The Dangers of Spaying and Neutering
You don't have to be a medical expert to know when something is not quite right. Use your common sense, just think, and listen to your gut feeling and you will start to understand the TRUTH.
When your dog or cat is sitting on the cold hard metal table-- what do you care about? Social and Political Agendas or the Health of your Pet?
Just think! Just think! Don't be fooled! Did they tell you spaying and neutering was healthy for your pet? Did they fail to disclose the negative health risks? Have you been sold a bill of goods by your VET?
According to Veterinarian Associations, "the health concerns of spaying and neutering is a multifaceted problem that must include social issues." If pushed for a direct answer they assert that social issues outweigh the health of your pet! What they fail to tell us is that spaying and neutering carries significant health risks.
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Complications - many lifetime health factors occur in 20-25% of spayed and neutered pets - many of which will go unreported. And you, the pet owner, pay for the lifetime of medical cost. The vet makes a bundle.
Behavior problems - it's a myth that spaying and neutering improves the behavior of animals - it's not always true. In fact, in many cases, it makes pets worse. A small example of some of the negative behaviors exhibited due to spaying and neutering include shyness, increased aggression, and timidness.
Some "health professionals" have placed a social-political agenda ahead of the health of your pet. When your dog or cat is sitting on the cold hard metal table-- what do you care about? Social and Political Agendas or the Health of your Pet? What are you paying the Vet for -- a social political opinion -- or a medical opinion that only concerns the health of your pet?
Does your Pet's Health come First?
Every pet owner I talk with wants the Health of their Pet to be number one. Yet veterinarian associations say that social issues are more important then the health of your pet. Sorry, they say, but the health of your pet comes second, behind Social and Political Agendas.
The average pet owner is under the assumption that s/n is beneficial and carries no negative health effects.
Tampering with the hormonal system of your pet causes a multitude of health issues. Just as it would with human beings. One of the reasons the American people have reached historical levels of obesity, can in part, be attributed to chemical and other types of damage to our hormonal system. That's why dieting and exercise just doesn't work for a large number of people. Spaying and Neutering is highly destructive to an animal's hormonal balance. It could take decades to discover all the negative health issues related to spaying and neutering. We do know that it slows metabolism and causes weight gain and all the associated health problems.
Animals, dogs and cats, are similar to people. That's why they use animals to test products and drugs. Would neutering be beneficial or healthy for a human male? Would a hysterectomy be healthy for a human female? Obviously castration and hysterectomies would not prove healthy for humans. And they would cause very serious health damaging effects. The same is true of your pet.
There are no health benefits to routine castrations and hysterectomies. These operations are driven by Social and Political agendas.
Every year, there are still millions of unnecessary surgeries performed on human beings; including hysterectomies. Imagine the abuse that is being performed on pets! Unfortunately, pets can't talk and tell us what they feel.
Some of the Negative Health Effects of Spay/Neuter on Dogs
Mandatory spay/neuter will not improve the health of pets. This is not a "health" initiative. The evidence indicates that spay/neuter, especially early spay/neuter as would be mandated by PBC will in fact damage the health of many dogs and cats.
An objective reading of the veterinary medical literature reveals a confused and complex situation with respect to the long-term health impacts of spay/neuter in dogs. More than anything the literature shows how little Vets really understand about this subject at the present time.
On balance, using their own literature, it appears that no compelling case can be made for neutering male dogs, (especially immature male dogs) in order to prevent future health problems. The number of health problems associated with neutering exceeds the alleged health benefits.
On the positive side, neutering male dogs eliminates the small risk (probably <1%) of dying from testicular cancer. This in our opinion is not a health benefit.
Through a healthy lifestyle, including the feeding of nutritionally prepared meals, we believe most if not all cancers can be reduced. Castrating a dog to reduce testicular cancer is like cutting off your thumb so you will never hit it with a hammer. Not too smart, especially in light of the overwhelming and damaging effect to health caused by castration. From the Vet's own literature we find the following:
Negative Effects of Neutering Male Dogs
If done before maturity, increases the risk of osteosarcoma (bone cancer) by a factor of 3.8; this is a common cancer in medium/large and larger breeds with a poor prognosis
Increases the risk of cardiac hemangiosarcoma by a factor of 1.6; this is a common cancer and major cause of death in some breeds
Triples the risk of hypothyroidism
Increases the risk of geriatric cognitive impairment
Triples the risk of obesity, and with it many of the associated health problems
Quadruples the small risk (<0.6%) of prostate cancer
Doubles the small risk (<1%) of urinary tract cancers
Increases the risk of orthopedic disorders
Increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccinations
Negative behavior problems
Beneficial Claims made for Female Dogs
Spaying female dogs, if done before 2.5 years of age, they claim will reduce the risk of mammary tumors, but it does not eliminate them! Mammary tumors are common tumors in female dogs - most of these tumors - the vast majority are noncancerous. We also believe they are preventable through proper feeding of healthy home prepared meals and a healthy lifestyle.
