Spaying, Neutering and Cancer in Rottweilers
Dr. Demian Dressler is internationally recognized as “the dog cancer vet” because of his innovations in the field of dog cancer management, and the popularity of his blog here at Dog Cancer Blog. The owner of South Shore Veterinary Care, a full-service veterinary hospital in Maui, Hawaii, Dr. Dressler studied Animal Physiology and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Davis before earning his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University. After practicing at Killewald Animal Hospital in Amherst, New York, he returned to his home state, Hawaii, to practice at the East Honolulu Pet Hospital before heading home to Maui to open his own hospital. Dr. Dressler consults both dog lovers and veterinary professionals, and is sought after as a speaker on topics ranging from the links between lifestyle choices and disease, nutrition and cancer, and animal ethics. His television appearances include “Ask the Vet” segments on local news programs. He is the author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Avian Veterinarians, the National Animal Supplement Council and CORE (Comparative Orthopedic Research Evaluation). He is also an advisory board member for Pacific Primate Sanctuary.
Updated: November 20th, 2018
Okay everyone, today I am going outside the realm of politically correct. You will see me do this from time to time, and some readers are not going to like it. Sorry, but I want to present information, and I don’t care if it is not PC if it saves lives.
As a vet, I am trained to promote spaying and neutering so dogs in shelters are not euthanized (killed) before they find homes. This is sensible wisdom, and I agree. But guess what… whenever we intervene with a surgery, medication, or a supplement, there are effects on our dogs. And some of these effects are called “side effects”, because we don’t like them.
A little background first: Osteosarcoma is a brutal, aggressive cancer of the bone, common in large dogs such as Rotts, Wolfhounds, Goldens are more.
Here is some information that has been more or less kept under wraps, or has not been spread in the veterinary community for whatever reason:
If a male Rott is neutered before a year of age, his rate of osteosarcoma ALMOST QUADRUPLES.
If a female Rott is spayed before a year of age, her rate of osteosarcoma MORE THAN TRIPLES.
If a purebred dog is spayed or neutered before a year of age, his or her rate of osteosarcoma MORE THAN DOUBLES.
This information has massive ramifications, especially among owners of Rotts.
These figures were taken from an article in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, Nov. 2002.
To be sure, spaying and neutering saves lives, especially those of dogs in shelters and those in need of homes. But we must not be rigid in our thinking, because the “facts” of today are not those of tomorrow.
It’s my viewpoint that Rotts should be spayed and neutered after a year of age. Just my two cents, friends.
Best,
Dr Dressler
Dr. Demian Dressler is internationally recognized as “the dog cancer vet” because of his innovations in the field of dog cancer management, and the popularity of his blog here at Dog Cancer Blog. The owner of South Shore Veterinary Care, a full-service veterinary hospital in Maui, Hawaii, Dr. Dressler studied Animal Physiology and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Davis before earning his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University. After practicing at Killewald Animal Hospital in Amherst, New York, he returned to his home state, Hawaii, to practice at the East Honolulu Pet Hospital before heading home to Maui to open his own hospital. Dr. Dressler consults both dog lovers and veterinary professionals, and is sought after as a speaker on topics ranging from the links between lifestyle choices and disease, nutrition and cancer, and animal ethics. His television appearances include “Ask the Vet” segments on local news programs. He is the author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Avian Veterinarians, the National Animal Supplement Council and CORE (Comparative Orthopedic Research Evaluation). He is also an advisory board member for Pacific Primate Sanctuary.
Dr,I have a 10 month old rott and have a appointment to neuter when he is 11 months.I really dont believe in neutering except for medical reasons.Koda is a very sweet guy but does seem to have a little aggression by running up behind you and snipping your leg.Should I wait to see if this is just a playful act or go ahead and neuter him??
Dara,
sounds like exercise, exercise, exercise….
and then training and obedience ….is the name of the game!!!
Look into a weigh vest to help burn off steam and get that dog to a trainer now.
Best
Dr D
Dara,
check out Tamar Geller’s stuff. She is a friend and a good resource.
Dr D
Thanks for your earlier thoughts about Jake’s diet & water. I’ll be buying your book, but I have to decide if I’m going to take him for his 4th & final chemo of Adriamycin within the next few days. They have been alternating Carboplatinum w/ the Adriamycin, along w/ Piroxicam & Doxycycline daily & Cyclophosph once/wk. Since his wbc went from 8190 to 4,920 in 3 wks, they wanted to wait an extra wk, while I felt more comfortable w/ at least 2, maybe more. Since his surrounding nodes around the amputated humerus were clear, from your experience, does 1,2, or 3 wks make much of a difference for the final trmt? Have you ever heard of this trmt actually working? Her prognosis was 18 mos w/ it & 6 mos w/o. So I can’t help but wonder what would happen if I postponed the last one until he’s built up a little. His rbc went from 5.17 to 5.01 & his HCT from 36.4 to 35.9 in the same 3 wk period. I saw a holistic vet, Dr. Norman Ralston, for 20 yrs, but after he passed 8 yrs ago, no other vets here are nutritionally or preventive oriented. Have you had any experience w/ shark cartilage helping the wbc improve? Or is there anything else you know of? Thanks so much, Kat
Kat, you need to clear everything you do with your oncologist. Discuss cordyceps, which has been shown to enhance bone marrow production of white cells in mice exposed to cyclophosphamide.
Remember, every dog is different. The numbers often do not have a lot to do with an individual dog.
You need to discuss the chemo plan with the oncologist, who is very experienced with these drugs, and express your feelings that you would like to wait. You must be your dog’s primary health care advocate. Having said that, new white blood cells most often are formed in about 3-5 days.
