the down-side of neutering?

[sixsigma]

Hi,
my friend has a girl labrador about 1 year old.
I asked them if they planned to neuter their dog and they said they are not sure.
I know that its good to neuter dog's to prevent too many puppies without homes (there are Soooo many dogs in animal charities/shelters already) BUT are there any down-sides to neutering dogs, especially female dogs?
Thanks,
Steve

[bigdog]

With every operation, there are a combination of advantages and disadvantages to be carefully weighed up. The decision made must be an informed and educated one.

For some operations, such as this one you mention, neutering a female dog, the advantages heavily hugely outweigh the disadvantages, but the choice to do an operation of course must still be a carefully considered one.

The advantages line up approximately as follows:
1) Reduce risk of unwanted pregnancies. There are too many unwanted dogs without homes already, as you mention.

2) Reduce or eliminate the risk of breast cancers in female dogs. Breast cancers are common in elderly female dogs who have not had this operation, and they can be life-threatening.

3) Eliminate the risk of testicular cancer in male dogs, which again can be life-threatening.

4) Reduce the risk of prostate disease (including prostate gland cancer) in male dogs

5) Reduce the aggressive behavior of male dogs.

6) Stop female dogs getting “false pregnancies” (=”pseudopregnancies”) where they believe they are pregnant but in fact they are not- although their breasts do swell up with milk.

7) Stop any chance of female dogs getting womb infections (a “pyometra”). This is a life-threatening disease which is common in older female dogs which have not had the neutering operation.

8) Stop animals running away (females when they are in heat, to find a mate, and males when they smell a female dog who is in heat/season).


The potential possible disadvantages include:
1) Risk of putting weight on i.e. getting fat, as the metabolism (i.e. rate of “burning energy” may slow down).

2) Very small risk of iatrogenic complications (i.e. adverse effects or complications secondary to the operation or the drugs administered). See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iatrogenesis for a fuller definition of iatrogenic. These include a small anesthetic risk with any anesthetic, although in a healthy animal this is extremely rare. Human anesthetic deaths are very rare- about 1 in 250,000 I believe. For pet’s it is significantly higher, although with modern anesthetics it’s still also very rare in healthy animals.

3) It has been thought also that there is a female dogs who have been neutered, are very slightly more prone to leaking a few drips of urine when they are old, compared to female dog’s which have not had the operation.

This list is not a fully comprehensive list! Exact figures are difficult to obtain for the statistics of the various risks.

On balance, the advantages greatly outweigh any disadvantages, and due to the fact this is a very common operation familiar to every veterinary surgeon, any disadvantages or risks are very low.

Please discuss these issues with your veterinary surgeon! They may well have different opinions or experiences and also they can help put your mind to rest on any questions this may have raised!

But basically, I would suggest you tell you friend to talk to their vet about the choice to neuter their girl labrador, and remind them that the advantages are so great in doing this operation.

[sixsigma]

hi Bigdog,
okay I see...
yes I think they are scared about their dog getting fat.... its a little bit fat already actually I think!

But I see that yes there are many benefits.... thanks!!

[wobble]

what are these womb infections.... can anyone tell me more about these?...
thanks....
I dont have a dog I just have a cat, can they get womb infections too?
How do i tell if they have this???
anyone here had this in their cat? Is it possible? Ive never heard of it.
thanks,
janet.

[woofwoof]

A pyometra is a womb infection, yes it’s possible in female dogs and cats as well as some other animals too... although it is probably more common in dogs.
Basically the wall of the womb undergoes some changes over the life-span of a pet, in response to the hormones in the body.
It then is possible for the wall of the womb to become abnormal, and to get a pus discharge produced, filling up in the womb. Sometimes the cervix (the base of the womb) is open and so the pus comes out, so it can be seen coming from behind your pet.
Sometimes however the cervix stays closed so the womb gets very big and could even burst.
Both scenarios are potentially life-threatening.
See your vet for more details.