Depending on how you look at it, the world of spay and neuter either may be floundering or fantastic. And naturally which one depends on the beliefs of the person you ask.
This month’s commentary reminds us how science always seeks to refine its information using the same example: canine spay and neuter. For those who prefer forever-facts, such an on-going approach can be troubling or even frightening at first. But once you accept that the only constant is change, you get used to perceiving all animals and plants living in a constant state of change normal. You also get used to the constant lack of certainty that goes with it. That doesn’t mean there won’t be times when we feel frustrated by what isn’t known about companion animal spay and neuter. But most of us eventually accept this as a normal part of the learning process.
These two studies are good examples of the evolving nature of our knowledge of spay and neuter. They also remind us of the different animal populations and spay and neuter effects different studies may explore:
Assisting on Decision-Making on Age of Neutering for 35 Breeds of Dogs: Associated Joint Disorders, Cancers, and Urinary Incontinence published in “Frontiers of Veterinary Science” July 7, 2020.
A literature review on the welfare implications of gonadectomy of dogs published in the “Journal of the American Veterinary Association, May 15, 2017
The take-home spay and neuter message emerging from the research is the dreaded, “It depends.” When we add the bond factor, what is right for one human-animal combination may not be for another. Essentially, that means we must do our homework, not allow any contradictions we encounter to drive us insane, and ultimately make the choice ourselves.
Below are some of my thoughts on this same subject when I had my now-16-year-old dog, Frica spayed in 2008. Back then, I wrote:
Last month I had Frica spayed after contemplating all the pros and cons so many times I was dizzy. I learned a lot from this experience, including that there are a lot of clichés that can be applied to this sometimes grueling decision-making process.
I started thinking about having Frica spayed after she had her litter last January. Since then, I’ve reviewed many studies on the pros and cons of spay and neuter. But I also discovered that there’s not a lot of concrete information out there. There are increasing studies regarding spay and neuter as it relates to the control of specific populations; but there’s much less information about the effect of the surgery on the individual animal. Even more surprising—and frustrating—there’s hardly anything on what intact animals of both sexes normally experience as they age. This brings me to the first cliché, the old geek lament about drowning in data while starving for information. Such was my experience. For all that was out there, there wasn’t much that told me what I wanted to know.
This shouldn’t have surprised me because companion animal veterinary medicine is patterned after human medicine, and we’ve known precious little regarding the mind and body effects of reproductive hormones in humans of any age until relatively recently. That’s the reality that belies the sentiment of cliché #2, that ignorance is bliss. Although I suppose there are times when ignorance can be blissful, in medicine and behavior we’re reduced to little more than guessing if we lack a clear understanding of what comprises normal. When that’s the case, the probability of labeling and treating something quite normal as a problem is every bit as high as missing a legitimate problem and failing to treat it at all.
Do female dogs and cats go through menopause? Anecdotal 
evidence and a few small studies suggest they do and I can’t think of any reason why they wouldn’t. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that, as in women, the signs can vary, although I’d expect dogs and cats not to suffer from the emotional baggage that can complicate this normal transition for human females. Unless, of course, any people in the animals’ lives don’t see these animal changes as normal. Do older intact (unspayed) female animals have different blood values like older women do? I suspect they do. But once again if such information is out there, I couldn’t find it.
As I repeatedly went over this material, it eventually dawned on me that the time had come to urinate or get off the pot (cliché #3), step up to the plate (#4), and make up my mind because Frica was due to go into heat again at the end of December. Her surgery would be elective in every sense of word, and I wanted it done under the best of circumstances. That meant when her reproductive tract was in a resting state.
What it all boiled down to (cliché #5) is that, like everything else related to our dogs and cats, if and when to spay or neuter isn’t a one-size-fits-all choice. Ultimately, the balance for my older animal was tipped toward spaying by considerations of the kind that don’t show up in scientific studies. Or at least haven’t yet. One of these was that this wasn’t just about Frica or even just about her and me. We’re part of a household that includes other animals, and one of them is a canine physiological and behavioral wildcard named BeeBee, the brain-damaged corgi. Bee was spayed just prior to her first birthday because of a uterine infection and since then she’s become increasingly intolerant of Fric. Part of this could be because of their respective ages, with Bee making her move to take over, albeit in her own unique way that leaves the other dogs and me unsure what she’s going to do next. But another could be because Frica’s intact status acts like a red flag to Bee for some reason.
