Neutered Nicholai

Sitting in front of my computer, my eyes were starting to glaze over. Reading everything I could find on the effects of neutering dogs, pros and cons, benefits and risks, I was rapidly tiring of the lack of unbiased information on either side. Like so many issues, what we already think colors the "facts" we so often blithely tout as truths. As if to hammer this point home, a salesman knocked on the door (Do we need new vinyl windows?). Nicholai – a neutered male dog – charged the door in his typical "protect the homestead" mode. Lunging and barking, hackles up, he looked formidable. The salesman stepped off the porch. I laughed out loud.

Neutering male dogs supposedly cures them of roaming (90% success rate). Seems true, Nicholai doesn't roam. Aggression toward other dogs should be reduced (60% success); Nicholai will posture and face-off with other male dogs, the vast majority of whom are also neutered, but never fight – maybe that is due to lack of testosterone. One of the reasons we had him neutered, in addition to preventing unwanted pets, was to quell any tendency toward aggression, dominance, or fighting. But Nicholai sure is a guarder, protector, and a "don't step one more foot on my property, mister" kind of guy.

Preventing unwanted pregnancies is a good reason to spay and neuter, though I do have to wonder if as a society, we put puppy mills and irresponsible breeders out of business we might solve the pet overpopulation problem .

Here's the deal. Everything I read is conclusive that early spaying and neutering (before sexual maturity) increases the incidence of torn cruciate ligaments in the knees of dogs. Hip dysplasia – especially in large dogs – is dramatically increased. These are not inconsequential problems. Nicholai's knee surgeries cost over $6,000.00. In addition, there is evidence that cancer risk is increased by the metal implants used in many orthopedic surgeries. I shudder when I stop and think of the dramatic health problems that may have been iatrogenically introduced in Nicholai. We've had the resources to care for the issues; dogs whose owners can't afford these procedures either suffer or are euthanized. This is not cool.

I worry too that people will see neutering as a panacea for behavior problems, when it is not. A bored dog, a neglected dog, a fearful dog, an untrained dog, a dog whose people hoped to get it fixed and then resume their busy lives, these dogs' problems will not be resolved by a simple snip-snip. The people may be sorely disappointed when the dog still misbehaves.

Until quite recently, I was as big a proponent as anyone of spaying and neutering dogs before they reached maturity. If I saw an unneutered male dog on the street, I vocally questioned the manhood of his human counterpart. Now, quite honestly, I have to wonder if the reluctant human males may have been onto something more than their testosterone-driven egos all along. Is it so wrong to allow a dog to grow as nature and his or her physiology intended? Couldn't we alter them a touch later and allow them to grow up as healthy as they can be?