Spaying they claim also reduces, but does not eliminate, the risk of pyometra, which otherwise would infect about 23% of intact female dogs; pyometra kills about 1% of intact female dogs but is also kills spayed dogs. The issue, however, is highly controversial. More studies need to be conducted. We believe that improvement in medical treatment will reduce and possibly eliminate this risk. We also believe many of the deaths associated with pyometra were due to Vet or medical error and misdiagnosis. And once again, we believe that improving the health and immune system of an animal through nutritional support can reduce this risk.
Removes the very small risk (<0.5%) from uterine, cervical, and ovarian tumor --that's less than 1/2 of 1 percent for tumors - many of which are noncancerous! , Obviously you cannot get tumors of organs that do not exist.
Negative Health Effects of spaying female dogs
If done before maturity, increases the risk of osteosarcoma by a factor of 3.1; this is a common cancer in larger breeds with a poor prognosis
Increases the risk of splenic hemangiosarcoma by a factor of 2.2 and cardiac hemangiosarcoma by a factor of more than 5; this is a common cancer and major cause of death in some breeds
Triples the risk of hypothyroidism
Increases the risk of obesity by a factor of 1.6 - 2, and with it the many associated health problems
Causes urinary spay incontinence in 4-20% of female dogs
Increases the risk of persistent or recurring urinary tract infections by a factor of 3-4
Increases the risk of recessed vulva, vaginal dermatitis, and vaginitis, especially for female dogs spayed before puberty
Doubles the small risk (<1%) of urinary tract tumors
Increases the risk of orthopedic disorders
Increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccinations
Negative behavior problems - increases aggression, timidness, shyness depending on the animal
One thing is clear -- practically all the spay/neuter information that is available to the public is unbalanced and contains claims that are exaggerated or unsupported by evidence. Rather than helping to educate pet owners, much of this has contributed to common misunderstandings about the long-term health impacts of spay/neuter in dogs.
Proponents of spaying and neutering are compelled to preach health benefits that simply may not exist. At the same time they ignore health dangers that are very real. Their agenda however is primarily focused on social or political issues, not health.
The traditional spay/neuter age of six months as well as the modern practice of pediatric spay/neuter appear to predispose dogs to health risks that could otherwise be avoided by waiting until the dog is physically mature, or (perhaps in the case of many male dogs) foregoing it altogether unless medically necessary.
The balance of long-term health risks and benefits of spay/neuter will vary from one dog to the next. Across-the-board assertions that spay/neuter will improve the health of all pet dogs is not supportable from findings in the veterinary medical literature. This is especially true of spay/neutering before physical maturity.
Our belief is that spaying and neutering should be reserved for emergency medical reasons only - not population control. And especially not for political monetary reasons!
Any surgical or health decision should be made by pet owners after being told the complete truth regarding any and all health risks. It is not the right of Government to get involved in the health decisions that affect our pets! It's time to put government in it's place as a servant to citizens. It's time the tail stops wagging the dog! Tell your commissioners to STOP mandatory spaying and neutering. STOP it Now.
If you love animals - cats and dogs - join us in the fight to
Save our Pets from being Euthanized and from Mandatory Spaying and Neutering.
Paul Barrett, is the founder of
The Coalition to STOP Mandatory Spaying and Neutering
www.stop-msn.com
Copyright 2007 all rights reserved
No matter whether you oppose mandatory spay/neuter or support it, if you love animals, you owe it to them, and to yourself, to read this book by Nathan J. Winograd.
This is the story of animal sheltering in the United States, a movement that was born of compassion and then lost its way. It is the story of the No Kill movement, which says we can and must stop the killing. It is about heroes and villains, betrayal and redemption. And it is about a social movement as noble and just as those that have come before. But most of all, it is a story about believing in the community and trusting in the power of compassion.
