Puerto Rico English. Republic of Singapore English. South Africa. Sweden - Sverige. Switzerland Suisse. Switzerland Schweiz. United Kingdom. United Arab Emirates English. United States. About Hill's. Contact Us. Cat Care Education. See all cat food. Cat food by brand Prescription Diet Science Diet. However, you will need to set up a vaccination plan with your vet for your particular pup. Now is the time to also discuss safe options for controlling parasites both internal and external as well as the right time to spay or neuter your large-breed puppy.
Also known as gastropexy, this procedure is used to help keep the stomach from twisting and causing gastric torsion or bloat. If you have a dog that you think will be close to or above 70 pounds as an adult, look for a puppy food with the following nutritional adequacy statement :.
Puppy food is high in minerals, protein, and calories, which could cause your now little guy or gal to grow unnaturally fast, so a big part of taking care of a large-breed puppy is ensuring that they stay at a healthy weight. For example, your veterinarian may recommend that puppies eight to 12 weeks old be fed four small meals a day, puppies three to six months old be fed three meals a day, and puppies six months to one year generally be fed two meals a day.
Again, your veterinarian will help you determine the best feeding schedule for your dog. As your puppy grows larger and larger, beware of leaving food out, as large-breed dogs can definitely help themselves to food left at table- or counter-height.
Jumping and running on hard surfaces are a sure way to cause orthopedic problems. However, for females, one could consider delaying spaying until a year of age to avoid the risk of UI. There were no joint disorders reported in intact males, and in intact females, just 1 percent. In neutered males and females there were no noteworthy occurrences of joint disorders. In intact males and intact females, just 1 percent were reported with at least one of the cancers followed.
In both neutered males and females, none of the cancer occurrences was noteworthy. In intact females, the occurrence of MC was 1 percent as was the occurrence with spaying at 2—8 years.
PYO was reported in 7 percent of intact females. No UI was reported in any of the intact or spayed females. Since the reporting from this center of increased risks of joint disorders and some cancers in Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, and German Shepherd Dogs 11 — 13 , the appropriate age of neutering has become a common point of discussion 16 — With the evidence-based information on the risks, if any, of joint disorders, cancers, PYO and UI associated with neutering at different ages for males and females of various as dog breeds, dog owners, and their veterinarians, can use this information to select an age for neutering for the long-term health of their companion dogs on a case-by-case basis.
The overall major finding from the present study is that there are breed differences — and sometimes sex differences — with regard to the increased risks of joint disorders and cancers associated with neutering at various ages. For example, with the Boston Terrier, neutering females at the standard 6 month age did not increase the risks of joint disorders or cancers over that of dogs left intact, but with males, neutering before a year of age was associated with a significant increase in cancers.
The opposite effect with genders was seen in the Cocker Spaniel where neutering at 6 months was not associated with an increase in joint disorders or cancers in males, but in females there was a significant increase in risk of cancers to 17 percent with neutering before 2 years.
Another important finding that holds across several breeds is that with the small-dog breeds — Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Chihuahua, Corgi, Dachshund, Maltese, Pomeranian, Poodle-Toy, Pug, Shih Tzu, Yorkshire Terrier —the occurrences of joint disorders were close to zero in both the intact and neutered males and females.
In these small-dog breeds, the occurrence of cancers was low in both those kept intact and neutered. Two exceptions were the Boston Terrier and Shih Tzu where there was there a significant increase in cancers with neutering.
As noted in the results section, the mean date of last entry per patient in the hospital record ranged from about 4. The perspective taken here is that it is the early occurring joint disorders and cancers that are the most impactful on the human caregivers, both emotionally and financially, as well as their dogs.
To just delay neutering by a year or so to lower the risk of a joint disorder or cancer in those breeds where the issue is relevant, is a noteworthy goal, making it worthwhile to discuss appropriate ages to neuter with caregivers who have a new puppy. A suggested guideline for the use of the data presented here for those who may wish to focus on a breed or two, is to first scroll through Table 1 to peruse the breeds for a brief look at the neutering guidelines for the breeds of interest.
