As responsible pet owners, we are constantly told that neutering our pups is the best move to ensure we are doing what we can to prevent pet overpopulation – but new research has come out that has found early neutering procedures could, in fact, be contributing to their notorious joint disorders.
Experts from the journal of Veterinary Medicine and Science are now suggesting that delaying the procedure until they are one year old or later could dramatically decrease the likelihood of developing joint disorders such as cranial cruciate ligament, or CCL, tears.
“Debilitating joint disorders of hip dysplasia, CCL and elbow dysplasia can shorten a dog’s useful working life and impact its role as a family member,” said lead investigator Benjamin Hart, a distinguished professor emeritus in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. “Simply delaying the spay/neuter until the dog is a year old can markedly reduce the chance of a joint disorder.”
German shepherds are renowned for their intelligence, obedience, and loyalty making them ideal candidates for police dogs and military work. Unfortunately, their next biggest identifier is their joint problems.
Most dog owners in the US are told to spay or neuter their dogs prior to 6 months of age, however in Europe neutering is generally avoided and not promoted by animal health care professionals.
What’s more is that this research is corroborated by many other studies that looked at the same relationship between joint disorders and early neutering in different dog breeds such as golden retrievers.
Much of this can be broken down to the fact that neutering removes the male and female sex hormones which play a vital role in important body processes such as the closure of bone growth plates.
The study examined veterinary hospital records over a 14.5 year period on 1170 dogs who were both intact and neutered. Seven percent of intact males were diagnosed with one or more joint disorders, compared to 21 percent of males neutered prior to a year of age. In intact females, 5 percent were diagnosed with one or more joint disorders, while in females neutered prior to 1 year of age this measure was significantly increased to 16 percent.
Researchers hoped that these findings provide evidence-based guidelines for deciding the right age to neuter a puppy to reduce the risk of one or more joint disorders
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source: 99 Teen Now
