When to Spay/Neuter

A short excerpt from an excellent article in the September 2023 NAVHDA Magazine: Special Considerations for Hunting Dogs by Dr. Mark Olcott, DVM.

Spay/Neuter

There’s probable no area of veterinary medicine that has undergone a larger mind shift over the last 5 years then when to spay or neuter your dog.  First, let me define a few terms.  Spaying is the term we use to define the removal of a female’s reproductive organs.  Neutering, while technically means removing the reproductive organs in either sex, in common usage refers to removing the testicles (i.e., castration) from a make.

For many years, early-age spay and neuter (i.e., 3-9 months of age) was the mantra for veterinary medicine.  The main reason for this was to try the pet overpopulation under control, and veterinarians didn’t really think there would be any deleterious health effects.  Research is now proving what many of us have long suspected, namely, that removing these vital sex hormones at so an early an age while dogs are still growing CAN, in fact, have a downside.

For example, according to a recent UC Davis study, cranial cruciate (a ligament in side the knee; “ACL” in human medicine) disease is dramatically more prevalent in female dogs spayed before their first heat cycle.  There are other protective benefits to waiting until skeletal maturity to spay/neuter your dog, and it seems like the larger the dog, the greater the benefit.  As Dr. Meg Puchlerez recently wrote in an excellent Project Upland article, “For sporting dogs weighing under 100 pounds, waiting to neuter or spay your dog until they’re 1 or 2 years old is recommended.  This allows for proper bone growth, joint development, and growth plate closure.  For most families that own a female dog, this means they will need to plan for 1 or 2 heat cycles.”

Bear I mind that smaller breeds, like Brittany Spaniels, stop growing and reach skeletal maturity at a much younger age than larger breeds, like Spinones, whi may not reach full growth plate closure until almost 2 years of age.  In this example, spaying the Brittany at 1 year of age is probably fine, while the Spinone might do better to wait until she is 2.  I recognize that this means owners of female puppies would have to let their dog go through at least 1, maybe 2, heat cycles prior to spaying them, but a growing body of evidence shows that it’s worth it.

Click here to read the entire article:  VHD Library – NAVHDA

Related:  Some veterinarians in the US are now doing “ovary-saving spays” which purportedly maintain the sex hormones throughout the life of the dog.  While this is relatively new in veterinary medicine, it is something to consider for those of you with female dogs.  In June 2023 Castiron Kennels had an ovary-saving spay done on Remi, one of their female Picardy Spaniels, as spays done on some of their other females have resulted in incontinence in later life.  They wanted to try to avoid this common side-effect of spaying as well as to maintain Remi’s hormone levels to help keep her healthy throughout the rest of her life.  Castiron Kennels suggest that the earliest a Picardy Spaniel be spayed or neutered is 2 years of age, if at all.

Ric, Ellen and their 4 Picardy Spaniels live in New Glarus, WI just 25 minutes southwest of Madison.  A lifelong hunter, Ric has trained and hunted Small Munsterlanders, Gordon Setters, and for the past 6 years Picardy Spaniels.  Ellen has an extensive background in animal genetics and a PhD in Reproductive Physiology.  She bred and trained Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs prior to Picardy Spaniels.