Canine Sports Productions: Early Spay-Neuter Considerations for the Canine Athlete
I've attached one link that talks about this issue, but there are many, many more sites, that incorporate recent (let's say past 5-7 yrs of research), by unbiased evaluators of the multiplicity of research available on this subject.
For many pet owners, it is almost an automatic decision to spay and neuter their pet. After all the vet recommends it, rescue does it as a matter of policy, your breeder wants it, and everywhere you turn you are advised to spay and or neuter your pet.
You are told categorically that it is overwhelming
better for the health of your pet: well that is not "categorically so". Research throws some clear light onto this matter.
What I believe you need to separate out from all this is a couple of things; one: there is a pet overpopulation problem (and if you spay and neuter obviously you can't contribute to this), and the vested interests of both vets and breeders and rescues to spay and neuter.
Vets have an economic interest in the spay and neuter process. Breeders want to protect their lines, and make sure their lines are not deliberately or inadvertenly bred.
So as a concerned pet owner and a Responsible one, what do you do?
In my opinion first you want to make sure that the growth plates are closed before any spay and or neutering is considered. It is different for each breed of dog, and also within each line of that breed. But not for almost all breeds before 12 months of age, and in some 18 to 24 months ( eg:large breed dogs). I say this because early and especially very early neutering and spaying prior to 5 mths old, result in structural abnormalities and their resultant cocommittant osteopaedic problems that a pet owner should not have to deal with. Not to mention the increased risk of cancer, ligament tears, and dysplasia.
What does this mean to you as a dog owner?. For females they will go through at least one heat and maybe two,
and must be safeguarded from breeding. Safeguarding does
NOT mean belly bands and panties, but crates and separate feeding and exercise times for 5 wks or maybe 6wks, starting from as early as 6mths old for toy breeds, or 9 mths old for larger breeds, once heat has commenced.
For the male puppy, you make sure they don't roam free, and if they mark their territory so be it. You can with effort (akin to housebreaking) train your male not to mark in the house.
The research is clear at least for males, and somewhat less clear for females, that only looking at "health" and not other issues, that for the majority of male dogs, neutering Does Not provide significantly increased health over the long term, in fact the opposite.
Some fallacies that seem to be negated when studies are examined:
Neutering makes behavioural (beneficial changes in the males), specifically aggression..... Not so, In fact more aggression is observed in neutered males.
Neutering makes marking less....... Not clear or proven
Spay incontinence is so common; a term which was developed to describe what can happen after spay/neuter. This means your dog female or male. can't hold their bladder, and you as the pet owner must constantly over the life of your pet be prepared to clean up after urine discharge.
Believe you me, I don't want irresposnible breeding, but I don't want others to be sold a bill of goods either. That bill being, spaying/neutering is categorically good for the
health of your pet.