The Kindest Cut?

For a long time, I have strongly believed that the best way to manage and reduce the number of stray and abandoned dogs is to routinely neuter dogs (by neuter I mean spay the female and castrate the male). This method in my opinion was kind and effective. However, somewhere along the way, the lines got blurred. As a scientist at my core, I could see that evidence was gathering which questioned whether neutering really was the best course of action. Never mind the fact that we were putting the animal through an invasive procedure only possible with anaesthesia, we were also starting to call it a humane way to rectify problematic behaviour, reduce the incidence of later medical problems and control the number of stray and abandoned dogs. Quite the panacea.

These days my former belief is questioned. Is neutering humane and/or appropriate? Does neutering affect behaviour either positively or negatively? Is neutering a viable way of preventing future medical problems? Does neutering manage to reduce the number of stray and abandoned dogs?

I now think about it a little differently. Of course, there will always be irresponsible breeders. Of course, puppy farming will always make money. Neutering dogs does not make a difference to this. Irresponsible breeders and puppy farmers alike are not nipping to the veterinary surgery to neuter their ‘stock’ when they are no longer breeding from them. In fact, it is more likely that they are selling them on to people that want older pedigree dogs. So, this is the first fail on the efficacy of neutering to manage a stray and abandoned dog population.

Similarly, dogs will always be relinquished to rescue and re-homing facilities. Many of them dogs that have been irresponsibly bred, accidentally bred or puppy farmed. Neutering dogs has probably very little impact on this. These dogs are highly likely to be neutered once they enter rescue and re-homing establishments but that unfortunately tells us nothing about how efficient the process of neutering is on behaviour modification, medical conditions or population control. Relinquished dogs (the lucky ones) go back out to new homes and the impact of them being neutered is never fully known.

In fact, it is probably prudent to say that the biggest impact on population control for stray and abandoned dogs may be the what the local councils have put in place over the years. Things such as dog control measures and a more visible and active presence from dog wardens. Another fail for neutering.

In terms of the medical benefits for dogs in later life. There is suggestion now that the picture is anything but clear cut. For example, this very complete study published in 2015: Current perspectives on the optimal age to spay/castrate dogs and cats investigates the various and numerous risks and benefits of the spay/castrate in dogs and cats. It is certainly not biased in favour or against the procedure, rather giving the procedure a more rounded analysis. The conclusion in the study demonstrates how important it is to toss the ‘one size fits all’ approach in the bin – see below:

“Gonadectomy has both benefits and risks. This is particularly true in the dog, where there seem to be more potential risks than in the cat. It is important for the veterinarian to weigh these risks against the benefits gained for each patient that presents for spaying or castrating. While the benefits likely heavily outweigh the risks for most patients, the considerations discussed in this paper should be kept in mind when determining the best age to spay or castrate pet dogs of certain breeds. One should use caution, however, when trying to extrapolate findings from one breed to other breeds, or to the general population of dogs as a whole, since studies from a single breed often have conflicting results when compared to findings from studies of other breeds or the general dog population.”

Studies such as this one cast doubt on the argument that neutering prevents medical problems in the older dog. In fact, neutering may only tackle the tip of this iceberg in terms of the medical problems encountered by the ageing dog. If we move the microscope to investigate neutering as a viable behaviour modifier, we find that it may act as a contributor to, rather than modifier of, undesirable behaviour.

This recent article (2023) Are there better alternatives to spaying and neutering dogs? is a great example of the change happening around routine spay/castrate solutions to reproductive control and behaviour modification. I quote:

“there is mounting scientific data suggesting that spaying or neutering may be associated with a higher probability of physical problems, and two large sample studies have suggested that these procedures may actually result in increased canine aggression, fearfulness, and overexcitability. A new study confirms these results and suggests alternatives that can prevent reproduction but will not have negative psychological consequences”.

And then there’s this study: Effects of castration on problem behaviours in male dogs with reference to age and duration of behavior Written as early as 1997 this study finds that although castration can help with some problem behaviours in the male dog. The evidence is scant for the efficacy of castration in the modification of aggressive behaviour, regardless of the age of the dog or how long it has shown aggressive behaviour. Castration is routinely advised in cases of male dog aggression and reactivity, however, experts may be ‘barking up the wrong tree’ by using it as a fix in aggression or reactivity cases.

“Castration was most effective in altering objectionable urine making, mounting, and roaming. With various types of aggressive behavior, including aggression toward human family members, castration may be effective in decreasing aggression in some dogs, but fewer than a third can be expected to have marked improvement. Age of the dog or duration of the problem behavior does not have value in predicting whether castration will have a beneficial effect.”

The articles I have included in this post are to whet your appetite and potentially start conversations. I am aware that my position, for some people, will be controversial but I must move with the times. There has been a responsible dog ownership revolution since neutering became the norm.  There is a healthy spike in the scientific literature raising questions about whether neutering is an appropriate practice, medically, behaviourally and/or ethically. Access to knowledge about canine welfare/training/breeding and so on has boomed (on Google alone). The flood of information on prime-time television and key television channels has changed how the public view dogs. ‘Castrate’ him or ‘Spay’ her is no longer a key piece of advice.

With all this in mind, I do circle back to my original questions – Is neutering humane and/or appropriate? Does neutering affect behaviour either positively or negatively? Is neutering a viable way of preventing future medical problems? Does neutering manage to reduce the number of stray and abandoned dogs?

I suppose the answer to ‘Is neutering humane and/or appropriate?’ for me depends on how we define humane/appropriate, and furthermore on our circumstances. Certainly, it could be argued that unnecessary anaesthesia is not humane. However, I have a multi dog household and subjecting my females to isolation during their season or instead allowing them to breed, is inappropriate.

Does neutering affect behaviour either positively or negatively? Again, the answer depends on a number of factors. The dog, the situation, the context. In some cases, it may be appropriate providing it is used in conjunction with other behavioural measures (it will do nothing on its own). In other cases, it can have a negative effect. For example, a spayed female can suffer from incontinence and gain additional weight. Over the long term this is inappropriate and inhumane. For a single female dog household, it is likely easier to keep the female indoors during her season. Or as pointed out earlier an increase in aggressive, fearful or excitable behaviour may occur as a result of castration. The picture is far from black and white.

Is neutering a viable way of preventing future medical problems? This one is based on fear. ‘If I neuter my dog, I will prevent……..’ ‘ If I don’t my dog will get…..’ Essentially a judgement call. As Stanley Coren (see above) points out “there is mounting scientific data suggesting that spaying or neutering may be associated with a higher probability of physical problems”. Our dogs will age and will suffer from problems that come with aging. We have the ability to use a holistic approach to mitigate the problems associated with the aging dog. For example, feeding an age-appropriate & breed-appropriate diet will stand the dog in good stead for the long term. Similarly, providing your dog with the correct exercise needs will drastically reduce problems associated with aging. Problems such as joint pain and arthritis (see here for more information).