The next step could be to refer to summary paragraphs in the Results section, which present the major findings with a suggested guideline for neutering age.
Our intention is to offer readers data-based information to make case-by-case decisions about age of neutering. As is clearly evident in the breed-specific data presented, one cannot make a generalization for all dogs about age of neutering guidelines. As mentioned, this study involved 35 breeds, counting the three varieties of Poodles as three breeds. Thus, most breeds registered by AKC or other comparable agencies were not covered.
The breeds chosen were the most popular, and with the largest dataset in our records, or were included to sample the largest range of breed sizes as was feasible. Hence, some of the largest breeds e. While with some of the most popular breeds there were over 1, cases in the database, most breeds ended up with to cases which was sufficient for statistical analyses where the impact of neutering was substantial.
A suggestion for those interested in a breed not covered in this study is to find a breed or two closest genetically to the breed of their interest in order to get an estimate of the various disease risks, if any, associated with neutering.
However, one needs to bear in mind that even genetically related breeds may vary a great deal. An example is seen when comparing Golden and Labrador Retrievers, using the data from this study, where in the Labrador, there was no increase in cancer risk above that of intact dogs with neutering, but in the female Golden, the risk of a cancer with neutering increased to 2—4 times that of the 5 percent level of intact females.
The popular Poodle breed provides another example, where there are three major varieties in size, the Standard, Miniature, and Toy. In the Standard, neutering males at 1 year was associated with a highly significant increase in the risk of a cancer mainly LSA to over six times that of intact males, whereas in the Miniature, there was no increase in cancers with neutering but a significant increase in joint disorders mainly CCL with neutering at mo.
A likely mechanism by which early neutering may lead to a joint disorder is related to disturbance of the closure of the long-bone growth plates by gonadal hormone secretion as the animal approaches maturity 19 , We have proposed that neutering much before the closure of growth plates allows the long bones to grow a little longer than normal, and may sufficiently disturb joint alignments in some neutered dogs to lead to a clinically-apparent joint disorder.
Given the frequency with which early neutering is performed in dogs, it seems surprising that osteoporosis has not been examined given that in humans, chronic loss of gonadal hormones is associated with osteoporosis It could be that the wolf ancestor of the dog had one breeding season and that the bone structure of mature dogs was not as affected by seasonal fluctuations of gonadal hormones as with a permanent gonadal hormonal loss in humans.
One of the frequently mentioned advantages of early neutering of female dogs is protection against MC There may be important genetic, breed-line differences in the occurrence of MC that are not portrayed in our database.
However, relevant to the discussion of MC is the recent meta-analysis of published studies on neutering females and MC, finding that the evidence linking neutering to a reduced risk of MC is weak In the data gathered in this study, through 11 years of age, the occurrence of MC in females left intact was rarely above 6 percent and frequently 2 percent or less. Obviously with most cases of intact females not followed through 11 years, and with the year cut-off for those that were followed, many occurrences of MC were missed.
However, it seems reasonable, that if MC was a common occurrence in intact females that this disease would have been more frequent in the intact females followed. Further, a very late onset of MC would seem less disturbing to pet owners than the much earlier onsets of joint diseases and other cancers. For males, there is some concern that neutering beyond puberty will increase the likelihood of a problem behavior such as aggression.
However, studies show that while neutering males can reduce aggression to people or other dogs in about 25 percent of males, neutering prior to puberty is no more effective in preventing this problem than is neutering in adulthood in resolving the problem 24 , This paper deals primarily with the risks of diseases that are seen within a given breed and sex.
Comparisons between breeds are difficult to interpret, in part because of differences in developmental and physiological factors between breeds including those between smaller and larger breeds. In the text we have reported the occurrences of various diseases in percentages but in statistical analyses the actual data are used.
When disease incidence is particularly low in one or more neutering subgroups, the ability to detect significant differences will be low, but there still could be differences which may or may not have been evident in the statistical analyses.
