Our Dogs tore lumps out of eachother, until......
Discussion
As some of you will know, our two sort of grown up pups were fighting, a lot, daily, and proper fighting. They were becoming too big to separate and it was getting worrying.
So, one week to the day after having their knackers chopped off and they haven't so much as growled at each other for nearly three days now.
We are so relieved.
So, one week to the day after having their knackers chopped off and they haven't so much as growled at each other for nearly three days now.
We are so relieved.
Glad to hear it, and nice dogs
Neutering doesn't usually have anywhere near the amount of effect that people expect. Occasionally it will reduce some hormone-driven behaviour and the results can be either positive or negative, but normally it makes very little difference.
The fighting may still return, but hopefully not!
Have you had them the same amount of time, or has one dog been in the family longer? I am a great believer in giving preferential treatment to the more "established" dog. They eat first/play first/cuddle first, etc. The dogs will eventually sort out their relationship with or without your help, but until that time it can be helpful for you to show them who comes first.
Neutering doesn't usually have anywhere near the amount of effect that people expect. Occasionally it will reduce some hormone-driven behaviour and the results can be either positive or negative, but normally it makes very little difference.
The fighting may still return, but hopefully not!
Have you had them the same amount of time, or has one dog been in the family longer? I am a great believer in giving preferential treatment to the more "established" dog. They eat first/play first/cuddle first, etc. The dogs will eventually sort out their relationship with or without your help, but until that time it can be helpful for you to show them who comes first.
We got Red (the darker of the two) a few months before Lemmy.
The fighting started a few months after that, nothing much at first but it grew to proper viscous stuff, and almost daily. You could actually feel the tension in the room a few minutes before it would kick off, very odd, you really could feel it.
After the dogs got to the size that it was becoming dangerous for us to try and separate them we decided to get something done. It's all very well saying that they need to be trained, that the first dog needs to be fed first etc. but when they are running the risk of weekly trips to the Vet to get repaired and my wife gets bitten on the tittenhausen, the fun stops.
I can honestly say that we started to notice the difference from 3 days after they'd been done and now, 8 days later, they are the best of friends and there has been no conflict whatsoever for the last 3 days.
Maybe we've just been lucky but I think it was definitely the best thing to do.
ETA: The bit in bold came out wrong, it wasn't aimed at you.
The fighting started a few months after that, nothing much at first but it grew to proper viscous stuff, and almost daily. You could actually feel the tension in the room a few minutes before it would kick off, very odd, you really could feel it.
After the dogs got to the size that it was becoming dangerous for us to try and separate them we decided to get something done. It's all very well saying that they need to be trained, that the first dog needs to be fed first etc. but when they are running the risk of weekly trips to the Vet to get repaired and my wife gets bitten on the tittenhausen, the fun stops.
I can honestly say that we started to notice the difference from 3 days after they'd been done and now, 8 days later, they are the best of friends and there has been no conflict whatsoever for the last 3 days.
Maybe we've just been lucky but I think it was definitely the best thing to do.
ETA: The bit in bold came out wrong, it wasn't aimed at you.
Edited by Adenauer on Tuesday 31st January 11:21
bexVN said:
That is a fast response, hormones usually take several weeks to settle down, long may it continue
Now just need to ensure the weight gain is avoided!
Our friendly German Vet did actually say that it could start to become better after 3 or 4 days.Now just need to ensure the weight gain is avoided!
They are still actively mental, and are walked twice a day for a few hours each time, so they shouldn't do.
Squiggs, you make a strong case.
R E S T E C P said:
Neutering doesn't usually have anywhere near the amount of effect that people expect. Occasionally it will reduce some hormone-driven behaviour and the results can be either positive or negative, but normally it makes very little difference.
that's not true. Neutering of males and females will make a big difference in most animal relationship cases....not every case, but I think I'm in a good place after 30 years of this to comment. Thevet said:
that's not true. Neutering of males and females will make a big difference in most animal relationship cases....not every case, but I think I'm in a good place after 30 years of this to comment.
TheVet, I would be inclined to agree with you. Maybe some people expect too much from the neutering but invarariably it produces a positive outcome (except with fear behaviour cases!) Adenauer said:
I reckon it's turned them gay, they were kissing last night, on the mouth, with tongues. 
We also have two neutered boys. Just wait until they start.... "licking" each other... Awkward 
Bex/TheVet - Fair enough, you both have lots more experience than me so maybe the ones I've seen haven't been typical.
In the dogs I've known, the only noticeable difference has been that they stayed "puppyish" longer than you'd normally expect and it seems to freeze some hormonal behaviours. So for example if they hadn't started lifting their leg yet or random humping then they might never do it.
I've known a few dogs who got neutered because the vet said it would "fix" some behaviour issues, and it didn't work for any of them.
I only saw one dog where there was a big change in personality, but it was for the worse. It was a 6 month old German Shepherd and quite suddenly after neutering became dog aggressive even with dogs it knew, and started running away every chance it got. Could have been a coincidence though, who knows.
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