[DogtorJ]

Hi Everyone,

Please allow me to throw a wrench into the works here. First of all, I am all for "sterilization" (and preventing unwanted pregnancies) in our pets but I am now dead set against "neutering" (removing the gonads) unless there is good cause. Thankfully, there are good surgical alternatives to the removal of the gonads, namely vasectomy in the male and hysterectomy alone in the female (just as they have done in women for years and years).

Let me explain:

It is NOT true what we (including myself) have been telling people for years: That dogs are healthier if they are neutered. Yes, there are a few medical benefits but they come at the expense of MANY other problems. The gonads are not just important for reproduction. The testicles and ovaries play a major role in the production of very important hormones that are involved in the proper function of the immune system. The main one for the purpose of this discussion is progesterone.

Progesterone is one of the most powerful anti-inflammatory agents that our body produces. It is actually stronger than cortisone. The testicles and the ovaries are the principle sources of this vital hormone. Thankfully, the adrenal glands also produce progesterone but they do so in much less quantity than the gonads. SO, should we be surprised to see a much higher rate of allergies in the neutered animal? How about "autoimmune diseases"? How about cancer??? Yes, all three of these are increased as a result of neutering.

This is the hot topic in cancer research in dogs. It started with the Rottweiler studies year ago, which showed a much higher rate of bone cancer in dogs that were spayed early. Cancer generally arises in areas of chronic inflammation so this should be no surprise.

Ask any post menopausal woman what they thought about going through "the change". It is not the dropping estrogen levels that did the most harm but rather the drop in progesterone that leads to the hot flashes, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid, strokes and heart attacks that often follow menopause. Thankfully, these are preventable with the correct approach but it is a significant battle because there are no dietary sources of progesterone like there are of estrogen.

In fact, our diet and environment are LOADED with estrogen, thus the problem we have with estrogen dominance- in both women and men...and dogs. Yes, we see less breast cancer in dogs who have been spayed BUT that is because we lower their overall estrogen load by removing their ovaries. Is that the right approach or would we be better off removing the outside sources of estrogen- those in their diet, their environment and in those horrible pesticides we pour all over them, all of which have estrogenic activity?

I came up with an analogy: Removing the dogs ovaries to prevent breast cancer is like taking off their legs so that they won't get hit by a car. Effective but the wrong way to go about it. When we remove their ovaries, we take away that all-important source of progesterone- for which there is no replacement- and leave them open to all of the forms of inflammation awaiting them, just like the post-menopausal woman.

In other words: Spaying is "surgical menopause" for the dog. Castration of the male is the same. We DO have surgical alternatives as discussed above. Will your vet look at you like you are nuts to ask for these alternatives? Yes, they will. But that is OUR problem as a profession, not yours for asking. We simply haven't thought things through...yet. But the time is coming for this change. This is common sense.

I hope this helps,
John

PS. And we can safely do vasectomies and hysterectomies ("partial spays") at any age we please, including the insanely early ages of before 4 months like they are doing in shelters. That is just nuts, even if we are focused on population control...like we should be. All it takes is a little thought and some basic understanding and this WILL change.