In addition to Bee’s sometimes erratic behavior keeping Frica on guard, Fric has shown some subtle signs that have made me question her ovarian function. It didn’t bother me when blood tests to determine when she was ovulating failed because she gave such clear behavioral signs when she was that such tests were irrelevant.
On the other hand, that awareness combined with the fact that Frica was the sole female in a litter of 5 made me wonder whether ovarian function might be a factor as she got older. A factor for what I had no idea. (See previous discussion about the dearth of information regarding normal changes in the aging female reproductive tract.) Since Fric had her last litter, there also have been negative changes in her coat and an abbreviated false pregnancy with her last heat cycle that further caused me to wonder about her ovarian function. I recalled dogs with similar coat problems whose coats responded very well post-spaying. But alas, also some whose coats didn’t.
So maybe Frica’s changes are directly related to her ovaries, but they also could be triggered by her relationship with the other dogs which, in BeeBee’s case, could be indirectly related to Fric’s ovaries. When it came to deciding what all this meant, I put another check mark in the “I’m clueless.” column.
When the day of Frica’s surgery came and after going through all that one last time and talking to the veterinarian who was going to do the surgery, I decided to have Fric’s ovaries left if they looked normal. But it there was any question that they were not, to remove them along with her uterus. As it turned out, she had a complete ovariohysterectomy and she’s doing very well.
So what did I learn from this? I learned that there are no right or wrong answers and that the only way to be sure is to choose to remain ignorant. Whether we like it or not, the slogan “Responsible pet owners spay and neuter their pets” is passé. We now live in an age in which responsible pet owners need to educate themselves regarding both the benefits and harm of this surgery, make a conscious choice regarding when and if to do it based on that knowledge plus knowledge of our own animals and household, and then willingly accept the consequences of that choice on all affected.
It ain’t easy. But the carefree days of spay and neuter as an all-positive, practically knee-jerk choice are over.
Gone the way of the dodo, a final cliché.
And rightly so.
And I might add in 2020, the same holds true today.
This month’s commentary reminds us how science always seeks to refine its information using the same example: canine spay and neuter. For those who prefer forever-facts, such an on-going approach can be troubling or even frightening at first. But once you accept that the only constant is change, you get used to perceiving all animals and plants living in a constant state of change normal. You also get used to the constant lack of certainty that goes with it. That doesn’t mean there won’t be times when we feel frustrated by what isn’t known about companion animal spay and neuter. But most of us eventually accept this as a normal part of the learning process.
These two studies are good examples of the evolving nature of our knowledge of spay and neuter. They also remind us of the different animal populations and spay and neuter effects different studies may explore:
Assisting on Decision-Making on Age of Neutering for 35 Breeds of Dogs: Associated Joint Disorders, Cancers, and Urinary Incontinence published in “Frontiers of Veterinary Science” July 7, 2020.
A literature review on the welfare implications of gonadectomy of dogs published in the “Journal of the American Veterinary Association, May 15, 2017
The take-home spay and neuter message emerging from the research is the dreaded, “It depends.” When we add the bond factor, what is right for one human-animal combination may not be for another. Essentially, that means we must do our homework, not allow any contradictions we encounter to drive us insane, and ultimately make the choice ourselves.
Below are some of my thoughts on this same subject when I had my now-16-year-old dog, Frica spayed in 2008. Back then, I wrote:
Last month I had Frica spayed after contemplating all the pros and cons so many times I was dizzy. I learned a lot from this experience, including that there are a lot of clichés that can be applied to this sometimes grueling decision-making process.
I started thinking about having Frica spayed after she had her litter last January. Since then, I’ve reviewed many studies on the pros and cons of spay and neuter. But I also discovered that there’s not a lot of concrete information out there. There are increasing studies regarding spay and neuter as it relates to the control of specific populations; but there’s much less information about the effect of the surgery on the individual animal. Even more surprising—and frustrating—there’s hardly anything on what intact animals of both sexes normally experience as they age. This brings me to the first cliché, the old geek lament about drowning in data while starving for information. Such was my experience. For all that was out there, there wasn’t much that told me what I wanted to know.
