To neuter or not
Discussion
Hi all,
Just wanted some opinions on whether to have my little border terrier ‘done’.
He’ll be 1 this month.
He’s never shown any aggression whatsoever to anything apart from his toys.
He’s never peed indoors.
I’ve never seen him hump another dog.
He’s got the most wonderful , calm temperament.
He has been ‘attacked’ by a few other dogs (usually fellow borders).
He does produce rather a lot of dog ‘juice’ which goes crusty all over his tummy!
I’m so torn, there’s nothing behavioural we would change about him whatsoever. However we don’t know if he’s being attacked by other dogs as they can sense/smell he’s still ‘whole’.
Obligatory picture of the little fella...
Just wanted some opinions on whether to have my little border terrier ‘done’.
He’ll be 1 this month.
He’s never shown any aggression whatsoever to anything apart from his toys.
He’s never peed indoors.
I’ve never seen him hump another dog.
He’s got the most wonderful , calm temperament.
He has been ‘attacked’ by a few other dogs (usually fellow borders).
He does produce rather a lot of dog ‘juice’ which goes crusty all over his tummy!
I’m so torn, there’s nothing behavioural we would change about him whatsoever. However we don’t know if he’s being attacked by other dogs as they can sense/smell he’s still ‘whole’.
Obligatory picture of the little fella...
RDMcG said:
I would neuter. Adult dogs are unpredictable if intact. Also sometimes difficult to kennel if you travel. I have owned quite a few dogs and have many friends with dogs - not neutering has sometimes had dogs who turned on others.
Hmmm adult dogs are more predictable than pups!Intact dogs are no more difficult to kennel than others!
Any dog can turn on another!
If there is no reason from behaviour or reproductive aspects to neuter, then don't be forced into it. I was going to leave my replacement Rottie intact but he is getting a bit over-focused on other dogs scents, so that may be cause to do it but many vets and nurses say neuter too quickly. It all boils down to whether you have any problems with behaviour with home or newcomers, and whether there are any health benefits to expect (which is more a bicth thing than a male thing)
HTH
Edited by Thevet on Saturday 6th July 08:18
RDMcG said:
I would neuter. Adult dogs are unpredictable if intact. Also sometimes difficult to kennel if you travel. I have owned quite a few dogs and have many friends with dogs - not neutering has sometimes had dogs who turned on others.
I would neuter too.Imagine your frustration if you had a sex drive but no outlet.
I've always like borders, proper little dogs.
Thevet said:
Intact dogs are no more difficult to kennel than others!
This isn't the case I'm afraid. We've got a booking in the pipeline at a farm that does not accept intact dogs and in looking round found several others. If you're going for a kennels that just lob them in a cage, you're correct, but proper places that actually look after your dog seem to mostly demand they're neutered in my experience. Possibly because most have their own animals and they don't want any problems.
nope I wouldn’t have it done if it there wasn’t a problem. I had the second done as a condition of getting another dog.
First boxer not done had no problem with him. He would look after himself if necessary but overall was a proper dog.
Second boxer had done no problem with him either but he lets other dogs take the piss and he doesn’t seem as happy as the first.
The other day a dog bit him and instead of telling it to f
k off he ran back with the dog dragging off his neck across the park.
First boxer not done had no problem with him. He would look after himself if necessary but overall was a proper dog.
Second boxer had done no problem with him either but he lets other dogs take the piss and he doesn’t seem as happy as the first.
The other day a dog bit him and instead of telling it to f
k off he ran back with the dog dragging off his neck across the park. Baldchap said:
This isn't the case I'm afraid. We've got a booking in the pipeline at a farm that does not accept intact dogs and in looking round found several others.
If you're going for a kennels that just lob them in a cage, you're correct, but proper places that actually look after your dog seem to mostly demand they're neutered in my experience. Possibly because most have their own animals and they don't want any problems.
Never ever come across a kennels that insisted on neutering, astonishes me, and I would never use one or recommend one that requested this. If you're going for a kennels that just lob them in a cage, you're correct, but proper places that actually look after your dog seem to mostly demand they're neutered in my experience. Possibly because most have their own animals and they don't want any problems.
Putting a dog in a cage for their stay is similarly unacceptable, and either of these scenarios should inform you that the operators are only interested in an easy life rather than looking after your mate as an individual.
Dont neuter, the replies above around sexual frustration etc is a common case of us as humans projecting onto our animals.
If he has a real solid temperament that you are happy with then you would be mad to neuter as you could lose all that as it does change a dogs personality, they may become fearful, more aggressive and display things you have never seen before.
You will hear that neutering calms them down... it doesnt, there is no behaviour benefit in a dog that has no hormone related dominance/aggression issues
Neutering makes them less aggressive... it can have the opposite affect as testosterone providea confidence and having a dog neutered can shorten their fuse.
