We take on the female neutering side this time, add a sprinkle of bright news against elective surgeries for looks, show the deep-sixxed data on vac’d vs unvac’d kids (wow!), and talk nosodes vs vaccines as prevention. Let’s dig in!
She’s Got Some Ovaries!
In the last issue, we covered the premise that chopping off testicles was a great way to prevent testicular cancer, hahaha:
Vital Animal News: August 31, 2025
This time around: how you’re being pushed into neutering, falsely; when Flagyl lost to fiber, mega dairies become death traps, and a remedy every ER needs and MORE. Let’s dig in, eh?
As promised, we’ll dig deeper into the female side in this issue.
The analogous question first: is ovariohysterectomy (the $40 word for spay, meaning ovaries and uterus getting 86’d) a prevention tactic for mammary cancer as commonly claimed?
It turns out the evidence is pretty weak for this claim, as I point out in this earlier blog post on the all too common vet marketing ploy:
I cite a Royal Veterinary College study in that post, and while it’s dated 2012, there’s been no significant over turning of their findings in my recent research on this topic.
So, let’s chalk that spay reason up to fear mongering, ever prevalent in conventional veterinary medicine, as it is in human medicine.
And, if you search for wolves and coyotes dying of mammary cancer, well, as you might guess, that’s so rare as to be laughable. If it happens at all, it’s in captivity.
Oops.
And remember, all the dog breeds, from itty bitty cutie patooties to the giant breeds are genetically very similar to the wolf, their well established ancestor.
Evidence of Ovary Bennies
Some interesting research to the contrary is worth bringing to light.
It showed Rottweilers had increased longevity that correlated with the length of time they had intact ovaries. Their data show a 3-10X increase in the odds of achieving “exceptional longevity,” in fact.
As you likely know, the larger breeds aren’t exactly known for long lives. The average Rottweiler life span is typically 8-10 years.
The exceptional group lived 13 or more years.
David J. Waters, PhD, DVM is the chief research lead. Though he’s interested primarily in human longevity, he views the dog as a great model for study, living in the same environment as her humans.
He points out that it’s already known that women outlive men, and they are statistically far more likely to reach age 100 by a factor of 4:1 over men.
But, spaying?
Like women, female dogs were more likely than males to achieve exceptional longevity (OR, 95% CI = 2.0, 1.2–3.3; P= 0.006). However, removal of ovaries during the first 4 years of life erased the female survival advantage.”
Rotties and Cancer
The complicating factor in the breed he chose is unfortunately cancer, often of the bone.
The Big C was the leading cause of death in the usual longevity group (73% of them died of this), while the exceptional group saw only 32% deaths from cancer (the rest from “frailty” and non-cancer causes).
When he eliminated those with cancer diagnoses from his stats, that group was the longest lived of all, nearly 10X more likely to reach 13 or more years of age.
So, we’re back to “ovaries help health, but darn that all cause cancer!”
And, I won’t belabor the point, but a quick review of why cancer rarely affects the wild cousins while it kills 50% of dogs past middle age is in order.
The differences between your domestic dog and her ancestors and wild cousins are:
Vaccination
Obesity/inactivity
Second hand smoke
Chronic inflammation
Immune suppression (have you read the comments on my Apoquel article yet? Wow.)
And you can well imagine crappy, over processed foods (aka kibble) and pesticides for lawns and fleas, ticks and heartworm don’t help.
[If you want to hear a related podcast episode, I interviewed a vet aiming to make his fave breed, the Great Dane, outlive the average with food choices. Click here #9 Thomas Sandberg: Laughing at life expectancy statistics and take us on your next walk.]
Early Neutering Data
In other breeds, chiefly the ever popular Golden Retriever, all manner of health concerns befall the spayed females.
I cite this data and others in my Neuter or Not? And When? article.
From cancer to incontinence to joint disorders, the neutered beat the intact in disease incidence.
A couple of striking findings from the research:
Cruciate ligament disease: none in the intact of both sexes, ONLY in neutered dogs
Mast cell tumors: absent in intact females, present ONLY in spayed females
Worse case scenario from the data: pre-pubertal (“early”) neutering.
