ReviewThe Journal of small animal practice2025
When - and whether - should we spay/neuter companion dogs.
Review in The Journal of small animal practice, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Developmental programming in dogs.Biology of reproduction · 2026Review
- Gene Expression of Hormone Receptors and Growth Factors in Intact and Neutralized Female Dogs, Both Healthy and with Cutaneous Mast Cell Tumors.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Genomic Characterisation of Pyometra-AssociatedAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The epidemiological landscape of canine tumors in central Italy: animal cancer registry insights, distribution patterns, and incidence estimates.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The recent publication of guidelines for the control of reproduction in dogs and cats shows that a variety of non-neoplastic and neoplastic conditions occur more commonly in spayed/neutered than entire dogs, and for several of such conditions the earlier the age at surgery - the higher the risk. In addition, unwanted behavioural changes may occur after gonadectomy rather than expected improvement in behaviour in some dogs. However, the fact that surgical gonadectomy increases the risk of any such condition does not mean that dogs should not be spayed/neutered any more. Gonadectomy still plays a major role in lowering the risk of mammary neoplasia and pyometra in bitches and of prostatic hypertrophy in male dogs. The evidence that gonadectomy influences the development of a condition is often conflicting, and it varies depending on the breed, sex and condition. This paper briefly illustrates current knowledge on the incidence of the above conditions in gonadectomised dogs, providing information on whether or not - and what is the best age at which - to perform gonadectomy in our companion dogs based on available scientific data.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.