Will Falconer, DVM Moderator
It's likely not a healthy population they are studying, Marcia. It's the same group of animals that gave rise to another theriogenology "risk" that a wolf would never experience. We've all heard it, right? "Spayed animals have a greatly reduced risk of breast cancer, especially if spayed before the first heat!"
Who's in that population? Dogs fed lifeless toxic food (Sci Die, etc.), over vaccinated against all common sense, and likely poisoned with heartworm and flea pesticides. I'd rather compare to the intact wolf bitch, who I suspect *never* gets breast cancer. Or dies for lack of C-section. Or gives birth to fatally ill youngsters from birth canal bacteria.
Then the question becomes, how can we emulate that close ancestor? Let's count the ways…