spay and neuter

At Pickwick pugs we require, like all reputable breeders, that new owners sign a contract. For us it is an opportunity to share our philosophy, advice, and expectations about the puppy or pug we are entrusting to someone. We sign the contract as well which reminds us of the enormous responsibility being undertaken and codifies all the important things we know have helped us ensure healthy lives for our pugs and that we know will help the new owners. If a puppy is sold with full registration as a show prospect, the contract is quite different and the puppy is required to complete an AKC championship and all suggested health screening. Most puppies are placed as companions/pets with AKC "limited registration" which means they can participate in all AKC events except conformation. A puppy sold with limited registration is not to be bred at any time in its life and is required to be spayed/neutered at the appropriate age. 

But what is the appropriate age?

In general, this will be closer to 18 months of age.

Early spay/neuter can have detrimental effects on a dog's future health. 
There is a growing body of research that suggests that spaying and neutering dogs before puberty may compromise its future health, and lead to a tendency toward shyness and insecure behavior. 

Orthopedic development: Spaying/neutering puppies before full maturity, especially young dogs of large or giant breeds, can affect orthopedic development. Hormones play a role in instructing growth plates when to close, and early neutering may keep growth plates open longer, potentially causing orthopedic imbalances.  ​

Hormones play a role in instructing growth plates when to close, and early neutering may keep growth plates open longer, potentially causing orthopedic imbalances."

Currently, our contract requires that spay/neuter not be completed before 6 months of age but we are going to be rewriting the contract (for future owners) to more clearly define what constitutes a healthy age and explain why. Perhaps we will state 12-18 months or perhaps "that a female puppy not be spayed until a minimum of 3 months after the completion of her first cycle." We are still researching the latest data being collected over the last few years regarding the dangers of early spay/neuter.

Did you know that if the puppy shows any signs of not being toilet trained correctly, vets recommend waiting until at least after the first heat. Yes, you read that correctly! Early spay does NOT help with potty training. Neutering after puberty allows sex hormones to tighten muscles, which can resolve issues like urinary sphincter mechanism incompetence (USMI). Neutering before puberty may prevent this natural muscle tightening process.

Gonadectomy, commonly referred to as spay or neuter or castration, consists of the removal of reproductive organs and is commonly employed for pet population control and to confer health and behavior benefits. In the US dogs are generally neutered after the age of 6 months and 64% of dogs are neutered. In contrast to the US, some countries view neutering as an unnecessary or undesirable procedure. Sweden has a 98.9% intact rate for dogs and other regions in Europe and South America also have high frequency of intact dogs. Despite being one of the most common procedures by veterinarians in the United States, recent reports outline detrimental health impacts of neutering in the dog.

According to an article, "Gonadectomy effects on the risk of immune disorders in the dog; a retrospective study" published online by the National Library of Medicine (National Center for Biotechnology Information), December 6, 2016: "Gonadectomy is one of the most common procedures performed on dogs in the United States. Neutering has been shown to reduce the risk for some diseases although recent reports suggest increased prevalence for structural disorders and some neoplasias. The relation between neuter status and autoimmune diseases as not been explore. This study evaluated the prevalence and risk of atopic dermatitis (ATOP), autoimmune hemolyctic anemia (AIHA), canine myasthenia gravis (CMG), colitis (COL), hypoadrenocorticism (ADD), hypothyroidism (HYPO), immune-mediated polyarthritis (IMPA), immune-mediated thrombocytopenia (ITP), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), lupus erythematosus (LUP), and pemphigus complex (PEMC), for intact females, intact males, neutered females, and neutered males. Pyometra (PYO) was evaluated as a control condition."

Neutered dogs had a significantly greater risk of [immune-mediated disease]."

"RESULTS: Patient records (90,090) from the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at the University of California, Davis from 1995 to 2010 were analyzed in order to determine the risk of immune-mediated disease relative to neuter status in dogs. Neutered dogs had a significantly greater risk of ATOP, AIHA, ADD, HYPO, ITP, and IBD than intact dogs with neutered females being at greater risk than neutered males for all but AIHA and ADD. Neutered females, but not males, had a significantly greater risk of LUP than intact females. Pyometra was a greater risk for intact females."

