In the U.S., neutering dogs is one of the most common surgical procedures performed.  Why has the veterinary profession conducted so little prospective research to determine health benefits/risks for this surgery when performed at different ages?  Considering also differences among breeds and gender.  How does U.S. data differ from that in other countries?  

The Ethics of Animal Use book referenced in this article is available from Wiley: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-140515120X.html

Reading on Spay Neuter research: AKCCHF: 2013: Health Implications in Early Spay and Neuter in Dogs  <http://www.akcchf.org/news-events/news/health-implications-in-early.html>

Podcast: http://www.akcchf.org/educational-resources/podcasts/early-spay-and-neuter.html

And Viszla - New Evidence Shows Link Between Spaying, Neutering and Cancer

What do veterinarians say to their clients who ask about spaying or neutering their pet? What do breeders tell the people who purchase pet dogs? 

Read about AKCCHF Grants related to canine reproduction...

http://www.akcchf.org/news-events/news/akc-chf-therio-residency.html

http://www.akcchf.org/educational-resources/library/articles/collaboration.html

Another retrospective study >>> Reproductive capability is associated with life span and cause of death in companion animals.  http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0061082

These retrospective studies give us clues, but we need some well-designed prospective studies across gender, age and breeds.  A basic veterinary question that has not been adequately answered.   

Time of spay and neuter was the topic of the 2015 Colorado Veterinary Medical Association Big Ideas Forum that I attended (and Dr. Hart was one of 2 speakers). Part of the debate is that veterinarians have trouble agreeing on best time of spay and neuter because research can have conflicting results...especially if you bring specific breed considerations into the mix as well. 

http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.colovma.org/resource/resmgr/BIG_Ideas_speaker_presentations/Q&A_BIG_Ideas_Srping_2015.pdf

However ... veterinarians are advising clients on "best" time for neuter surgery.  So what is the strategy to get prospective research launched so that we have something better than our best guess? 

As noted by the other commenters, there are many ethical issues that veterinarians face today, especially relating to canine welfare.  While the veterinary schools still have a long way to go to covering these topics in the depth necessary for veterinary students to understand the complexities involved, what about veterinarians already out there in practice?  

As a member of the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association, I must applaud the CVMA on their Big Ideas Forums (mentioned by Kelly above), which they use to explore controversial topics in the veterinary profession by bringing in speakers, often on different sides of the issue, and facilitating discussion among veterinarians and veterinary students.  More opportunities for frank conversation about difficult topics is needed, including uncovering some of the gaps in our scientific knowledge of certain topics.  

http://www.akcchf.org/canine-health/your-dogs-health/determining-the-best-age-at.html

AKC Health Foundation - an older study -

Table 1. Breeds predisposed to various disorders and

Table 2. Conditions associated with ovariohysterectomy (spay)

Table 3. Conditions associated with castration

Optimal health management of the individual dog was/is my primary concern as a dog breeder/owner. Veterinarians are a part of that picture. 

So ... Basic question is "what are health and welfare implications across breeds and genders when neutering at different ages"?  What does a general practitioner, shelter worker, guide dog school, etc., advise based on solid science?

Here is another veterinary ethical issue >>> "How does our profession provide care to more and more pets owned by non-wealthy owners?  Plus, what are the standards of care that are based on evidence?  Quotes for routine dental cleanings now often over $1,000. 

A friend read Kelly's post and she came back to me with questions... related to utilization of genetic tests (the connection to dog's welfare / breed management) and vet's roles in assisting clients...

1.       Is there a place that a vet can look to see what common diseases are specific to each breed?

Breed specific dog clubs? Pet insurance companies? Testing Lab's websites? Universities/Research facillities?

2.       Is there a place that a vet can look to see what health tests are available to help control those diseases?

Where would you, as a vet, go to find this information? Are vets familiar with available tests, breed specific conditions/ diseases tests?

3.       Is there a place the vet can direct their client to discuss how to utilize those test results to try to reduce the chances of producing those diseases?

