The Risks and Benefits of Spaying and Neutering your Dog

Laci Bernosky
Fri, 17 Apr 2026 10:45:00 PDT

Spaying and neutering dogs is one of the first decisions pet owners make after acquiring a dog. It is a large component of what is understood to be responsible pet ownership in the US over the past 60 years, due to its great elimination of unwanted animals, reducing how many are euthanized each year in shelters from overcrowding. However, there has been research, mostly in the past 20 years, re-evaluating the benefits and bringing to light the costs dogs can pay from being spayed or neutered. This paper examines the health and behavioral effects of spaying and neutering dogs. The analysis is based mostly on peer-reviewed research published in the 2000s or later, with some older studies included. Overall, the literature indicates that spaying and neutering carries both numerous benefits and risks. However, orthopedic health, cancer incidence and certain behavioral changes have been shown to occur at a higher rate than many owners commonly assume, but may also have benefits that were also not known.

Analysis of the research done has made it clear that there is no black and white answer to whether or not spaying and neutering is the completely right choice. In shelters, it is done on all dogs (and cats) to prevent those already there from adding to the population issue. With the over-crowding that shelters already face, getting all animals sterilized greatly reduces the amount that are euthanized from lack of space. There are numerous risks and benefits found, many of which vary from breed, sex, age and even lifestyle of both the owner and the dog. This paper is a tool that owners can use to evaluate whether spaying or neutering their dog is the right decision based on the research gathered, the breed of their dog and what kind of lifestyle they lead.