Skeletal development is regulated by gonadal hormones signaling closure of the physes of long bones; neutering prior to closure can result in elongated long bones potentially contributing to joint disorders being more prevalent in dogs neutered before puberty."

"Neutering dogs has been shown to reduce the risk of certain reproductive problems such as mammary cancer, pyometra, or testicular cancer. However, recent publication shave described health impairments caused by neutering with the majority of these studies focused on cancer and orthopedic conditions with only a few studies assessing metabolic impacts. For example, neutered dogs have a decreased energy requirement and may become obese, and young dogs with immature thermoregulation, hepatic, renal, and protein binding function may be sensitive to the neutering surgical procedure. Skeletal development is regulated by gonadal hormones signaling closure of the physes of long bones; neutering prior to closure can result in elongated long bones potentially contributing to joint disorders being more prevalent in dogs neutered before puberty. An increased prevalence of various neoplasms has also been correlated with gonadal function, as evidenced by the presence of gonadal hormone receptors in some neoplastic tissues. A threefold increase in transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder for both sexes when neutered has been reported. Moreover, hemangiosarcoma, osteosarcoma, and lymphosarcoma also show an increase in prevalence in neutered dogs compared to intact dogs. Neutering is also associated with increased life expectancy, however compared to intact dogs, neutered dogs have an increased risk of death more from cancer and immune-mediated diseases and less from infections, trauma, and vascular disease."

Compared to intact dogs, neutered dogs have an increased risk of death more from cancer and immune-mediated diseases and less from infections, trauma, and vascular disease."

"Ablation of the thymus, the tissue in which T lymphocytes mature, disrupts gonadal development, reduces sex steroid production, and interrupts reproductive cycles, whereas male mice neutered at an early age show delayed thymic involution, thymic hyperplasia and depressed humoral and cell-mediated immune function when given testosterone.

CONCLUSIONS: The data underscore the importance of sex steroids on immune function emphasizing a role of these hormones on tissue self-recognition. Neutering is critically important for population control, reduction of reproductive disorders, and offers convenience for owners. Despite these advantages, the analyses of the present study suggest that neutering is associated with increased risk for certain autoimmune disorders and underscore the need for owners to consult with their veterinary practitioner prior to neutering to evaluate possible benefits and risks associated with such  procedure." (Read more)

So given all of this research, why compromise your puppy's future health and life by spaying/neutering too early (before a puppy reaches full maturity), stunting orthopedic development? Why fool with a $6,000 surgery (plus more thousands in rehab) simply because you spayed/neutered your pug too early and it injured itself simply because of the way it stepped over a log, or jumped off your sofa? Why significantly increase your risk that your puppy may be deformed for life after such an injury?

The orthopedic concern is of primary importance when considering pugs because, as a breed, pugs have so many challenges with regard to hips, patellas, spines, and things like pug myelopathy.

Unfortunately, because many of the new doggy daycares, dog parks, and training facilities require that a dog be spayed/neutered, it can be quite frustrating to owners when they don't have access to these facilities at one of the most important times --puppyhood!

For responsible and ethical pet owners, however, it is not an option to compromise a puppy's future health, stunt its growth, even setup the pug to not be able to walk well as an adult because of poorly developed joints and hips etc., because of early spay/neuter .... simply for convenience sake and to make a facility's job easier.

I'll digress briefly to discuss possible concerns with daycares, injuries, and general pug safety.

We are lucky at Pickwick Pugs to have access to an amazing training facility which is willing to work with our intact pugs -- from Puppy K and beyond. 

Roverchase also boards, but we prefer to hire an in-house pet sitter. We find this helps prevent exposure to Kennel Cough and other illnesses. In the past, when we boarded our pugs at the vet, they almost always came home with some illness -- despite the fact that they received all recommended vaccinations. Plus, dogs like routine, so an in-home pet sitter helps maintain their routine as closely as possible.

