My O-level German (50 years ago!) introduced me to the concept of nouns taking masculine, feminine and neuter forms.  In veterinary medicine, of course, to “neuter” means the removal of reproductive organs in dogs and cats. The primary reason is to prevent breeding.  Over the decades, the procedure itself has changed little. Although with the advent of key-hole surgery (laparoscopic or lap-spay), the operation in female dogs has recently undergone a significant upgrade.  More about this later! But for the vast majority of male dogs, neutering does not involve entering the body cavity, so key-hole surgery is not necessary.  The exceptions are those dogs with undescended testicles that remain in the abdomen (cryptorchid).

Neutering male dogs

Advice on whether to neuter or not and if so, when to do it has varied a little over the years. Research on the effects of neutering has developed.  The current thinking is to not neuter male dogs unless it’s necessary. Why? The withdrawal of testosterone can increase the risk of prostatic cancer, cruciate ligament injury, and paradoxically, in some cases, increase aggression towards other dogs.  The theories about the latter are a bit confusing, however. In a nutshell, if a male dog feels threatened by other dogs, he’s more likely to “get in first” when feeling pressurised.  How can we tell if neutering will improve temperament or make it worse? Well, the best way is probably to use a little implant. It goes under the skin (about the size of a microchip) and produces temporary chemical castration for 6 months.  During that time, the dog becomes infertile and, from a hormonal perspective, is neutered.  If attitude towards other dogs improves, surgical neutering may well be beneficial. This will of course be permanent though; if the opposite occurs, well, we’ve got our answer, but the effect of the implant will wear off, and so no lasting harm is done.

Cryptorchid dogs should be neutered as the condition is inherited, and the abdominal testicle is very likely to develop cancer.  In the past, this was always done with a traditional laparotomy, ie a midline approach to the abdominal cavity.  Finding the miniature testicle (the higher body temperature prevents full development) can be quite a fiddly job. Just occasionally, the little devil finds its way deep into the groin but not far enough to reach the outside.  Key-hole surgery might make the task easier, but that will still depend on the final resting place of the vagrant testicle.

Neutering female dogs: Spaying and laparoscopic spaying

So, how about lap-spays for female dogs?  The practice has just invested in the equipment and training for our surgeons, Ollie and Leanne. Further team members are undergoing training too, to perform this major but common procedure. It reduces recovery time from a week or more to a day or two.  Although three small holes are made in the abdomen as opposed to one longer one, healing occurs much faster. In addition, post-operative pain is almost non-existent.  Still means no rough and tumbles for 3 days post-op, but this is a lot less than the 10-14 days’ rest period after a traditional spay. 

> Timing is important

So you’ve made the decision to spay your female dog; when should we do it? We’ve gone around the houses over the past 20 years with this one! Essentially, wait until after the first season.  The importance of hormones in developing not only physical but also mental and emotional characteristics has been highlighted recently. The current thinking is that male and female dogs should go through puberty before neutering.  As we all know, this tricky period in the life of any young animal (or person!) can influence the future quite fundamentally. The effect of hormones plays an important role. 

So for female dogs, the timing is quite critical. It should be at least 4 months from the start of the previous season (which may be her first).  Judging the start of a season is easier than the end. It doesn’t have an obvious finishing point like the spots of blood that signal the beginning.  False pregnancy is a dog-specific and rather unique situation. The hormone prolactin (which causes lactation) spikes in response to declining progesterone levels about 40 days after ovulation. This is the key event in the season, which usually happens a couple of weeks after the start.  For a time, prolactin and progesterone overlap. Spaying at this time can result in changes consistent with permanent false-pregnancy behaviour (being cranky, nest making, milk production).  So we do everything to ensure that period is avoided.

The problem comes when seasons are erratic or happen more regularly than normal (twice yearly). It means there is a very short time window to perform the operation.  In these cases, there is a medicine that can inhibit prolactin. It will buy us the time we need to carry out the operation without complications.

What about cats?

Domestic female cats are too small for lap spays. The wound we usually make is so tiny that healing is rarely a problem, though.  However, we have to remember that all the abdominal muscles have been cut into (albeit no more than a stab wound), and pain relief is always given.  As for tom-cats, all should be neutered with no exceptions (apart from stud cats). The antisocial and nefarious activities of intact male cats cause huge problems for themselves and any other cats in the area.  As Elton John put it, “Saturday night’s alright for fighting” except for intact males, every night is alright!