Registries? Dog clubs? The dog's breeder? AVMA - European equivalents? Pet insurance companies? Testing Lab's websites?

I'm not a vet! My only response to the 3 questions my friend asked is... I believe the time vets have to spend with each client is limited.

As an aside...I never had a vet provide counsel as to which genetic testing my dogs should have or use of tests information as it related to my breed or breeding program. (I worked with what I'd consider great, knowledgable vets!)

Providing veterinary care is a business - services offered aren't free.

The veterinary ethical issue Patricia has mentioned... how do vets provide care to the growing number of non-wealthy client's pets. Routine care of pets has gotten so costly that only the wealthy (those with 100's or even 1000's of dollars of expendable income annually) can afford to keep a 'healthy' dog, let alone afford to manage a dog with chronic or acute health issues - expenses like genetic testing, elective surgeries/procedures/routine maintenance (spay/neuter, dental cleaning, nail trimming, parasite control, vaccines, annual wellness exams, medications, even food) add up so quickly - treating a dog with a 'problem' 1000's - 10's of thousands - is the reality.

I would think a dog owner's finances might have a direct bearing on where their dog was obtained and that finances impact the veterinary care options that a given owner could take advantage of - including a vet's advising the owner as to best options given knowledge of the client's ability/willingness to pay for services.

I will weigh-in first on the spay/neuter (s/n) issue first.  As Patty has commented, we have had, for many decades in North America, very strong advice about age for elective s/n, but the guidelines were not based on particularly strong evidence.  Newer studies on retrospective, veterinary teaching hospital data are raising serious questions, but, may not really provide strong enough evidence to prompt broad-based policy changes.  Teaching hospital records generally have weak data for age-at-neuter, especially, and there may be many dogs with no information at all.  When we are not sure how representative these hospital (often referral) populations are for the larger dog population, dropping many potential subjects renders the possibility for error and bias even greater.  And the direction of any associations are very important… potential breeding animals that have, say, bad hip dysplasia test results, will likely be neutered…  but the orthopedic problem would not have been caused by the neutering.

And why is there such a dearth of prospective research in veterinary medicine?  And little focus on long term outcome evaluations?  Well, that could be the subject of several blogs and articles!  So, even though Ann has found lots of references to papers and discussions on s/n, very few, to date, have conclusive evidence across breeds and different populations. 

And, as much as owners and veterinarians are likely to focus on the individual dog, it must be remembered that s/n has presumably important implications at a population level.  In the USA, it is believed that without routine s/n, the unwanted dog problem would be much worse.  Most papers I have seen do not look at the big picture and certainly do not quantify the actual number of dogs who would be affected by problems purported to be influenced by s/n compared to the number of dogs potentially helped, or the number who might suffer if s/n guidelines were radically changed.  It might be worth pointing out that in Sweden, there have been extremely low rates of neutering, i.e. <7% of females and even lower numbers of males (data from the late ‘90s) and there is no dog-overpopulation problem.  Regardless, there is a high risk of orthopedic problems in, e.g. German Shepherd Dogs.  So, again, not a simple situation.

As Kelly has pointed out relative to several issues, it is very challenging to consider all the inputs and impacts simultaneously, but avoiding the true complexity of health and welfare issues, including the role of those pesky humans, is unlikely to fully support the dogs or their owners, in the long run.

On the issue of tools and information for veterinarians, IPFD through various programs and on DogWellNet.com is working to create just such resources.  This will best be served by increased participation across all stakeholder groups.

Thanks all for your participation.

Interesting new article about the importance of continued animal welfare education throughout the course of veterinary study. Check it out if interested!

http://jvme.utpjournals.press/doi/full/10.3138/jvme.0615-091R2

The AVMA has just published a model curriculum for teaching animal welfare in veterinary schools. Exciting to have increased awareness on this important topic. Hopefully with more education, we can address animal welfare concerns, such as this blog's comments regarding spay and neuter, in a more thoughtful and comprehensive way.  http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/full/10.2460/javma.250.6.632