Hormones are most definitely involved in balanced growth.
Take them away and plan to pay (aka FAFO).
Healthier Options
Females first, as that’s the topic here.
There’s a special surgery called Ovary Sparing Spay (OSS) which removes the uterus up to and including the cervix but leaves the ovaries intact.
Hormones in place means you’ll forgo the problems above and likely aid longevity of your loved one.
Heats will still be a thing, seasonally, usually two a year in dogs.
Some dogs are so clean, they’ll never spot, others need diapers or some other strategy to prevent messes.
And the males will come a-calling, but again, only twice a year for some days.
Those practicing OSS have been (or should have been) trained to do this. It’s a non-routine surgery, one not taught in vet school. The Paracemus Foundation is a source of info for vets and owners to learn more.
Oh, and OSS surgery will also prevent pyometra, another disease blamed on not spaying your females.
Males: Easy Answer
It’s far simpler to keep males hormonally intact while still preventing insemination and unwanted litters.
The vasectomy is a simple surgery, not taught in vet school, but easily picked up in practice.
And, of course, those boys will still want to wander if a female is in heat (a common cause of “vehicular trauma” also covered in the last issue), so be cautious about this.
Aggression? Not as common as it’s purported to be, in my experience.
So, to wrap up, gonads are well worth saving. If it costs a bit more to opt to keep them, those surgery costs will be well compensated by longer, healthier lives.
And if population control is high on your list, you’re covered there as well .
AAHA, Fingers, Ears and Tails
Speaking of elective surgery, if you’re a vet and want to join those clinics who are AAHA (American Animal Hospital Assoc.) accredited, as of Dec 1, 2025, you’ll have to stop chopping off ears, claws and tails. Oh, and vocal cords.
Well, unless “medically necessary,” says the new language.
Wait.
When, exactly, would it be a medical necessity to chop ears in half on a Doberman or Great Dane?
Or to chop off a tail to leave a tiny nub on a Rottweiler or a Boxer?
Here’s the reason it’s claimed to be done: “Breed Standards.”
So, in short, “we like the look.”
Or we can’t be bothered to train away or set up the environment to prevent excessive barking.
Tsk, tsk. Let’s do better, people.
Cats Mutilated to Protect the Couch
Then there’s declawing cats, itself an inhumane procedure that actually cuts off the last digit of each toe.
Just so we’re clear, hold out your hand and examine your fingers.
See the parts with nails attached?
That entire finger tip is chopped off in cats in the interest of keeping furniture intact.
Besides pain, often chronic, energetically this is a disaster for the cats. Why?
Most of the major acupuncture meridians either begin or end at the tips of the fingers and toes, connecting the body’s internal organs to its extremities through these energetically potent points.
You probably have heard how we are all energetic entities, right? Homeopathy, TCM, and even chiropractic have long recognized that reality.
Imagine the disturbance in “the force” of those who lose all their finger or toe tips?
Or their ears or tails, for that matter.
The ear is a powerhouse of acupuncture points, each linked to different parts of the body. The ear is said to act as a “control panel” for the body’s energy, making it a favorite spot for acupuncturists treating everything from pain to addiction.
Long Frowned Upon
The AVMA, AAHA and other vet orgs have long discouraged these procedures, while most of the developed world has outright banned them.
That includes most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Canada.
Declawing is actually banned in several states, including New York State, Maryland, and several cities (Los Angeles, Denver, San Francisco, Austin, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Madison, etc.). More states and municipalities are considering bans.
So, Is This AAHA Ban Significant?
It’s actually pretty toothless, as only ~15% of animal hospitals are AAHA accredited.
It’s not nothing, but it won’t prevent the majority of the butchering going on for breed looks and couches and, in the case of “debarking” (also banned in similar places), the cheap fix in place of, you know, training or understanding your dog’s needs.
So, once again, you, as an individual, will be the front lines against this brutality.
I had a fellow vet student who left her Dobie pup with all his natural parts, and what a fine looking dog he was!
Love the breed, love their God-given appearance.
What a concept.
Vaccinated vs Not: The Data Are Here
Over my practice years (40 or so), I’ve seen very few unvaccinated animals.
