Hmmm. If what you say here is true (which your thread asking about changing wormers and not knowing whether or not Frontline spot on is ok to use seriously makes me doubt Changing wormers and other queries! ) all I can say is it shows why we get a lot of threads on here from people who despair at either the lack of knowledge of their vet or the attitude their vet has towards them.

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Bergies and borders - what more could anyone want? Siamese and maine coons, of course!

From the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam:
The Moving Finger writes, and, having writ,
Moves on, nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
(But you can always edit your post, of course )

the strain put on joints by excessive growth can and does affect the joints adversely - it is inadvisable to put such pressure on joints by needlessly neutering dogs early :-(

other interesting papers (by american vet Chris Zinc) :-

http://www.caninesports.com/SNBehavi...taSnapShot.pdf

Canine Sports Productions: Early Spay-Neuter Considerations for the Canine Athlete

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Penny
Funfastquick Agility Dogs

Even a friend of mine at the RVC with access to all the data/studies stored there is unable to source me a peer verified neutering study of worth.

Until a definitive study of individual breeds with a decent control group and unbiased reporting appears (unlikely given the bread and butter nature of neutering for most vets) then no-one can really say one or the other is better.

I remain, however, convinced that I do not need to subject my dogs to an 'unnecessary' operation.

Regardless of the lack of a thorough study, I do wish more owner's would read around the subject and not blindly follow the bog standard vet advice, which in my opinion, is more driven by financial reasons than by concerns for welfare. Saying that, if I had bitches, I'd spay with no quibbling. Pyo sounds horrific.

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Transplanted Geordie
RIP Jake, my best dog. 10.8.10
RIP Boomerang, beautiful horse. 27.5.08

the trouble is no study on anything is unbiased. You can find a conflicting and very convincing sounding study on almost anything you want.

I looked into any possible link between oestrogen and cataracts and discovered that 1) menopausal women are more prone to cataracts because of lack of oestrogen 2) Women on HRT are more prone to cataracts because of extra oestrogen.