Hi all, Since I've been reading a lot on this board I want to ask a question in my best English.... We've been away for a couple of days and we always bring our dogs to a pension. The woman who runs the pension made us think about castration of our youngest lab of 16 month old. She told us he has been dominant to other dogs. He was bullying them by biting in tales and paws. Especially her dog was the victim. He tended to do so towards our male lab of 9 years old. But we have rules in house and now they accept this and peace returned again. As the two are also going with a dog walker I asked her how his behavior was in the group of dogs. She told us it was no problem at all. He plays with the ones who wants to play with him. But she also told us that it wouldn't harm him to be castrated, hmmm...... My husband does most of the time the walking the two dogs. He has a problem with the youngest when he is off the lead. He is then a bully to other dogs, so the same as the woman of the pension told us. My question is now, when do you have to castrate him, is this a reason enough to do so? We can't go back to the shelter with him until he is castrated. Otherwise we have to look for an other option when we go on holiday.... I will be pleased to get an answer! Annemarie from the Netherlands
Re: When is it time for castration? Hi and welcome. I only have a female lab so not the best person to answer, but, in my opinion, it is your decision as to whether or not you castrate him and when. Hopefully some others who gave male dogs will be along soon with some advice
Re: When is it time for castration? Hi there, I am sure others will add to this. I have had 2 dogs and my vet was very clear that castration would only help sexualised behaviour. I had one that was never castrated. We have recently castrated my 9 year old as he fell in love with our new little girl. I am not sure it would help dominance issues but am sure others comment their experience will comment. Best wishes Emma.
Re: When is it time for castration? Hello Annemarie, and welcome! I am not an expert but I will tell you about Pongo, my dog. He is 15 months old. We have been told that it is best NOT to castrate a dog until he is at least two or three years old, because castrating him will affect his natural growth - both physically and emotionally. Also that, sometimes, 'bad behaviour' is not affected by castration - it will only help behaviour that is directly linked to sexuality. Anyway, Pongo has never had any signs of 'bad behaviour', and so we do not want to castrate him. I think it is more difficult for you if your dog is behaving badly, especially if it means you cannot use the holiday home for him. Our 'Doggy Daycare' centre (which Pongo goes to quite often) also has a rule that dogs over 12 months old must be castrated. But we obtained a letter from Pongo's breeder to say that she might want to use him for breeding in future, which meant that the Daycare centre could change the rules for us. Other people on this forum know much more about the science of this. I'm sure you'll get good advice. Let us know what you decide to do! Rosie
Re: When is it time for castration? I have also read that castration may not be the answer to behaviour. I would always ask lots of opinions (which you will get here) and not just rely on what one person says.
Re: When is it time for castration? Hi Annemarie and welcome to the forum Castration can alter the way a male dog relates to other male dogs, but the results are not very predictable. One option you could try is chemical castration, which is temporary and will wear off in a few months, then if the result is not what you had hoped, you will be no worse off than where you began. This article has some more information Should I have my Labrador castrated?
Re: When is it time for castration? [quote author=Anne123 link=topic=10120.msg148121#msg148121 date=1425831917] He tended to do so towards our male lab of 9 years old. But we have rules in house and now they accept this and peace returned again. [/quote] How old was your dog when he bullied your 9 year old male lab? (If he did this when he was very young then it probably was not sexually driven, so castration may not help.) PS Congratulations on your English, it is a lot better than my Dutch...
Re: When is it time for castration? We have a young male lab Benson, who is nearly 17 months old. He is a challenge, so we need to work really hard on recall and heel work. He also needs lots of exercise, we are worn out at the end of the day! : We also have a 6 year old castrated black labrador. On the subject of castration, this would not have ANY effect on calming Benson. or on his interactions with other dogs with respect to aggression, indeed I have been advised that early castration on young males can impact their confidence levels negatively, and this can translate into a reactive dog. Benson is not an aggressive or reactive dog btw. With Benson however all castration would do is stop him bolting after in season bitches, and then feeling quite frustrated for a a couple of days after. That would be the only reason for castration in our mind. He has a real drive for an in season bitch and there is absolutely nothing we can do in those circumstances. Now interestingly, it is the older castrated dog who is more likely to cause tension when meeting other dogs, and not my entire lad. This is because he hasn't been well socialised, and when he meets an equally poorly socialised dog well sparks (or barks.) can fly! Going back to Benson, we have had him chemically castrated, to see what would happen if we dampened down his sexual drive. Well as we expected this had NO effect on calming him, or his interaction with other dogs, we didn't expect it too. He has not though, run after a bitch since about a week post injection. The awful whining, and pulling desperately on the lead has also stopped. This only happened when we were near an in season bitch, normally he NEVER whines.. and pulls on his lead occasionally. Every dog is different, and the subject of castation is a very personal thing, there is no real right or wrong as long as it is in the best interest of the dog and we can manage the outcome...eg: for us, is it fair not to castrate Benson? The reason we are reluctant too at this stage is he has been slow to mature both physically and mentally. He is a large dog, so would not expect him to fully mature until 2 years time. We also have sought professional advice, largely because we value having someone else look at Benson and give us impartial advice based on sound clinical evidence and behavioural assessment.
Re: When is it time for castration? Thank you all for your replies! I learn a lot of you all, and it is nice to have people who knows the breed and can help you with the thinking of what to do! I knew that castration has an influence on his growth, not that he can become problematic in his behavior as well. Let me tell you about the experience we had so far. We had a bitch who was spayed at the age of three. We also bought a second lab when she was 8 years old. The 2nd lab was a male and his testicles weren't where they belong. They were hidden in his belly, and the vet told us that could be a problem for it was warmer in his belly. They had to be removed. He was by then 3 years old. He never has been a "real male". He always was in between. Now he is 9 years old, and we had a little boy who is now almost 17 month old. He has got quite a temper. We have our hands full on him educating. My husband trains him every Saturday. Here in the house he is still in his crate. That works well and he finds it comforting. Three times a week he and the older lab are going with the dog walker to excersise for I am not able to give them what they need, I have a disability and can't walk very far. We are also very reluctant to go ahead and castrate him. My husband experience also pestering behavior to other dogs when he is of lead. We were, as I said, a couple of days on a short vacation and we brought him to the kennel where he came from puppy of. Now the woman told us this, I myself think that Finn was not in a crate as she used to do, and that he was on war path, or wanted to play because he was bored..... But when he is not castrated we can't bring him there anymore. Maybe it is time to search for another home where they can stay. But most of the time a non castrated dog becomes a problem here in holland! I really don't know what to do! Annemarie PS. Thank you Rosie for the compliment! Finn just recently started bullying or pestering our oldest lab.