This doesn't stop us from getting out and about town with our pugs. We go places, and even have a membership to a private dog park (which requires temperament evaluations). (We do go at low-traffic times of the day when there are not many dogs present.) Of course, all of these outings are done after puppy vaccinations are completed.

When a pug "runs with the big dogs" there is always a risk of an eye injury, or loss of eye or eyesight. There's always a risk of injury, but this can happen at home, too, if a puppy is not supervised and ramps are not provided and taught. A pug can even lose an eye when playing with other small dogs. We learned this the hard way with a pug we owned years ago in the 1990s who lost an eye from simply playing with my mother's 2 small dogs in the kitchen while we were out eating dinner at a restaurant. It wasn't a fight ... just playing ... but they were unsupervised and an injury can happen in the blink of an eye (no pun intended).

We have learned the hard way that not all dog trainers, pet sitters, dog walkers, (even lifelong dog owners and professional handlers) necessarily understand how to properly care for a pug. We once hired a pet sitter to stay in our home; we assumed she would be pug-savvy because she owned a pug herself (her photo shot was of her holding her pug). Alas, she had not owned this pug long and had never owned a pug prior. She did not understand the problems associated with eye ulcers and injuries (the pug had been squinting for almost the entire week and she never told us .... as she was not concerned and didn't know she should be concerned). That pug almost lost the eye. We once had a junior (that's a younger dog show handler-in-training) to show a pug for us in the Beginner Puppy Class. We were there, in the ring, showing a different 4 month old puppy. We assumed she was savvy since she showed another breed, had grown up in a handler home, and was at dog shows since she could barely walk. Alas, we looked back while walking around the ring and she was almost dragging the pug puppy (who was afraid to walk on the wet grass). As all pug owners know, you can't pull on a leash lest risking trachea collapse and death. Indeed, this puppy was almost about to pass out and it happened in a millisecond. Amy stopped walking, apologized to the judge, and went back to help the girl and whisper in her ear how to lure the puppy etc.) Now, if we ever have ANYONE hold the leash attached to one of our pugs, we give them a long loooooong lecture of all the things they need to be aware of (avoid prickly leaves or rose bushes, never pull or jerk the leash/collar, avoid hot pavement, bring water, stay in the shade, avoid going out during the hot times of the day, bring a small fan or cooling jacket, wear a life preserver if going anywhere water -- even a simple stream -- etc. etc.) It offends longtime dog professionals, but our pugs keep their eyes and eyesight intact and they stay alive.

It's up to you to educate. Never assume people, even professionals, (even vets), understand pugs.

(Brachycephalic breeds require a different approach to anesthesia. Make sure you choose your vets wisely.)
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​Regarding boarding and training facilities, I would venture to say that there are some Roverchase-type facilities near you who are dog savvy and willing to explore alternate options for puppies. Have conversations, explain your reasoning, and go beyond what is published on their website as their "standard protocols." With the smaller, show-friendly facilities, you might just find your perfect match. However, with many of these new, shiny, mega chains like Camp BowWow which have sprung up since the pandemic it seems, (in my personal opinion), that they are more concerned with the success and ease of running their business versus science, research, or the future health of your puppy. Evidenced by the fact that they require all dogs and even young puppies to be spayed/neutered, they are NOT truly concerned that your pug will be able to walk later in life. By the time your pug is a senior, their business will probably be closed and, if not, they are probably banking on the fact that you won't be bringing a senior pug into their facility. So why should they be concerned about your puppy's future health?

You are your puppy's only advocate, so stay strong and protect your puppy's health.

You are the one who will be living with your pug for hopefully the next decade or more. You are the one who will need to put on the wheelchair if his hips give out. You are the one who will need to pay the $6,000+ (and expensive therapy for life) for a surgery to fix an injury because of a simple awkward jump off the low sofa before your puppy's growth plates closed. You are the one who will need to deal with problem behaviors which can arise from early spay/neuter. Not the mega daycare.

