Will Neutering Change Your Pet´s Personality?

If you´re concerned that having your pet spayed or neutered will change its personality to the point where you no longer recognize it, you´re probably worrying too much.

And if you´re hoping that having your pet spayed or neutered will change its personality and solve all your behavior problems, you´re probably asking for too much.

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The thought that spaying or neutering a pet will change it psychologically has been a long-held belief of pet owners. But most studies show that such changes are minimal, if indeed they even exist.

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"Sometimes people will neuter their pet because they want the animal to calm down," said Dr. Leslie Larson Cooper, a lecturer for the behavior service of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California at Davis. "We tell people, ‘Don´t bet your first-born child.´"

The thought that spaying or neutering a pet will change it psychologically has been a long-held belief of pet owners. But most studies show that such changes are minimal, if indeed they even exist.

The changes people generally hope to see are in behaviors like roaming, fighting, urine marking and mounting. Studies have shown that the most significant change occurs in roaming behavior, Dr. Cooper said. Neutering seemed to stop or decrease roaming behavior in about 85 to 90 percent of dogs.

But the rest of the behaviors only decreased in about 50 to 60 percent of the animals—still significant enough to make sterilization worth a shot, but not enough to promote it as the ultimate fix.

A study of male cats showed that the percentage of animals that would spray later on in life stayed the same whether they were neutered before or after puberty. A common—and apparently incorrect—assumption is that cats surgically altered before puberty won´t urine mark, Dr. Cooper said.

So in general, people need to realize that sterilizing a pet doesn´t necessarily cure or cause problems, she said. "It´s not 100 percent. There are other things involved in the part of the brain that has to do with marking and some of the other [behaviors.]"

Some dogs will continue to mount even after neutering, for instance. So even though testosterone is a major contributor to that behavior, it isn´t the only thing that plays a role.

And pets are known to slow down and gain weight after being surgically altered—but that could simply be because most people have their pets spayed or neutered around the time that they´re beginning to grow out of puppy- or kitten-hood, veterinarians said.

One cautionary note comes with a study of female dogs. Female puppies that had already shown aggressive tendencies were found to have a two to one chance of having that aggression increase if spayed. If the dog wasn´t spayed, the chance of aggression increasing was only six to one.

Adult female dogs that had not shown aggression didn´t show any greater chance of developing aggression after being spayed. Dr. Cooper said she had questions about the pool of dogs used in the survey and would like to see more research on the subject before people decided against spaying. She pointed out that spaying´s positive effects—decreased heat cycle-inspired and mothering aggression, decreased uterine cancer and mammary tumors—all need to be considered as well.

Dr. Ione Smith, a veterinarian currently working on a Ph.D. in animal behavior at the University of Tennessee, also noted the female dog aggression study. Theoretically, the removal of the dog´s estrogen could allow the testosterone in the dog´s system to affect her more, she said, and it´s possible that people with already aggressive female dogs should hold off on spaying.

Sometimes people who wonder about their pet´s behavior after spaying and neutering are really worrying about narrower issues. Will the animal still be itself? Will it still be a clown, still be playful, still be sweet? It´s not an issue that´s ever been studied scientifically, Dr. Cooper said. Anecdotally, people may say their pets seem quieter—but that could just be a result of growing up.

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Sometimes people who wonder about their pet´s behavior after spaying and neutering are really worrying about narrower issues. Will the animal still be itself? Will it still be a clown, still be playful, still be sweet?

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But owners also wonder whether their animal will be upset at the loss of organs that people tend to consider pretty important aspects of their own bodies. "People ask, ‘Is my dog going to be unhappy or depressed?´" Dr. Smith said. "Or ‘We don´t spay and neuter people, so why spay and neuter dogs?´"

The question is based on a misunderstanding of the way animals´ systems work, she said. Females are in heat twice a year, while humans are receptive to sex year-round. It´s a biological difference that makes it impossible to reconcile the two perspectives.

"Dogs and cats aren´t people," Dr. Smith said. "They don´t look into the future and say, ‘I wish I could have children.´ They don´t have sex drives. They don´t sit around and worry where they´re going to ‘get some,´ or that they can´t make babies."

Similarly, male dogs and cats that have been neutered aren´t going to care about whether they can have sex, veterinarians said. Owners who worry that their pet will feel emasculated need to step back and ask realistically if they aren´t more worried about the way the surgery will reflect on them rather than the welfare of the pet, Dr. Cooper said.

"I try very hard not to read in human attributes beyond a certain degree," she said.

If you´re thinking about your pet´s happiness, you can make a good case for going ahead with a spay or neuter, said Dr. Julie Levy, an assistant professor at the University of Florida´s College of Veterinary Medicine. If tendencies toward bad behavior such as aggression, roaming and marking decreases, the pet tends to fit into the family better. It isn´t tied up in the backyard somewhere—it´s interacting with its owners and having a good life.

If pets don´t care whether they have puppies or kittens, and won´t miss having sex, there isn´t a lot of logic in holding off on spaying and neutering, veterinarians said. "Take a trip to the local animal shelter and see [the effect] of "just one litter," Dr. Smith said.

People argue that friends are lined up to take the puppies or kittens, she said. But what about the puppies or kittens that those animals produce? "If you´re going to breed … you should be willing to take those animals back for your entire life."

Copyright VetCentic.com Reprinted with permission.