This shouldn’t have surprised me because companion animal veterinary medicine is patterned after human medicine, and we’ve known precious little regarding the mind and body effects of reproductive hormones in humans of any age until relatively recently. That’s the reality that belies the sentiment of cliché #2, that ignorance is bliss. Although I suppose there are times when ignorance can be blissful, in medicine and behavior we’re reduced to little more than guessing if we lack a clear understanding of what comprises normal. When that’s the case, the probability of labeling and treating something quite normal as a problem is every bit as high as missing a legitimate problem and failing to treat it at all.
Do female dogs and cats go through menopause? Anecdotal
evidence and a few small studies suggest they do and I can’t think of any reason why they wouldn’t. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that, as in women, the signs can vary, although I’d expect dogs and cats not to suffer from the emotional baggage that can complicate this normal transition for human females. Unless, of course, any people in the animals’ lives don’t see these animal changes as normal. Do older intact (unspayed) female animals have different blood values like older women do? I suspect they do. But once again if such information is out there, I couldn’t find it.
As I repeatedly went over this material, it eventually dawned on me that the time had come to urinate or get off the pot (cliché #3), step up to the plate (#4), and make up my mind because Frica was due to go into heat again at the end of December. Her surgery would be elective in every sense of word, and I wanted it done under the best of circumstances. That meant when her reproductive tract was in a resting state.
What it all boiled down to (cliché #5) is that, like everything else related to our dogs and cats, if and when to spay or neuter isn’t a one-size-fits-all choice. Ultimately, the balance for my older animal was tipped toward spaying by considerations of the kind that don’t show up in scientific studies. Or at least haven’t yet. One of these was that this wasn’t just about Frica or even just about her and me. We’re part of a household that includes other animals, and one of them is a canine physiological and behavioral wildcard named BeeBee, the brain-damaged corgi. Bee was spayed just prior to her first birthday because of a uterine infection and since then she’s become increasingly intolerant of Fric. Part of this could be because of their respective ages, with Bee making her move to take over, albeit in her own unique way that leaves the other dogs and me unsure what she’s going to do next. But another could be because Frica’s intact status acts like a red flag to Bee for some reason.
In addition to Bee’s sometimes erratic behavior keeping Frica on guard, Fric has shown some subtle signs that have made me question her ovarian function. It didn’t bother me when blood tests to determine when she was ovulating failed because she gave such clear behavioral signs when she was that such tests were irrelevant.
On the other hand, that awareness combined with the fact that Frica was the sole female in a litter of 5 made me wonder whether ovarian function might be a factor as she got older. A factor for what I had no idea. (See previous discussion about the dearth of information regarding normal changes in the aging female reproductive tract.) Since Fric had her last litter, there also have been negative changes in her coat and an abbreviated false pregnancy with her last heat cycle that further caused me to wonder about her ovarian function. I recalled dogs with similar coat problems whose coats responded very well post-spaying. But alas, also some whose coats didn’t.
So maybe Frica’s changes are directly related to her ovaries, but they also could be triggered by her relationship with the other dogs which, in BeeBee’s case, could be indirectly related to Fric’s ovaries. When it came to deciding what all this meant, I put another check mark in the “I’m clueless.” column.
When the day of Frica’s surgery came and after going through all that one last time and talking to the veterinarian who was going to do the surgery, I decided to have Fric’s ovaries left if they looked normal. But it there was any question that they were not, to remove them along with her uterus. As it turned out, she had a complete ovariohysterectomy and she’s doing very well.
So what did I learn from this? I learned that there are no right or wrong answers and that the only way to be sure is to choose to remain ignorant. Whether we like it or not, the slogan “Responsible pet owners spay and neuter their pets” is passé. We now live in an age in which responsible pet owners need to educate themselves regarding both the benefits and harm of this surgery, make a conscious choice regarding when and if to do it based on that knowledge plus knowledge of our own animals and household, and then willingly accept the consequences of that choice on all affected.
It ain’t easy. But the carefree days of spay and neuter as an all-positive, practically knee-jerk choice are over.
Gone the way of the dodo, a final cliché.
And rightly so.
And I might add in 2020, the same holds true today.