Meanwhile... Back at the Ranch... Episode 86 (Audio)

This is a discussion that I have wanted to talk bout for a very long time. Getting Dr. Reno can be difficult as she is very busy but this week we snagged her.

The topic that I wanted to discuss is the subject of spaying and neutering our dogs and the controversy with many that spaying and neutering large dogs or giant dogs too early leads to a higher incidence of joint disorders. At this point in time it seems to have just become fact and we hear it over and over again from clients that they want to wait until their dog is 14 to 24 months old before spaying and neutering, but I think you need to consider all of the information before making your decision based on this one study. There are many things to consider and that is why I wanted to talk about this subject.

This information came from a study out of UC Davis almost 10 years ago and what we discuss is in my opinion and Dr. Reno's opinion that the study is very limited to be basing all of our decisions on it. What doesn't get factored in these decisions is the behavioral issues that arise from not spaying and neutering dogs until they are adults.. That is what we discuss in this podcast. At Lone Star Dog Ranch a dogs behavior is let to being a happy social dog that is able to stay with us and we feel that behavior is ignored in these decisions that  families are making based on this study and the results of 759 Golden Retrievers only from the age of 1 to 8.

I will include the study here if you would like to read it for yourself.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0055937