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Originally Posted by gemy  Phil this study only looked at two cancers and looking at this study *only* and only two health concerns one could certainly conclude that for YTs; *females only* spaying is the way to go, also you and I know that for toy breeds as far as the research that has been previously posted here, give or take a 5% margin of difference multiple studies conclude the risk of pyrometra escalates with each unbreed season generally speaking. But the study doesn't as far as I am aware denote increasing risk for either pyro or MT for spaying at any age. The risk of mammary tumours has not been broken down - they did not compare to spayed females for example. But the risk does increase for all breeds of dogs as far as I can tell.
They did not make this at the minimum an all cancer inclusive survey - and I wonder why or why not?
And of course this is one study that needs to be like all others weighed against other bodies of studies.
Thanks again Phil for forwarding the PDF file :-)
As Misty said this is a study that only looked at reproductive issues and those only in females and not males. |
Good point on this study ONLY referring to unspayed female dogs. It says nothing about male dogs. I *think* that this study only includes pyometra and mammary tumors because those are the "traditional" risk factors associated with not spaying, and this *is* a study of unspayed females.
I'm guessing that there wasn't an unspayed cohort for comparison because this study was conducted in Sweden, where spaying is uncommon. It would be wonderful to see a study conducted in a country where data for spayed and unspayed females are available. It would also be interesting to see a study based on age or heat cycles, and the effects of spaying before first heat. The insurance data wouldn't be able to track heat cycles, though. To use a well-worn cliche, the study is what it is
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