The healthiest ones were those very minimally vaccinated (and eating raw diets, avoiding pesticides, you know the drill…)
But clearly, I saw vaccination damage repeatedly.
And learned of it, not from vet school, but from homeopathic training in the early 90’s.
Dr. Richard Pitcairn, DVM, PhD taught us that he was unable to cure chronically ill animals with homeopathy unless and until he, at some point in his prescribing, addressed illness due to vaccination, aka “vaccinosis.”
He also shared with us the work of homeopathic physician J. Compton Burnett, who published many small books from his human practice experience. Perhaps the most striking was “Vaccinosis and Its Cure by Thuja,” still in print today.
Case after case of long term suffering was presented, some of it incapacitating, in people who were healthy before undergoing smallpox vaccination.
And while that was eye opening, I also learned through my own casework that Thuja isn’t a “one size fits all” vaccinosis remedy. There are others that might fit better.
The Wow! Factor
There were many cases in my practice, both near and long distance, who got brilliantly better when a well chosen vaccinosis remedy was given.
One is a cat I wrote about here: How Safe is Your Pet from “Just a Rabies Vaccine?”
That kitty responded well after a dose of homeopathic Sulphur, one of the better known remedies for vaccine illness, among other things.
And while that poor animal neared death shortly after a rabies shot, most of my cases weren’t that clearly cause and effect.
It was more common to catch it after a well fitting homeopathic known to be a vaccinosis remedy cleared 80% of a patient’s illness.
Then, wowed, I’d explain to the client that, because so much got better in her animal after this remedy, it was fair to assume vaccines had been the major impediment to her pet’s health.
The Parallels with Kids
As luck would have it, my eyes were opened to vaccine induced illness shortly after the childhood vaccine schedule had been grossly increased, and autism was on the rise.
I couldn’t ignore that correlation. It was causation enough for me, seeing what my animal patients had been revealing and reading story after story of trusting moms who’d lost their children to the disease shortly after their shots.
Around that same time, a book was published “Vaccination, Social Violence, and Criminality: The Medical Assault on the American Brain” (1990) by Harris Coulter, PhD.
Coulter argues that “post-encephalitic syndrome” from vaccine-induced brain inflammation is under-recognized and may contribute to conduct disorders, sociopathy, and impulsive violence.
Sound familiar? Note the publishing date.
And in vet medicine, ADHD is quite common in dogs and aggression in both dogs and cats, post-vaccination. Some of us call this “brain on fire.”
Finally: The Study
While we’ve had earlier evidence from pediatricians like Paul Thomas, MD (zero ADHD in his unvac’d kid population), it turns out there was a damning study on the two groups, done by a scientist in 2020 who set out to prove vaccines were safe.
And oh, how deliciously wrong he turned out to be.
While focused solely on humans, I think this will be of interest to everyone whose charges are covered with hair. Here’s more:
Here’s the paper itself, presented to the US senate. I read today it’s been withdrawn from publication. By the author.
Because it didn’t “fit the narrative.”
An “inconvenient study” indeed. And though buried for 5 years, it’s finally coming to light.
Tasty Tip:
When can my puppy mingle?
People who’ve gotten our nosode kit for parvo and distemper are often coming from a history of vaccine use in the past.
And didn’t we all?
That background carries the knowledge that immunity from an injected load of viruses takes time to develop.
That reality has apparently been shared by Dr. WhiteCoat, cautioning that little Mugsy should avoid cavorting with other dogs for a couple of weeks after vaccination while immunity builds.
Trouble is, out of the other side of his mouth, the same vet will pressure clients to “get your animal’s vaccines up to date” before Sadie can be even looked at today.
So, an inconvenient truth, perhaps?
Because, Sadie won’t really be up to date for today’s exam and treatment if there’s that bothersome lag period… are you with me?
Well, we have to keep our staff safe, so we’ll just give her a rabies booster before we get started here, eh wot?”
If you’ve ever encountered this insane stance, you can now call it out.
Enter Energetic Immunity
With nosodes, which are homeopathic remedies made from disease discharges (but ultra-diluted by a homeopathic pharmacy, so 100% non-infective), the immunity established has zero lag time.
