefore we would conclude very little from this study,” said Dr. Magdalena Smrdelj.
“We recommend spay/neuter for all animals, preferably at early age.”
The study is the first to examine the effects of early (before one year) and late neutering on several types of joint disorders and cancers in one breed of dog, the report said.
Hart made it clear that even with the strong evidence in the study, the numbers of golden retrievers that developed cancer or joint disorders were still low.
For example, while the number of early-neutered males diagnosed withlymphosarcoma was tripled, it was still only 10 per cent of the golden retrievers studied.
And while cases of hemangiosarcoma in late-neutered females quadrupled, compared with early-neutered or unspayed females, it was still only 8 per cent.
“You have to remember most of the dogs did not get cancer. It’s a matter of risk. Most people don’t want to double or triple the risk.”
The UCD researchers next intend to study the effects on Labrador retrievers and then German shepherds.
Healthwise
