When should we spay daxis??

RE: When should we spay daxis??

Glenn Hodgson — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 19:08:43 GMT

3 hours effort in.... Agree with what you guys are saying and thinking.

There is IMO some reasonable evidence showing neutering daxxis increases risk of Intervertebral disk disease. Not clearly a causal relationship, likely related to condition score i would suspect.

There is NO evidence just now showing neutering prior to 12 minths (compared to <12 months)causes > risk of IVDD. There are some opinioms out there to the contrary, some sites present the as facts.

The people who ran the web based study intend to drill the data further this holiday season, to help answer my queries.

Peer reviewing is alive and well, ill update if more data makes its way.

RE: When should we spay daxis??

Rob Loxley — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 18:19:43 GMT

I wouldn't write such a 'Certificate' as such a statement is not a) within my own knowledge; b) can be ascertained by me personally; or c) is the subject of supporting evidence from an authorised veterinarian who has personal knowledge of the matters in question

On a practical level, if 'doggy day-care' can deal with an intact bitch if you write a certificate, why can't they if you don't??

RE: When should we spay daxis??

Bob Russell — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 13:33:25 GMT

This is a web based study rather than a particularly balanced one!

No reference to body score in these individuals. I would expect age and obesity to be the real key factors rather than neutering as such.

My experience is that these can be long lived dogs and the risk of mammary tumours is relatively high.

I would not sign a certificate but may write something along the lines that early neutering could increase the risk therefore owners might decide later neutering appropriate.

Is that a big enough 'fudge'?

RE: When should we spay daxis??

Clive Ansell — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 10:02:01 GMT

So far all that can be stated is that there may (or may not) be a link between early neutering and an increased risk of developing IVDD.

I certainly would not be willing to put my signature and professional name to a document that categorically states that delaying neutering until at least a year of age will decrease the risk of IVDD.

RE: When should we spay daxis??

Martin Atkinson — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 10:00:16 GMT

[quote user="Glenn Hodgson"]Ive had a client asking for a certificate for her dog day care. She wants me to state that her daxi should not be neutered prior to her 1st season to reduce her risk of intervertebral disk disease. [/quote]Bottom line is I would not sign the certificate.

RE: When should we spay daxis??

Virginia Campbell — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 08:42:11 GMT

Isn't a daxi owner wondering whether/when to neuter to reduce the risk of IVDD rather like an Isle of Man TT racer wondering what colour of bike to get to reduce the risk of crashing?

RE: When should we spay daxis??

Glenn Hodgson — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 07:00:34 GMT

Thanks folks.

Ill get back to my client today ans ask them to point me to the evidence..

Ive also askes the ivdd site to help me understand why they give the below. This is probably the driver for my cleint. Ill share the response.

Allow your Dachshund to mature fully before considering neutering (unless there is a strong health reason to do this before 12 months)

RE: When should we spay daxis??

James Laidlaw — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 03:20:48 GMT

From the RVC study:

"It is also possible that dogs who experience an episode of IVDD that were previously shown are no longer used in showing, and thus the population involved in Championship or Open shows are biased towards those who have not yet experienced an IVDD episode. The positive association identified between neutering and IVDD may also be similarly explained, with some dogs experiencing IVDD neutered after this event to avoid using these dogs in breeding (n = 30), and thus introducing reverse causality.. It is also possible that there are unidentified hormonal influences upon IVDD risk, indeed, of the IVDD affected dogs that had been neutered (n = 229), the majority (86.9 %, n = 199) had been neutered before their first IVDD event. Longitudinal studies would again be beneficial to clarify these temporal relationships."

I'd be hesitant to say that age of neutering was strongly associated from a study based on owner survey with potential for errors or inaccuracies in neuter dates reported - although if you were just generally discussing neutering it looks like it has an association - not necessarily causality though. There are obviously far more significant factors at play for IVDD that they should be more focused on - the dachshund-ivdd.uk page unfortunately puts neutering at number one on their "risk factors" chart for some reason though - which may spur the views you're experiencing...

RE: When should we spay daxis??

Joyce Whitehead — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 20:35:20 GMT

There is a new screening programme for IVDD in dachshunds, and an associated website with advice which includes info that early neutering (under 1) shows an increased risk. Also unneutered over 3 years old nearly half as likely to get IVDD.

Website here: http://www.dachshund-ivdd.uk/lifestyle-advice/

Original paper summary here:

https://cgejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40575-016-0039-8

Interesting that the official scheme is organised via CVS specified practices and then the breed club pay for scoring

RE: When should we spay daxis??

Glenn Hodgson — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 20:14:25 GMT

I asked her for the evidence, was sent an opinion...

Interested in opinioms in case i am missing something.

RE: When should we spay daxis??

James Laidlaw — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 19:56:26 GMT

Did you ask her to explain the pathogenesis behind that theory? I'd imagine it's another owner/breeder myth - never heard of it myself in 13 years vetting...