Spay/Neuter Timing

From Dr. Kathy – here are no randomized, controlled, lifetime studies to provide unequivocal evidence on appropriate timing of gonadectomies (removal of testes or ovaries); therefore, the decision as to when and if a patient should be neutered should be based on the individual patient, owner, and available data.

As far as the age of neutering (“neuter” connotes either spaying or castration), there has been a lot of controversy in the last 5-10 years. There are many publications with a variety of opinions by very knowledgeable experts. Most agree that it is medically acceptable to continue advising spay/neuter of small breeds (<40#) at or soon after 6 months of age. In larger dogs there is data that waiting until 1-2 years of age may minimize development of certain cancers and/or orthopedic disorders.

To complicate matters, there appears to be breed differences regarding neutering age and results. There are also other complicating factors to consider:

1) if waiting until 1-2 years, female dogs then have a greater risk of a “whoops” pregnancy

2) even though pyometra usually occurs in dogs >5-6 years old, most veterinarians have seen it in dogs as young as 6 months of age.

3) unneutered male dogs can have behavior issues that are magnified due to being intact, including but not limited to wanderlust (running off when they detect a female in heat), inter-dog aggression, marking behavior, etc.

4) scheduling neutering soon after compltion of vaccination series often encourages “following through” with the surgery. Unfortunately, waiting allows owners to continue putting off the procedure, and before they know it the pet is older and it still hasn’t been done.

…….So, age is not the only factor that needs to be considered when deciding when to spay/neuter.

Here’s a fairly recent article:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32733924/

**The Vet Corner groups encourage members to establish a relationship with their local veterinarian, don’t wait until an emergency.**