So leave him as he is, if he starts to become Male dominant then thing about it, but I advise trying a chemical castration first. If you have the surgery and dont like the result there is no going back
If he has a real solid temperament that you are happy with then you would be mad to neuter as you could lose all that as it does change a dogs personality, they may become fearful, more aggressive and display things you have never seen before.
You will hear that neutering calms them down... it doesnt, there is no behaviour benefit in a dog that has no hormone related dominance/aggression issues
Neutering makes them less aggressive... it can have the opposite affect as testosterone providea confidence and having a dog neutered can shorten their fuse.
So leave him as he is, if he starts to become Male dominant then thing about it, but I advise trying a chemical castration first. If you have the surgery and dont like the result there is no going back
Yes you should for a few of reasons
1) He is more likely to run out if he sees an opportunity and could hit by car
2) While he may not show any aggression right now towards people, he will likely run into a dog that will set him off and fight
3) Even if he shows no aggression, he could set another dog off which will yield the same result
It's not worth the liability of the heartache
1) He is more likely to run out if he sees an opportunity and could hit by car
2) While he may not show any aggression right now towards people, he will likely run into a dog that will set him off and fight
3) Even if he shows no aggression, he could set another dog off which will yield the same result
It's not worth the liability of the heartache
Always a tough one when you have an apparently well behaved dog!
It will reduce the discharge (which does get infected at times)
It may take the edge off his excitement to other dogs reducing how they react to him.
There is always the risk that if he gets the scent of a bh in heat he will be off after them or get frantic if one is near his home but this isn't a definite obviously. But this does increase the chance of him doing a runner or getting into eg an accident.
My feeling is, if you are reluctant don't rush it as long as you are aware of the pros and cons, however be aware that there are health risks associated to leaving them entire to consider, so to reduce these maybe get him done by the time he is 4 at the latest.
(late neutering does sometimes mean extra surgery to reduce the scrotal sac as well as if left it can be quite, well,saggy after neutering!)
It will reduce the discharge (which does get infected at times)
It may take the edge off his excitement to other dogs reducing how they react to him.
There is always the risk that if he gets the scent of a b
h in heat he will be off after them or get frantic if one is near his home but this isn't a definite obviously. But this does increase the chance of him doing a runner or getting into eg an accident.My feeling is, if you are reluctant don't rush it as long as you are aware of the pros and cons, however be aware that there are health risks associated to leaving them entire to consider, so to reduce these maybe get him done by the time he is 4 at the latest.
(late neutering does sometimes mean extra surgery to reduce the scrotal sac as well as if left it can be quite, well,saggy after neutering!)
C.A.R. said:
Thanks for the thread OP, in a similar predicament but our dog is a bit of a d*ckhead so the above replies are pretty conclusive - I'm going to get him "done" 
My pup was like a whirlwind. Wanted your attention 100% of the time, was annoying as hell, completely hyperactive, liked nothing more than to cock his leg over other dogs and pee on them. He's off the scale intelligent and needed interaction 24/7 or he'd just wreck stuff. He chose not to do stuff just to be irritating. When disciplining and telling him to go to his bed for time out involved telling him four times, the first for him to put one paw in so he could look at you as think to himself 'Yeah, I've done it, now what', then for the second paw to go in, then for him to spin around and park his arse in there and leave his front legs out, and then a finally yell for him to actually have all limbs in his bed!After seeing various different trainers, behaviourists and vets, most concluded to get him castrated. We did when he was 2 years old. It made absolutely no difference whatsoever and he was just as much a d
head after as he was before.Similar position here, though Ted's 4.1/2 years old.
Definitely going to get his sister spayed, and had originally thought to get Ted castrated. I think I'm not going to now - he's not going to get his sister in trouble once she's been done and I think he kinda likes his balls.
He's a proper charmer.
Definitely going to get his sister spayed, and had originally thought to get Ted castrated. I think I'm not going to now - he's not going to get his sister in trouble once she's been done and I think he kinda likes his balls.
He's a proper charmer.
LordGrover said:
Similar position here, though Ted's 4.1/2 years old.
Definitely going to get his sister spayed, and had originally thought to get Ted castrated. I think I'm not going to now - he's not going to get his sister in trouble once she's been done and I think he kinda likes his balls.
He's a proper charmer.
As long as you are aware of some health risks associated with older intact males. Definitely going to get his sister spayed, and had originally thought to get Ted castrated. I think I'm not going to now - he's not going to get his sister in trouble once she's been done and I think he kinda likes his balls.
He's a proper charmer.
Curious to know how their previous owners managed to avoid an accidental mating. Not easy to do. Has she definitely not been spayed yet!?
we were in a similar position with our last dog (a large and very bouncy German Pointer) -he was perfectly behaved etc so didn't have him chopped. That was until he was about 10 and started peeing blood which turned out to be Prostate Cancer and required emergency castration. As an elderly dog the op and recovery was more complicated than it would be for a youngster. However, fortunately it solved the cancer and he went on for another couple of years but the moral learned as far as we were concerned was: unless you plan to breed get him chopped early -which is what we did with the new boy!
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