The discussion of spaying and neutering is complicated. There’s new research out in the last few years on when or if to alter your dogs, but there’s also the concern of overpopulation and that altering your pets is the responsible thing to do. Bob Barker made that idea a nationwide issue!
So how do you decide what the right thing to do is? First and foremost, talk to your pet professionals. Your vet (and if you have one, your canine physical therapist) should be your first stop for recommendations. Do your own research, ask your trainer, and consider your goals with your dog. Every dog and situation is unique, so the decision you make is a personal one.
A thought, as you weigh your options, that it may be helpful to share my own experience with neutering. I’ve had dogs for over 20 years, and have neutered early as well as neutered late. My own beliefs around altering pets has changed over the years.
Our first rat terrier, Franky, was neutered around 12 weeks of age. At the time, the fears around keeping pets intact were really big and heavy. There was (and still is) a big movement to neuter young to prevent cancer and to reduce overpopulation. We were also afraid that keeping him intact would lead to unwanted behaviors like marking, humping, and running away to try and mate. We definitely didn’t want to deal with any of that! Plus, we knew we wanted to adopt a second dog so Franky could have a friend, and no rescue would adopt to us if we had an intact male.
We’ve adopted four dogs over the years, and two of them were altered at 12 weeks, and two were altered later in life. What we’ve found out in more recent research is that there are big issues with neutering and spaying too early – it can result in structural issues, such as higher risk for orthopedic injuries like CCL tears, overall health, and behavior problems too. Unfortunately, people are not discussing this as loudly as the “reduce overpopulation” issue.
After expanding my knowledge, and experiencing the negative effects of early neutering in our previous dogs, I decided our next dogs would have a different experience. Norby, our 8 year old Toy Fox Terrier, joined our family at 8 weeks of age. His breeder did not require we alter him at a specific age. We knew we did not want to show him in conformation or breed him, so we decided we would assess him as an individual to determine if and when to neuter him.
Until Norby, I’d never lived with an adult intact dog. I think many of our students haven’t either. Here’s what we learned from this experiment:
- We did not experience an increase in behavior issues such as dog aggression, testosterone induced humping, or roaming to mate.
- We did see occasional indoor marking.
We recently decided to neuter Norby, but not because his testicles were causing any problems. At 8 years old, we decided to alter him to reduce the risk of future health problems (neutered dogs can’t get testicular cancer!), plus he was already getting lab work and being put under for a dental.
What has been interesting is that since we neutered Norby in January of 2024, he seems more at ease. Yes, he can still be sensitive around other dogs, and sometimes struggles with his emotions. Even with that said, it feels like he’s still 10% happier without the testosterone running though his body. He’s also recently been more interested in building a relationship with my husband (who is also making more of an effort).
So, where does this leave us on when/if to spay and neuter? I don’t know. It’s still complicated and every situation is different. But I do think it’s time we move away from asking ourselves the question of “when should we spay or neuter” and start looking at a better question: “why?”