Kirurgisk kastration av Hanhund är ett omdebatterat ämne och det finns fördelar såväl som nackdelar med kastration. Detta arbete utfördes cirka 20 år efter att det blev tillåtet att kastrera hundar utan veterinärmedicinsk orsak i Sverige.Arbetet är en sammanställning av studier som gjorts på beteendeförändringar, fysiska förändringar, postoperativa komplikationer, orsaker till kastration och inställning till kastration. När det gäller orsaker till och inställning till kastration har även en egen undersökning genomförts.I arbetet finns en sammanställning av den kunskap och erfarenhet som idag finns i detta ämne hos olika svenska specialister inom hund. Arbetet innefattar en studie av vad aktiva, erfarna personer inom olika prov för hund har för erfarenheter och synpunkter på kastrerade hundars deltagande i prov samt vad regelverken säger om kastrerade hundars deltagande i prov. Utöver detta har utvecklingen av antalet kastrerade hundar i Sverige undersökts..

BACKGROUND Until 1988, it was forbidden to neuter male dogs in Sweden without a veterinary medical cause, so there is clearly no long tradition of this procedure in healthy dogs. According to the website of The Swedish Kennel Club (SKK), February 11, 2011, there has been an increase of castrated male dogs in Sweden. They see this increase as worrying, especially in cases of the less common breeds, where it is most important to maintain the gene pool. The SKK expresses concern that castration is used as a tool to influence the personality of dogs, instead of training and education of the dog. They write that castration should be preceded by a discussion initiated by the veterinarian, where the pros and cons of castration are weighed against each other.

This article presents a survey of male dogs treated with the gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist deslorelin (Suprelorin®, Virbac) at three animal clinics in central Sweden. Filled-in questionnaires from 110 dogs were received. The paper also includes a review of existing litterature concerning reproduction in male dogs, focusing on endocrinology, the effects of gonadectomy and the GnRH agonist deslorelin. Continuous treatment with deslorelin produces infertility in male dogs. The pituitary is initially stimulated by deslorelin leading to a rise in luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) secretion. As a consequence the testosterone levels also increase temporarily.

Castration of dogs holds many reasons and opinions, therefore methods, traditions and rea-sons vary. The approaches have during time changed from mostly surgical castrations to also including hormonal treatments. Castration is used to control the dog's reproductive abilities, for medical reasons and to possibly rectify problems of behavioral nature. How common a particular method of castration is in a country is highly dependent on the country's traditions. In Sweden it is most common with castration for medical reasons, such as possible elimina-tion of diseases, for example, benign colorectal tumors.