Sorry for posting what I imagine has been asked a zillion times before. Our previous black lab showed excessive sexual dominance and we resisted neutering (even vet didn't want to do!) - we eventually did and for him it was an instant, permanent cure to the problem we had - best thing we ever did - by the way I have owned several male dogs before and never had to neuter. Our "new" boy, Archie, was 2 yesterday - he has the kindest temperament - shows absolutely no aggression at all. But we live in a fairly populated area and generally walk the same field - indeed many outside area drive to same field. Archie is generally fine but clearly goes nuts when he smells a dog on heat and very recently has been pestering spayed females - he usually is a very good at recall but in these circumstances, he drops all and really struggles to obey any command until I collect him - he almost looks at me with an apologetic look on his face! I am prepared to sweat this out if the opinion is that he will grow out of this but if unlikely to change will seriously consider neutering. His other characteristics may also be due to his testsosterone? - he has the most incredible energy I have ever seen in a dog - which itself is tiring for me controlling in the countryside BUT he does respond generally 100% to commands - he is just "full on" for hours, so not really a problem. The only other remaining slight problem is he can still pull big time on lead - I don't expect this in any way connected to testosterone but maybe? Thanks for any comments
Hi, no I doubt he will grow out of it , and I don't think his pulling on lead is connected with a testosterone surge either, unless he is anxious because he scents a bitch on heat ! Why not have a word with your Vet about a possible chemical castration ? Sorry I forget the name of the drug now but its a way to tell if actual castration will help , without going for the snip straight away .
I like 'full on' male dogs - the confident, massively energetic, out there, brave males. I don't know how much testosterone plays a part in this, but I think it must be a big contributor. So for me, the high energy etc is a definite plus point (I'm sure you get neutered dogs like this too - she adds hastily, in an effort not to annoy anyone.... ) Pulling on the lead and interest in spayed girls are most definitely just training issues. Intense interest in bitches in heat, yep, that's an entire male thing and gets a bit worse, I think, once they cotton on to what it might be all about..... If you have an entire male you have to train like mad and manage that if you live in an area with lots of bitches in heat around - I do, I meet them off lead in a built up area on a regular basis. But so far, less troublesome than footballs to be honest.
Good advice so far. I'm not a big fan of castration either, and it certainly won't cure the pulling or the interest in neutered bitches. Suprelorin is the name of the chemical implant mentioned above; my old male lab had it for health reasons when he had prostrate problems and I know others have used it on young, sexually mature male dogs to curb their sexual urges. I do think that around 2 years old is around the worst time for male dogs as regards sexual awareness. They tend to calm down - a bit! - as time goes by. In the meantime, try to find other things that he really loves to do - whether that be retrieving, swimming, agility, running with you or whatever - to take his mind off it. It won't cure his interest in the girls - but if he is mentally and physically busy and tired, then you'll probably find him easier to manage.
Absolutely you do . If you can, @simonD , I would certainly go down the chemical castration route first, to see if Archie's behaviour will be "fixed".
That is an incredibly simplistic statement to what can be a very complex decision on what is the best decision for an individual male. Some makes are 100% fine as an entire male while others benefit from neutering. It depends upon the individual needs and circumstances.
A friend with a champion stud dog, titled in show, rally and agility plus a special title for Tollers accomplished in multiple activities had hoped to use him at stud but he was like that too, and also extremely apprehensive about meeting new people. If anybody could work with that dog she could but she finally neutered him at three years old. Nothing changed. She worked and worked and worked some more as her main goal is competition, not breeding. He is now easier to handle, no longer uncontrollably salivating just from walking over the same place a spayed bitch walked before. But he is still one weird dog. Whether the successes she has had with him would have come about whether she neutered him or not cannot be told. he is easier to live with now but again, he got to age three, maybe he would have changed anyway, no way to tell.
I would definitely recommend talking with your vet about the Suprelorin as it’ll allow you to see what desexing/neutering would do to your dog’s behaviour without having to try anything permanent. Some of the behaviours you describe (behaviour around entire bitches) are sexual in nature and are likely to be changed by the use of Suprelorin or desexing. Beanwood wrote a very detailed account of using Suprelorin with an entire male dog of hers who was very attracted to the ladies. That’s really worth reading in full. Here’s one thread about the Suprelorin (it contains links to an older, original thread and I’d strongly recommend reading that too — https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/suprelorin-and-benson-a-log.10782/ Some entire males show little interest in bitches in heat while others show huge interest. It really varies... The high energy behaviour and pulling are separate issues and will need a training solution, not a hormonal solution.
Moderator Note: I have deleted a post in this thread. Please keep opinions about other members to yourself (unless they are positive!). Please confine your comments to on-topic contributions that will be of assistance to the OP, who has come to this forum seeking advice.
I had my male castrated because he had a preputial catarrh and I did not like the yellow spots up my walls! It did not spoil his drive one iota, on the other hand it didn't cure him from pulling on the lead
Axel also left yellow spots all over my dark hardwood floors too which was super annoying. But he also was obsessed with humping other dogs. He could not get unfocused, he was visibly frustrated. So after 8 months of trying to redirect we got him neutered. It was an instant fix to the humping and has never humped since. My OH and I also work full time so we needed to do what was best for us as well as Axel. We wanted him in daycare a couple times a week so he wasn’t sitting at home all day by himself but because his humping was so bad we were told he could no longer come unless he got fixed. We never wanted to get him neutered but unfortunately we had to. I know one of his siblings who is not neutered but also was not a humper. Sorry if this is inappropriate to say but I think what was said earlier which has since been removed was incredibly rude and offensive. I did not ruin Axel by getting him neutered. Instead he can now go out and about and not be so frustrated and one tract minded. Also no longer have to worry about him running off to a scent like he used to, he’s safer now from speeding cars in my neighbourhood. Each dog is an individual just like every person is, what works for one may not work for another. Axel and his brother are a prime example of that, they are from the same litter but have such different personalities. I love my boy and he is perfect to me and that’s all that matters.
I don’t want to start an argument at all I just wanted to say that neutering your dog isn’t a bad thing if the benefits of doing it out weighs the cons. It sure did for us and even still Axel is incredibly muscular and fit and has tons of energy when out and about but also very relaxed and sleeps the day away at home.
No one would ever doubt your love and commitment to Axel and all your other furry friends. They always look so happy healthy and confident I think the removed post was very rude too. I would like to our mods.
To be honest I always thought when I got a dog I'd get them spayed/neutered when they got to an appropriate age. It was only when I found this forum that I started to reconsider my decision. Stanley was also a terrible humper and it took forever to walk a small distance due to his marking everything. We got him neutered, very much for the reasons Kelsey did in that I needed help looking after him and daycares/dog walkers wouldn't take him once he was a year unless he was neutered. It was a really hard decision for me and OH to make and there was long discussions. But the decision we made was that long periods of being alone were worse than having him neutered. His behaviour was never really a consideration. As with Kelsey he instantly stopped humping and marking. He was like a different dog - I've also never seen his lipstick really since which was also a regular occurance. All in all I have no regrets about getting him done. I also think it's down to the individual dog as maybe with some dogs neutering would make no difference - it definitely hasn't altered his personality in anyway. He's still the crazy, loving, absolutely bonkers dog he always was - and we've still had to keep up with the training. But he's turned out happy and healthy so I don't think I could ask for much more
My two male dogs, years ago, started marking in the house. The vet suggested having them neutered. The received wisdom now is that it would make no difference. But it did! They never marked in the house again! I don’t think it made a jot of difference to their characters and they lived to a happy, healthy 15.
