Long-term health effects of neutering dogs: comparison of Labrador Retrievers with Golden Retrievers - PubMed (original) (raw)

Long-term health effects of neutering dogs: comparison of Labrador Retrievers with Golden Retrievers

Benjamin L Hart et al. PLoS One. 2014.

Abstract

Our recent study on the effects of neutering (including spaying) in Golden Retrievers in markedly increasing the incidence of two joint disorders and three cancers prompted this study and a comparison of Golden and Labrador Retrievers. Veterinary hospital records were examined over a 13-year period for the effects of neutering during specified age ranges: before 6 mo., and during 6-11 mo., year 1 or years 2 through 8. The joint disorders examined were hip dysplasia, cranial cruciate ligament tear and elbow dysplasia. The cancers examined were lymphosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, mast cell tumor, and mammary cancer. The results for the Golden Retriever were similar to the previous study, but there were notable differences between breeds. In Labrador Retrievers, where about 5 percent of gonadally intact males and females had one or more joint disorders, neutering at <6 mo. doubled the incidence of one or more joint disorders in both sexes. In male and female Golden Retrievers, with the same 5 percent rate of joint disorders in intact dogs, neutering at <6 mo. increased the incidence of a joint disorder to 4-5 times that of intact dogs. The incidence of one or more cancers in female Labrador Retrievers increased slightly above the 3 percent level of intact females with neutering. In contrast, in female Golden Retrievers, with the same 3 percent rate of one or more cancers in intact females, neutering at all periods through 8 years of age increased the rate of at least one of the cancers by 3-4 times. In male Golden and Labrador Retrievers neutering had relatively minor effects in increasing the occurrence of cancers. Comparisons of cancers in the two breeds suggest that the occurrence of cancers in female Golden Retrievers is a reflection of particular vulnerability to gonadal hormone removal.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1. Incidence of the occurrence of at least one joint disorder in male and female Golden Retrievers (top) and Labrador Retrievers (bottom), as a function of age at neutering.

The occurrences in intact males and females for the same measure are shown by the horizontal lines. The asterisks indicate significance from the intact level, and the abbreviations reveal the joint disorders contributing to the dots when significant.

Figure 2

Figure 2. Incidence of the occurrence of at least one cancer in male and female Golden Retrievers (top) and Labrador Retrievers (bottom), as a function of age at neutering.

The occurrences in intact males and females for the same measures are shown by the horizontal lines. The asterisks indicate significance from the intact level, and the abbreviations reveal the cancers contributing to the dots when significant.

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