Additionally, can you be 100% certain that the daycare will protect your puppy's joints by limiting their exercise?

Growth Plate Injuries may lead to impaired bone growth, physical deformities, and even stunted growth.
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It's important to remember that puppies' bones do not even touch yet. They plod around so cutely with big floppy paws and wobbly movement BECAUSE their joints are entirely made up of muscle, tendons, ligaments with skin covering. Nothing is fitting tightly together or has a true socket yet!

So when you run a puppy excessively or don't restrict their exercise to stop them from overdoing it during this period, you don't give them a chance to grow properly. Every big jump or excited bouncing run causes impacts between the bones. In reasonable amounts this is not problematic and is the normal wear and tear that every animal will engage in.

But when you let the puppy jump up and down off the playground slides, take them for long walks/hikes, run with the big dogs at daycare trying to keep up, jump on and off of cute slides at the daycare etc., you are damaging that forming joint. ​Even when you let the puppy scramble on tile with no traction you are damaging the joint.

Even when you let the puppy scramble on tile with no traction you are damaging the joint."

In these photos we see a baby puppy who had a knock to his elbow and wasn't using it properly, so he was taken to the vet. 

There is nothing wrong in these x-rays above and, thankfully, it is a soft tissue injury and he is expected to be fine. However, in these photos below, we find a puppy who will be lame for life, all because of an awkward landing after playing with a group of dogs.

Growth plates, also known as epiphyseal plates, are areas of cartilage that are found at the ends of a puppy's long bones. Growth plates are composed of cartilage cells which will gradually mature into bone cells, ultimately allowing the growth plate to ossify and eventually fuse. Only puppies and young dogs have growth plates.

Puppy growth plates are vulnerable. Since they are made of cartilage, growth plates are more delicate than solid bone. Because growth plates are less dense and flexible, they are therefore more predisposed to injuries and fractures.  

Puppy growth plates close as calcium and minerals harden the soft area and the puppy completes his skeletal development. Veterinarian Dr. Invana Crnec explains, "In simple words, the term "growth plate closing" means ossifying or transforming into bone tissue. The growth plate therefore continues to add to the length of the bone up until the age at which it's genetically programmed to close."

If a growth plate injury occurs, the fast multiplying cells might respond to the injury by slowing down their growth and in more extreme cases, (more severe injuries), the cells may even completely cease their multiplication and just stop growing.

That's why injuries to a puppy's growth plates can lead to several complications such as impaired bone growth, physical deformities and even stunted growth. With angular limb deformity, the growing dog develops a crooked, curved leg as a result of some type of traumatic injury. This condition is more likely to affect the puppy's bones of the front legs (radius/unla) versus the back (tibia/fibia).

What happens exactly is that injury to the growth plate at the end of the dog's forearm (radius/ulna) causes the growing cells to be crushed causing premature closure. Meanwhile, the unaffected cells on the other side continue to grow. With the damaged part no longer growing, and the other side still growing, uneven growth occurs as a result and you end up with a visible bowing of the leg. It's more than just cosmetic because there can be pain, trouble walking, and arthritis.

The growth plates of your puppy's front legs will close before the ones of your puppy's back legs. If you want to have your vet do a radiograph of your puppy to see if the growth plates have closed, (after 12 months at earliest), getting a lateral x-ray of the dog's stifles is the best bet, since one of the last growth plates to clse is the one associated with the tibial tubercle. 

Many states require dogs in rescue shelters to be spayed or neutered before they're placed in a home, often at just a few months of age. Years ago we fostered a litter of All-American puppies (mixed breeds) who were rescued from a local group. There were a LOT of them, and a LOT of cleaning and messes. Here is Sebastian "helping" me train one of them, shortly before they left for their forever homes the foster group found.

We raised them from young puppies who had just been weaned (too early), trained them, fed them, socialized them, and eventually, were asked to take them all to the spay/neuter clinic before they could go to their new homes in New England. It was too early to spay them. We knew this, but it was required by the rescue group. I understand that they deal with such atrocities and their main goal is to reduce pet overpopulation and preventing unwanted litters that result in millions of dogs and cats being euthanized each year in the US alone. Rescues and fosters are a different story though than a purposefully bred Pickwick pug puppy.