The remedy hits the tongue, the animal’s vital force is energetically alerted, and if the natural disease tries to gain entrance, any infection is thwarted.
So, how long till Mugsy can go out and roughhouse with the dogs in the park?
When asked, my answer is uniformly the same: right after the first dose is given!
An Inherent Limit to Mention
Energetic protection like this is only given (at least in my protocol) up until the age of nine months. That’s the point where the pup’s immune system should be mature and trusted to carry on keeping her safe from the infectious diseases of concern.
So, we’ll get protective antibody titers by that time? Something we can show the vet and get into shows with?
No. We don’t expect antibodies to be made from energetic protection, as there’s nothing physical injected. Only oral energy medicine.
But, if you add in controlled natural exposure (keyword: controlled) as I outline in my Smart Vaccine Alternatives course, antibody titers will be stout and long lasting. In fact, that controlled exposure will reliably produce much stouter immunity that any injected viruses ever could.
So, nosodes have long been a favorite means of protection among homeopaths, though misunderstanding and spurious protocols abound (buyer beware).
My protocol was forged in a mind meld weekend with several homeopathic vets decades ago, and it replaced a more allopathic model of ascending potencies that doesn’t do nearly as good a job.
How about a rabies nosode?
More coming in a longer article one day, but in short, giving lyssin (the nosode made from rabid saliva) only makes sense if you can predict when the next rabid animal bite is coming.
And obviously, you’d never know that, right?
Using any homeopathic remedy over and over for months or years?
Bad practice. Cannot be recommended.
I’d take lyssin 30C if I was to volunteer to wade into an Indian or African village and vaccinate all the dogs we could catch in an effort to stop the children from dying of rabies.
But I’d only take it while engaged in that work.
So yes, nosodes offer solid protection in early life against infectious disease. And that energetic immunity is immediate. And safe, especially compared to vaccines.
Along the Natural Path
A hint of Fall is in the air, I’m happy to say. In India, my favorite season is quite delayed, not getting serious until November, when finally, a sweater or flannel shirt will be welcome.
I see it coming in the plants (like those gorgeous grasses above) and in the lengthened morning shadows and the earlier hour that dusk becomes apparent.
And, while there were a couple of brief storms earlier in this fortnight…
…monsoon season is clearly coming to a close. More days in a row now when we can safely hang clothes to dry without an unexpected “extra rinse cycle.”
My morning bike rides have seen some animals telling stories.
Dogs seem to know that drivers of all manner of vehicles will just steer around them. While this gal snoozes on a small road, I see them on busier roads as well, often shifting traffic by their very presence.
Yesterday, on a different route, I came upon a bull and small cow freely feasting on a rice field:
A passing villager I asked about it tried to blame it on PM Modi. Ah, no, brother, more likely the farmer just failed to fence in his crop like everyone else! Politics are everywhere…
The rice crop is in all stages of growth, depending on how early the planting took place. Irrigation is common through big ballooning hoses, 5” in diameter, carrying Ganges aquifer water across roads and into fields like this:
And here’s a plant worth knowing:
Castor bean, growing tall and busy, but not yet flowering. Castor oil is famous as household remedy for all kinds of ailments, mostly in external wraps. And one seed is reputedly poisonous enough to kill a small child, so go figure.
I remember doing Ayurvedic cleanses back in the day that started with “oleation” (drinking warm ghee before bed in increasing doses, which I loved) but ended with drinking castor oil which tasted so horrible it had to be immediately “chased” by biting into a lemon. And then, multiple trips to the toilet as all hell broke loose. After a few of those over a few years, I just couldn’t again.
Well, that’s what I've got for you this time around. I hope you’re enjoying seasonal changes and getting out in the greenery with your loved ones of all species.
Till next time, keep on making wise choices for those animals in your care who depend on you, and let us hear from you in the comments.
Will Falconer, DVM
I absolutely love your articles! They make my mind swirl in all directions, and I mean that in the best way. The "brain on fire" comment makes me question where that is what is happening across the human world. I would love for someone to do a serious study of the perpetrators of violence, to see just how many of the all-important vaccines these folks may have had.
Appreciate All information so I can make better choices in Healthcare for my feline family members.