Spay/Neuter article

[Kayak]

Somebody posted this on another website and I thought it was a really interesting article to read in regards to spaying and neutering.

Gives a bit of a different perspective on the whole spay/neither topic.

Aggression toward Familiar People, Strangers, and Conspecifics in Gonadectomized and Intact Dogs

 

[Violet Turner]

very interesting! will read the rest later

 

[leashedForLife]

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I note that only "dogs gonadectomized between 6 & 12-months age" in their C-BARQ study were apparently more likely to be stranger-aggressive.
[Personally, i'd used 'desexed' rather than the overlong & awkward 'gonadectomized', or i'd even use 'neutered', since it applies to either sex - only 'spay' is gender-specific.]

That means that pediatric desex, done B4 3-MO, or pre-pubertal desex, done B4 the dog is 6-MO, both have another significant advantage - neither is likely to increase the risk of aggressive behavior toward strangers.

This jumped right out at me, QUOTE,
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"In their study of fatalities related to dog bites, Patronek et al. reported that dogs involved with dog-bite fatalities had seven factors in common that were more significant than breed (footnote 43).
At least four of the following factors were present in over 80% of the fatalities (in no particular order):
* the dog was kept isolated from regular positive interaction with humans rather than being a family dog,
* the owner had a history of prior mismanagement of dogs,
* the owner had a history of abuse or neglect of dogs,
* the victim had little or no relationship with the dog,
* the victim had a compromised ability to interact appropriately with the dog,
* an able-bodied individual was not present to intervene during the attack,
* and the owner failed to neuter the dog." [End quote]
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... bold & underline were added for emphasis. // It seems either Patronek et al believe that desexing M dogs reduces aggression, or the authors of the paper itself subconsciously still believe that... despite their overall conclusion that neutering neither reduces nor, except in the case of those Ms desexed between 6 & 12-mos age, increases the risk of aggression, later.


I don't know what the statistics might be in the UK, but here in the U-S, the standard profile of a dog who bites someone severely, either mauling or killing them, includes these factors:
- the dog lives outside the house, in a fenced run, inside a yard, or on a chain;
- the dog is untrained;
- the dog is an intact male dog, & he's typically 2-YO.

There are, of course, exceptions - F dogs, intact or not, who bite severely or maul someone or even kill them; neutered Ms, who do likewise. But the vast majority of dog-bites that don't merely need basic medical attn (to be flushed, maybe a stitch or 2 or a butterfly bandage, & a scrip for oral ABs to take along), but that require many stitches, skin grafts to close the wound/s, a hospital stay to recover, etc, are inflicted by untrained, socially isolated, intact-male adult dogs - per CDC stats, & hospital E-R records.

I'm not saying every intact-M dog is a dangerous animal! - not at all. Only that far-more intact-M dogs inflict serious injuries than would happen by sheer chance - they don't make up a majority of the dog-popn, in the USA, so the damage they cause is out of proportion to their numbers, if that makes sense?

I've attached a screenshot of an AVMA info-page on preventing dog-bites. Certainly, socializing, training, & keeping our dogs as pets, not barking yard-ornaments, would help reduce the number & severity of bites.
I can only hope that the other 90% of US-pet dog owners grow-up, & start training their dogs - it's really stunning to me that 40-years on, a mere 10% of pet-dogs in the USA are taught anything but to void outdoors, & maybe to sit for a treat. I can't imagine living with a k9 hoyden, who knew nothing other than "pee & poop outside", & "my name is No."

- terry

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