Gonadectomy in immature dogs: Effects on skeletal, physical and behavioral development (continued)
Comments related to orthopedics: "To our knowledge, there are no reports of musculoskeletal abnormalities associated with lack of gonadal hormones during development." "Dogs neutered prior to skeletal maturity might be more susceptible to sustaining traumatic Salter fractures for a longer period of time, compared to sexually intact dogs." Implications of this study (to me): When breeders look at neutered animals as an indication of the production of sire and dam, they should keep in mind that boys neutered prior to sexual maturity are likely to be about 9% leggier than they would have been if left intact and ES/N bitches are likely to be 11% leggier than their intact sisters, but those spayed at 7 months aren't significantly impacted. There is no indication of prepubertal neutering impacting hip and elbow development, however, there are no long term studies specifically evaluating this to the best of my knowledge. The growth plates of males neutered pre-pubertally and bitches spayed early (ie: 7 weeks) may be susceptible to damage for a longer period of time than animals kept intact longer. Since the longest avg timeframe for closure in this study of smaller dogs was 60 weeks, I'd go easy on BMD joints for the first 18 months or so. Non-skeletal findings: "The rate of weight gain (slope) was not affected by gonectomy, but males gained weight more rapidly than females. Although it is generally believed that neutering predisposes dogs to obesity, there is little scientific documentation of the predisposition." "All of the neutered dogs (ed. gender neutral) scored higher for "general activity" and Group 1 males scored higher for "excitability"; therefore, gonadectomy did not result in lethargy or inactivity during the evaluation period. More sophisticated behavioral studies have shown that castrating pups shortly after birth does not alter social interactions between dogs, nor does it totally eliminate masculine sexual behavior (ie:, mounting and thrusting) or urine marking. In addition, neutering 40 day old male pups did not affect aggressive/competitive behavior when early castrates and their sexually intact littermates competed for bones or estrous bitches." ***I found the following EXCEPTIONALLY interesting...especially if you're looking for a puppy/breeder*** "Behavioral problems were encountered in one litter. Fear biting, excessive aggression with other dogs, and shying away from strangers were exhibited by most of the dogs in litter 2. From a total of 3 females and 4 males in this litter, 2 males (Group 1 and Group 3) and 2 females (Group 2 and Group 3) were euthanized at the end of the study because of their untrustworthy behavior. One female (Group 1) and two males (Group 1 and 2) were adopted by families, but all 3 dogs ran away within 4 weeks of placement. The reason for the maladjusted social behavior may have been genetic or environmental." "The most striking differences in the development of secondary sexual characteristics were the immaturity of the prepuce, penis, and os penis in the Group 1 males." "The vulvas of both the Group 1 and Group 2 females were small and infantile, compared with sexually intact females, but no clinical problems were evident..." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -Sherri Venditti continued
