Information on Spaying & Neutering

I thought we could use a sticky for these links, since we reference them here often when asked the "Should I spay/neuter my dog?" question.

Obviously, if you feel that you cannot properly contain your dog, spay or neuter them to avoid unwanted litters.

There is a ton of information out there if you Google the subject, but I've found these links to be some of the best. If anyone has any others, feel free to share.

Study from UC Davis: [Convert_1252: (Field: 'document_title'), -EncodeSmart] :: UC Davis News Information

Dr. Karen Becker talks about spaying/neutering: Health Issues Linked to Spaying and Neutering Dogs


An older, but very in depth study on the subject: http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

 

OK, here's some additional information for you!

Vizsla study, (increases risk of cancers and many behavioral issues including housebreaking, storm phobia, aggression, etc., age-dependent): http://www.askthedogguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Downside_To_Neutering_Viszlas.pdf

Effects of castration on problem behaviors in male dogs with reference to age and duration of behavior (seems to help urine marking, roaming, mounting and few cases of aggression): http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/9227747

Effect of gonadectomy on subsequent development of age-related cognitive impairment in dogs (increases risk): http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/abs/10.2460/javma.2001.219.51

Effects of breed, sex, and neuter status on trainability in dogs (no effect except on male Shelties):http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/Home...Personality PDFs/S/Sd-So/Serpell Hsu 2005.pdf

Effects of early neutering on cranial cruciate ligament disease (early altering increases risk):
http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/abs/10.2460/javma.231.11.1688

Comparison of effects of spay/neuter between Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers (early altering/cancer and joint disorder increase):
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0102241#pone-0102241-g002


Behavioral and Physical Effects of Spaying and Neutering Domestic Dogs - Non-breed specific (increases aggression, anxiety and fear; longer bone growth)
http://weimaranerclubofamerica.org/main/pdf/HMColumn0112.pdf

Dr. Zink on altering and the performance dog (meta analysis including some unpublished data she collected, revised 2013): http://www.caninesports.com/uploads/1/5/3/1/15319800/spay_neuter_considerations_2013.pdf

Does spaying really prevent mammary tumors? A look at the available data (2012):
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-5827.2011.01220.x/pdf



And these are some good resources for people that want to sterilize but are unsure of spay/neuter and would like to seek alternate procedures:
**Please also call your local veterinarians to see if they offer the procedure. The more requests they get, the more likely they are to learn more about it. A list of veterinarians that perform ovarian sparing spays (aka OSS or partial spays), vasectomies and tubal ligations: https://www.facebook.com/notes/ovar...o-perform-oss-andor-vasectomy/479964972088894
The Parsemus foundation, information on chemical sterilization and OSS: http://www.parsemusfoundation.org/