Health Risks to Unspayed Bitches & Unneutered Dogs

When deciding whether or not to spay a bitch or neuter a dog, many people don't have sufficient awareness of the very substantial benefits to their cherished canine companion of these alterations. They too often are insufficiently mindful that remaining intact creates life-threatening risks for bitch or dog. In the case of a bitch some of these risks are further influenced by the age of the bitch at the time the spaying is done or postponed.

PYOMETRIA is one of the life-threatening risks that every intact bitch faces. classically it comes along in a certain time-frame after having been in heat. ie it is caused by being in heat as that is when the cervix and uterus are particularly vulnerable to infection. Spaying at any age eliminates this risk. (no uterus means no possibility of uterine infections.)

BREAST CANCER is the other big life-threatening risk that every bitch who has not been spayed prior to her first heat faces for the rest of her life. While it is not necessarily understood why spaying before first heat almost totally eliminates the risk of breast cancerr , nor why spaying after the first and before the second heat cuts the risk in half, the risk statistics are well established and should be well known. The normal risk of breast cancer for the bitch who is intact or who was spayed after the second heat is quite significant and many bitches die of breast cancer. canine breast cancer can vary wildly in its degree of aggressiveness. sometimes even very early detection and immediate total excision surgery is not enough to save the unfortunate bitch. and so often detection is not early -- bitches don't get to do monthly self-palpation exams (we guardians have to do it for them) and they don't get mammograms.

UTERINE CANCER and OVAVIAN CANCER are obviously life threatening risks for any intact bitch and are totally eliminated by spaying at any age.

The only potential downside to spaying is the possibility of "spay incontinence" (ie estrogen deficiency incontinence) developing at a later date. this is when there is some urine leakage during sleep or deep relaxation because the shut-off sphincters have less muscle tone in the absence of some level of estrogen. (We women who are a few years past menopause similarly experience potential leaks from over-full bladder or under the stress of a cough or robust laugh.) Easily treated with either hormone replacement with DES (diethylstilbesterol) or Premarin or more usually by PPA (phenylpropanolamine). Bottom line of course is do you prefer a sometime leaky bitch sleeping by your side or do you prefer to have her dead ashes in a box on top of your bookshelf ?

For males, the risks associated with remaining un-neutered are TESTICULAR CANCER, benign prostate enlargement (risks of prostate cancer seem to be about equal for intact and neutered, unlike the situation in the male human where many prostate cancers are testosterone fueled), greater risk of being attacked by other intact male dogs (smelling of testosterone is like wearing gang colors), being hit by car or shot by irate bitch owner when going roaming in search of "romance", and risks of OWNER DISAPPROVAL and potential ABANDONMENT due to various behaviors fueled by testosterone (fighting with other male dogs, lifting the leg in inappropriate places, escaping from home to roam, and perhaps greater tendency to conflict with owner, especially male human, over social rank, ie dominance). For males the behavioral aspects pose more risk than the purely medical aspects.

Generally these days people cite one or both of two reasons for leaving a bitch (or a male) intact : (1) they want to do conformation showing or (2) either (2a) they definitely want to breed this dog (may be contingent on some criteria of quality are fulfilled) or (2b) they "want to keep their options open" for possibly breeding this dog at some unspecified later date (too often this is not contingent on fulfillment of any criteria beyond the dog remaining alive and being fertile). Now as to the (2b) category, in reality what usually happens is that either an accidental mating occurs , often to a dog of some different breed , or the options remain open but the dog is never actually bred. Thus in the case of (2b) the dog undergoes all the risks but there is very little benefit to anyone involved. If (2b) or (not 2b) is the question, I urge that (not 2b) is the answer : ie alter your dog or bitch and do it before 6 months of age ! In the case of (1) , I can only urge that owners re-consider the value of conformation showing (which to me is about as meaningful as competition in Miss America) and consider whether they might not have more fun and take more pride in instead going for one or more genres of performance competition - we have so many to choose from : Obedience, Tracking, Agility , Herding, Schutzhund or Ringsport, etc. We can of course also continue to exhort the AKC to add conformation classes for "Altered", pointing out tot AKC what the horse world has long known, namely that such classes attract big entries and thus are quite profitable.

Reason (2a) does remain a valid reason to whatever extent one's criteria for breeding are well thought out and justified, and of course to whatever extent one is prepared to play "godparent" and "safety net" to all resulting puppies for the rest of their lives and to play educator, mentor, and compassionate friend to the adopters of these puppies (a role that can be very rewarding). I would urge that ONLY those who accept the responsibilities of this category, and who accept that to some degree they are putting their beloved dog to some risk in order to perpetuate the breed, should leave their dogs unaltered.