Dorothy's Page
A page for and about Sheltie Rescue.
The value of spay/neuter
From Dr. Tracy Land, DVM of Project Spay/Neuter, Inc.
Dr. Land says....
"As to the concern about increased blockage or urinary tract disease - this
stems from initial concerns that since males castrated early do have a smaller penis, it would seem logical to assume that the urethra (the tube carrying urine from the bladder to the outside) would also be smaller, and therefore more easily blocked. However, studies going back to the seventies have consistently shown that the urethra itself is no smaller. It is the glandular tissue in the penis surrounding the urethra that is smaller. These are very easily measured and the findings clear. In fact, the more recent long term studies in cats are actually showing a lower instance of urinary tract disease in early castrates, much to everyone's surprise."
The reference for this is Lisa Howe, DVM, PhD, DACVS, Texas A&M, published in
Journal of the American Veterinary Association, Dec 2000
As to growth plate closure she writes, "Excellent studies came out of the
University of Florida about a decade ago. reference: Katherine Salmeri DVM &
Mark Bloomberg DVM, published in Journal of the American Veterinary
Association, April 1991"
"These studies compared mix breed dogs that averaged about 60# at 15months of
age, with Group I sterilized at 7 weeks of age, Group II at 7 months of age, and Group III remained unaltered as controls. Closure of the growth plates is easily measured on X-Rays, and early sterilization does delay closure of the growth plates, more so in males than females. Dogs sterilized at 7 months will close on average 3 months later than those not spayed or neutered at all. Dogs sterilized at 7 weeks will close on average 4 months later that those left intact. This allows the dogs to grow slightly taller, directly opposite of the stunted growth that was originally feared. The biggest difference is seen between males neutered at 7 weeks and intact males - 1.5cm on average (in a 60# dog)"Dr. Land seems to agree. She says, "The bottom line, I think, is that if anyone is worried about stunted growth - don't.... If you want tiny dogs, there may be some logic in delaying sterilization, but in a small dog, the difference is going to be so small, I really don't see the point."