Best
D
January 26th visited the Oncologist.. It seems Caleb our Rottwieler has Osteosarcoma the tumor is in the bottom left jaw and they want to remove the jaw before the cancer spreads. it is localized in jaw at present. We do a Cat Scan tomorrow. Would Artemisinin be of any use to Caleb without removing his jaw??
Mavis, the artemisinin by itself likely is not a stand-alone. I can’t give individual dog recommendations in this blog post, but here are some things to discuss with the oncologist/vet. You should discuss artemisinin use with them. It could be of some use, as you put it. But I don’t think it is enough by itself. If you have a very cutting edge oncologist, see if they would consider OPLA (open cell polylactic acid) polymer, which can be impregnated with cisplatin for slow release into the circulation. This is kind of like a sponge that is put into Caleb’s body with a small surgery. Another option is samarium injections, not very available but..Make sure you talk to them about pain control. This is big.
I talk more about these advances in the upcoming e-book for more complete discussions.
I wish you and Caleb all the best.
D
PLEASE HELP I NEED ADVICE
I received the lab results today on my Male Rottweiler Caleb he is 9 years old. Malignant Chondrosarcoma it is inside his mouth a tumor reaching into his jaw. Apparently it is slow growing but looks to be the size of a golf ball on the x ray. He has thick drool coming out of his mouth with blood in it. The Vet wanted to remove the jaw immediately but I am going to an oncologist on Monday for a second opinion.
Can you direct me to anything on your site regarding this specific tumor in Rottweillers and the treatment needed.
I was hoping that it was the type of tumor that could be injected with something to the cell level hopefully killing the cancer.
I received the K9 Immunity package this morning 2 days to Alberta, Canada. I am so happy and gave him his first dose of Omega, K9 and the Transfer Factor. I gave him one aspirin for pain (is this ok)?
He is sleeping like a baby.
My 9 year old male Rottweiler has a tumor in his mouth which has partially gone into his jaw. The Vet wants to remove the tumor and one side of his jaw immediately… I asked for a biopsy and a few days to think this through. Should I use K9 Immunity Critical and factor pills to shrink the tumor and forgo the surgery. I am extremely worried.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Mavis
Dr. I would be happy to share Jake’s nutritional program & diet. One of the things I researched to help protect his organs during chemo is CoQ10. He gets 50 mg of the Super Ubiquinol by Life Extension twice a day w/ meals. I also give him several supplements from Standard Process(the canine line), K-9 Immunity & Transfer Factors from Aloha Medicinals, Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon Oil by Vital Choice, ProGreens by NutriCology sprinkled on his food for chlorophyl, probiotics & some great nutrients. His Taste of the Wild kibble is the only one I know of that is low carb–SO VERY important, I’m finding out. I give this w/ some very lean raw beef chunks(which it turns out is actually easier for him to digest), a raw egg, some steamed green organic pureed vegetables, carrots, or organic baby food vegetables, sometimes cooked chicken or turkey instead of beef, & 2 different anti-oxidant capsules. Luckily, he inhales all that I mix together. Any other suggestions on his diet? Thanks, K
Careful with carrots: more carb calories than you might imagine. Raw meat and eggs in cancer patients is a bit of a no-no due to possible immune compromise and presence of possible disease-causing microbes on the surface of the meat in the package, or salmonella in the egg. You might want to at least flash-cook the surface of those chunks.
Rosemary, basil, oregano, clove oil: high ORAC values (antiox)
Check all with your vet.
D
Hi Dr , I’m so glad you shared that. I rescued Jake( a 1 yr-young neutered Rotti) from the streets 4 yrs ago–had been severely abused. He just had his front leg amputated w/ the shoulder blade–he is so much happier & getting around great. He was in far more pain than he let on from the osteosarcoma. His surrounding node was clear & we’re about to complete the 4th & final chemo. He’s on an amazing nutritional program, has gained 5 lbs & seems to be thriving, except his wbc is a little low. What kind of water should I be giving him? I’ve been giving distilled, but a friend said Dr. Young, in the book Sick And Tired, advises against that for people w/ cancer. Thanks, K
Kat,
if you want my ideal recommendation (and I am not a water expert): reverse osmosis.
You don’t want water with lower pH than normal….
Good luck!
D
hello Dr, i am an owner off a7month old rottweiler my mother is looking to neuter him but i don’t agree he has a lovely calm temperament a bit cheeky but that’s being a puppy.we live out in the countryside with a massive garden so he has plenty of freedom what would your opinion be on this subject am i right or is my mother please help i don’t know what the right choice is.
Thanks Louise
Louise,
I can only give you my personal opinion here, which is different from many vets. This is the opinion you read about in the blog post you are commenting on….my personal opinion in Rotties is to wait until later in life than 7 months. I advise my clients between 18 and 22 months most often, if they are going to spay or neuter.
D
Iris, I am sorry to hear this bad news. There is a lot of information, too much to include in this comment box. Sorry but it is a huge topic. I would honestly start reading previous blog posts, where a lot is included. I also have a book coming…be sure to read the amputation blog as well. Also check out the dog cancer coping guide, available online, if you feel that this is a bit overwhelming.
Best,
D
I wish I had known this before I spayed my dear Timo. She’s 8years old now and it has just been discovered that she has osteosarcoma. Sunday, she will have her leg amputated, as it is painful and she is not using it. I’m told it will prolong her life. I also plan on giving her immune system boosters. I don’t know what to do about chemo. Have you any suggestions.