Castration is not just a hi-lite at the salon! Spay/neuter are so common place now that it might be easy to forget that we are talking about surgical procedures which are performed under general anesthesia. (And, as all pug owners know, brachycephalic breeds have a significantly higher risk for respiratory complications when dealing with anesthesia.)

Spaying: Also known as ovariohysterectomy, this surgical procedure is performed under general anesthesia. Currently, at Pickwick Pugs, we have an amazing vet who understands how to properly anesthetize brachy breeds .... it is quite different than typical protocols. In years past, before we found these vets, we almost lost many pugs to anesthesia and very often after a spay. This surgery involves removing the female dog's uterus and both ovaries through an incision in the abdomen (or laparoscopic spaying sometimes).

Generally speaking, a 1 year old dog = 7 year old human, and this is an average, an in actuality increases in ration as the dog ages. But we could loosely say that spaying a 4 or 5 month old puppy would be like performing a total hysterectomy on a human toddler.

Neutering: Also known as castration, is the surgical removal of a male dog's testes. 

There are health benefits to these surgeries including decreased risk of uterine infections (pyometra) and mammary tumors in females and prevention of testicular cancer and reduced risk of prostate disease in males.

Of course, the main reason we spay/neuter is prevent unplanned puppies. Unspayed female dogs come into heat once or twice a year. With the number of mixed-breeds in the shelters who actually are "part pug" we know that all breeds of dogs can detect the scent from far away and find a way to visit Pretty Penelope Pug for unwanted canine visits, even jumping fences with Superman superpowers. Until the pug is spayed or neutered around a year of age, there is indeed a HUGE responsibility for the pet owner during the puppy's first year of life to protect their puppy from an unwanted, accidental breeding. 

But this is just one of the responsibilities of raising a puppy properly and it's important to consider the potential impact on behavior and orthopedic health if considering early spay/neuter. Given that the pug breed in general has so many challenges with hips and joints, why add more risk to the pug's future orthopedic health?
So, back to our original discussion for this blog.

Does Neutering Impact A Puppy's Skeletal Development?
The answer is yes. According to board-certified veterinary surgeon Dr. David Dycos, the tibial plateau angle in altered dogs tends to be higher and this is likely due to the general practice of spaying and neutering dogs before skeletal maturity. "Such early spaying and neutering tends to lead to a delayed closure of the growth plates which can lead to several issues such as dogs becoming lankier and taller and potentially developing severe angular limb deformities should there be a problem during development such as a damaged ulnar growth plate."

In a study involving 203 agility dogs, it was found that the tibia, radius and ulna were significantly longer than the femur and humerus respectively, in dogs that were spayed or neutered at or prior to 8 months of age as compared to intact dogs. (Source: M.C. Zink) There is more data and research beyond the scope of this blog post. 

Perhaps this blogpost will also help explain that we at Pickwick Pugs are not arbitrarily picking "12 months" or "6 months" or "8 months" out of thin air for the earliest allowed time to spay/neuter. The suggestions, (actually, requirements), in our contract are there to help owners enjoy the longest, healthiest possible life for their puppy.

We have learned the hard way over the years not to blindly follow advice simply because "that's the way we've always done it." We have seen the injuries, we have seen the shyness (with our rescue dog who was spayed very early at the rescue), and we don't want to see our Pickwick puppies deal with unnecessary struggles if preventable. 
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The thing is, you only get the chance to grow them once. A well-built body is something that comes from excellent breeding and a great upbringing -- BOTH, not just one.

You only get the chance to grow them once."

​So, given all we know now, it makes sense to spay and neuter dogs after ascertaining they have completed their skeletal maturity and that all growth plates have closed.

Once grown, you will have the rest of their life to spend playing and engaging in higher impact exercise. So keep it calm while they're still little baby puppies and give the gift that can only be given once.