SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
from the how-much^W-big-is-that-doggie-in-the-window? dept.
Big Dogs Face More Joint Problems if Neutered Early:
It's standard practice in the U.S. and much of Europe to neuter dogs by 6 months of age. This study, which analyzed 15 years of data from thousands of dogs at UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, suggests dog owners should consider their options carefully.
"Most dogs are mixed breeds," said lead author Benjamin Hart, distinguished professor emeritus at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
[...] Researchers examined common joint disorders including hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia and cranial cruciate ligament tears, a knee injury, in five weight categories.
[...] The risk of joint disorders for heavier dogs can be up to a few times higher compared to dogs left intact. This was true for large mixed-breed dogs. For example, for female dogs over 43 pounds, the risk jumped from 4 percent for intact dogs to 10-12 percent if spayed before a year of age.
"The study raises unique challenges," noted co-author Lynette Hart, professor at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. "People like to adopt puppies from shelters, but with mixed breeds it may be difficult to determine just how big the dog will become if you don't know anything about the dog's parents."
Neutering prior to adoption is a common requirement or policy of humane societies, animal shelters and breeders. [...] Shelters, breeders and humane societies should consider adopting a standard of neutering at over a year of age for dogs that will grow into large sizes.
Journal Reference:
Hart, Benjamin L., Hart, Lynette A., Thigpen, Abigail P., et al. Assisting Decision-Making on Age of Neutering for Mixed Breed Dogs of Five Weight Categories: Associated Joint Disorders and Cancers, Frontiers in Veterinary Science (DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2020.00472)
(Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Saturday August 15 2020, @05:59PM
It took 4,000 years for a single random recessive mutation in one person to spread blue ayes over a significant part of the human population. We don't need hundreds of thousands of years for mutations to spread. The average person has something like 60-200 random mutations. We're a real-time experiment in rapid evolution and the advantage it gives, same as the flu virus.
Since humans for most of our short existence never lived long enough to experience menopause, there was no evolutionary pressure either way. Now that we're living much longer than even as recently as 1900, we're seeing that menopause is a huge risk of aging. Brittle bones that aren't fixed with calcium supplements, dementia, muscle loss, depression, and the biggest risk factor - being placed in an old age home. Large losses of cognitive function within weeks as people become "institutionalized", passive, anxious. But this is exactly what we expect - people go to nursing homes to die, not to be nursed back to health.
With the way COVID19 swept through nursing homes, more people are going to choose euthanasia or suicide. Because dying in a pool of your own shit is SO not what people want. Life expectancy in a nursing home is 2 years, so after a lifetime, why not just skip the bad stuff at the end? It adds nothing of value - unless you're making money off it either as an employee, operator, or supplier. It's your body - choosing when to take it with you is the ultimate freedom.
SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.