Rebuttal to “Early Spay-Neuter Considerations for the Canine Athlete”

I have written a rebuttal to Dr. Zink’s article entitled “Early Spay-Neuter Considerations for the Canine Athlete” in which Dr. Zink attempts to make an argument for revisiting the “standard protocol in which all dogs that are not intended for breeding are spayed and neutered at or before 6 months of age.” In his discussion, Dr. Zink quotes manuscripts incorrectly in some instances, doesn’t present all of the data from given studies (ie, misrepresenting the findings of the studies) in other instances, and doesn’t include the interpretation of the data by the study’s authors (leading to erroneous interpretations of some data by Dr. Zink) in yet other instances. While I typically don’t write rebuttals to others’ writings, or opinions (after all, we are all entitled to our opinions), the multiple errors and misrepresentations of the scientific literature quoted in this dissertation compelled me to “set the record straight” with regard to the literature being incorrectly cited by Dr. Zink. While I respectfully disagree with Dr. Zink’s opinion on the appropriate age at which to spay and castrate dogs not intended for breeding, my primary purpose for this rebuttal is to present the literature that Dr. Zink cites in a more accurate, and more complete, fashion so that the veterinarian reader may reach their own conclusions regarding the most appropriate time to spay or castrate the nonbreeding animal, based upon accurate representation of the scientific literature.