Rottweilers of both sexes experience a decreased lifespan after ‘The Snip’
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(Credit: Dr. Manfred Herrmann / CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED)
Well, this is a bit of a surprise. A newly published study found that dogs that are neutered may actually have a slightly shorter lifespan than intact dogs. This finding was based on a recent analysis of available clinical records in Australia. These records, collated by VetCompass Australia, comprised 3,085 intact and 4,100 neutered Rottweilers from July 1994 to June 2021. The analysis found that dogs that were neutered before one year of age had a shortened lifespan of one-and-a-half years in males and one year in females when compared to their intact counterparts.
The analysis also found similar results in dogs that were desexed — neutered — before the age of four-and-a-half years.
“Most other studies have found that neutering dogs increases their longevity but ours is one of the first that went against that,” the study’s lead author, veterinarian Carolynne Joonè, said in a statement. Dr Joonè is a senior lecturer at James Cook University in theriogenology (a specialist in animal reproduction) and her current research focuses on fertility control in horses.
“It was a bit of a shock when that wasn’t what we found,” Dr Joonè continued. “We were fortunate with the data we had because we could determine when a dog was desexed and when they died.”
Rottweilers are a popular companion pet and a gentle playmate within their human family although they can be aloof towards outsiders. They are a robust working breed of great strength that descended from the mastiffs of the Roman legions. They generally live around 9-10 years.
Despite the concerning findings, Dr. Joonè strongly encouraged owners to neuter their dogs to prevent unplanned litters as well as a variety of serious health problems.
“There are serious consequences for not neutering a dog, such as the risk of a life-threatening uterus infection known as Pyometra, mammary tumors and unwanted puppies,” Dr Joonè explained.
At this time, it is not known whether there is an optimal age to neuter a Rottweiler that does not impact their lifespan, but the study noted several factors that could influence the lifespan of any dog, including genetic predisposition, nutrition, exercise, health care, and environmental factors.
Desexed female dogs, in particular, demonstrate clear health benefits: when neutered before their first estrus, they have a reduced risk of developing malignant mammary tumors, and even neutering up to the age of 2.5 years provides a significant protective effect. Data from canine cancer registries reveal that mammary tumors are common, constituting up to 76% of cancer diagnoses in female dogs, and that the incidence of these tumors in a dog population declines as neuter rates increase.
It’s possible these factors may be reduced by screening for genetic disorders and selecting healthy breeding pairs to help reduce the prevalence of hereditary health conditions and to help boost longevity.
And of course, perhaps most obvious effect on reduced lifespan is weight gain.
“There’s a strong suspicion that the reduced lifespan is more to do with weight issues than the neutering itself,” Dr Joonè advised, “so I would encourage owners to go ahead and neuter their dog but make sure you keep it at a good, healthy weight.”
Surgical sterilization or neutering is a well established method of preventing unplanned litters in dogs and cats. Pet overpopulation places a significant burden on government and non-government agencies seeking to manage these animals within acceptable animal welfare frameworks. Left unchecked, free-roaming pets pose risks to public health and safety, and to natural ecosystems.
How widely applicable are these results? Do all desexed dogs have a decreased life span or just Rottweilers? Dr Joonè was not certain about how extensive these findings might be and plans to expand her analysis to other popular dog breeds, such as Greyhounds and Golden Retrievers, to see if these findings are also true for these other breeds.
Source:
Carolynne J. Joonè & Dmitry A. Konovalov (2023). The effect of neuter status on longevity in the Rottweiler dog, Scientific Reports 13:17845 | doi:10.1038/s41598-023-45128-w
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