There are at least two major limitations to this study. First, relatively few breeds are covered compared to those included in the various breed registries of kennel clubs and canine organizations. This limitation was necessary so as to apply the same diagnostic criteria for diseases covered across all breeds, using the same database, and the necessity of having sufficient cases for analyses.
Second, no information is available as to the reasons the owners or others chose to neuter, or not to neuter their dogs. In California, the vast majority of dogs are neutered, and since it is legally required for dogs to be neutered prior to adoption from an animal shelter or humane society 26 ; many breeders impose the same requirement.
In conclusion, the data presented should provide to veterinarians and interested puppy caregivers data-based information for the best age for neutering to avoid increasing the risk of joint disorders and some cancers beyond that of leaving the dog intact. Readers can note that an elevated risk for a joint disorder or cancer occurs in relatively few of these breeds.
In other words, with most breeds or sexes, neutering can apparently be done without referral to a particular age, at least with regard to the joint disorders or cancers covered in this study. Of course, individual factors must be taken into account. For puppies of mixed breed, another paper that is currently in press provides data-based information dealing with age of neutering and the risk of one or more joint disorders as a function of the dog adult weight category This information can also help inform decisions on age of recommended neuter in purebred dogs where the breed is not covered in our data.
The datasets presented in this study can be found in online repositories. NW: statistical analyses. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Epidemiology of surgical castration of dogs and cats in the United States. J Am Vet Med Assoc. Prevalence of, and risk factors for, hip dysplasia and cranial cruciate ligament deficiency in dogs.
Breed, sex, and body weight as risk factors for rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament in young dogs. PubMed Abstract Google Scholar. Dorn M, Seath IJ. Neuter status as a risk factor for canine intervertebral disc herniation IVDH in dachsunds: a retrospective cohort study. Canine Genet Epidemiol.
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Sci Rep. Neutering dogs: effects on joint disorders and cancers in golden retrievers. Long-term health effects of neutering dogs: comparison of labrador retrievers with golden retrievers. Neutering of german shepherd dogs: associated joint disorders, cancers and urinary incontinence. Vet Med Sci. Epidemiological analysis of the most prevalent sites and types of canine neoplasia observed in a veterinary hospital. Cancer Res. Comhaire FH, Snaps F. Comparison of two canine registry databases on the prevalence hip dysplasia by breed and body weight and height.
Am J Vet Res. Houlihan KE. A literature review on the welfare implications of gonadectomy of dogs. Leedham DY. Prepubertal neutering of dogs — some risks and benefits. Companion Anim. Behavioural risks in male dogs with minimal lifetime exposure to gonadal hormones may compromise population-control benefits of desexing. The role of sex steroids in controlling pubertal growth. Clin Endocrinol. Gonadectomy in immature dogs: effects on skeletal, physical, and behavioral development.
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Assisting decision-making on age of neutering for mixed breed dogs of five weight categories: associated joint disorders and cancers. Keywords: elbow dysplasia, hip dysplasia, cranial cruciate tear, lymphoma, mast cell tumor, hemangiosarcoma, osteosarcoma. The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author s and the copyright owner s are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice.
No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Hart, blhart ucdavis.
Hart 2 , Abigail P. Thigpen 2 and Neil H. Willits 3. One explanation for how this formula got started is that the ratio seems to have been based on the statistic that people lived to about 70, and dogs to about It was a way to encourage owners to bring in their pets at least once a year.
As a general guideline, though, the American Veterinary Medical Association breaks it down like this:. Larger-breed dogs tend to have shorter lifespans compared to smaller breeds and are often considered senior when they are 5 to 6 years of age. Contrary to popular belief, dogs do not age at a rate of 7 human years for each year in dog years. An example would be the Great Dane. The average life expectancy, according to the Great Dane Club of America , is about 7—10 years.
Therefore, a 4-year-old Great Dane would already be 35 in human years. Again, keep in mind that these are rough estimates. Instead, there are three main sources for data on their longevity: pet-insurance companies, breed-club surveys, and veterinary hospitals.
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