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An interesting article: Spaying and neutering

702 views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  Gleepers 
#1 ·
#2 ·
Very interesting article, thanks for sharing!
I also love that the author is Dr. Stanley Coren - he used to have a show on tv called Good Dog! which I watched religiously as child! :D
I was wondering just the other day, whatever became of him.

The article makes me anxious though about making the right decision for Lucy. Our breeder advised us to wait until Lucy had at least one heat cycle before getting her spayed. We're past that point now and are now considering if/when to spay her, though every time I think about it, I feel uneasy as there seems to be no "right" answer. Having her go through heat cycles forever would be inconvenient at times in a busy city to say the least, but not the end of the world if it's the best thing for her. But then I get worried about things like mammary cancer - with all the cancer issues in goldens, wouldn't it be good to have her spayed to decrease the chances significantly of developing one type? And you would think that if a dog already has a good, generally calm disposition (like Lucy), spaying her shouldn't create a completely different dog, right? I was going to comment on whether spaying/neutering early vs. after maturity makes a difference, then I read this "however for females early spaying (before the dog is one year of age) causes a considerably larger increase in aggression relative to later spaying" which does make me feel better about having her spayed, but waiting until after maturity like we have/are doing.
All of this is just me thinking out loud.

I don't think there is a right or a wrong answer, I'm just having a hard time deciding what is right for us and for Lucy.
 
#3 ·
I loved Dr. Stanley's show too. I have heard, that about fearful neutered dogs. Makes sense. I have tried to expose my 16 month old intact boy, to as many dogs and people, that I can, to see, if he shows me, any reason, not to keep him intact. He's had 2 dogs, try to pick a fight, another, just bark, like a maniac in his face and several little dogs, growl and snap at him and they were all neutered males. Bodie just looks at them and moves on. He's happy, confident and nothing fazes him.
My last Golden, was neutered young and was submissive, to bullies, but never reacted in a fearful manner.

Lucy 222, have you looked at the results of the U of Davis Study? I looked mostly at the neuter side, because I have a male, but I think, some of the cancers went down for females, after their first heat and or waiting until maturity to spay. Males, there seemed to be no benefit to neutering, at all, aside from reproducing.
 
#4 ·
I think we need to take this article with a 'grain of salt' . There are many other factors that can contribute to whether a dog displays aggressive behavior or not, whether neutered or not. Genetics, temperament, past experiences, lifestyles, ongoing socialization, or lack thereof, how they are treated and trained, all impact how a dog perceives and responds to stimuli in their environment.
 
#5 ·
After we had our rescue neutered we noticed a huge difference. He came as a cool and confident little guy and became highly reactive in leash afterwards. Some of it settled down a few weeks after surgery but we are still working very hard on it every day. Luckily he isn't aggressive when approached but it makes life very difficult walking him as he goes nuts when he sees another dog. We are making progress. Praying that Penny will make it through unscathed to much.
 
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