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If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

The doghouse

Neutering. I know this appears every now and then but has anyone neutered an older dog?

13 replies

Bowlersarm · 14/08/2013 16:42

My 5 year old boy lab is entire. He has been slightly aggressive with some male dogs over the years, but the problem is getting worse. I have spoken to the vet about possibly having him neutered, and they are encouraging it.

There may be an additional complication with his behaviour because he has OCD in his shoulder/leg which has also got worse lately, and the aggression could be from the new pain he's having rather than testosterone.

Anyhoo, what I would like to know is if anyone has experience of having an older dog castrated, rather than a puppy/young dog, and whether or not it has changed his behaviour.

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OneHolyCow · 14/08/2013 16:56

Why not address the pain issue first?
TBH, after 5 years his behaviour towards other male dogs is not very likely to change after neutering, as it is now an established pattern.

I have neutered a very old dog due to prostate problems but he did not change after.

What you could try, possibly after changing or upping the pain med, is an implant.. so you can see whether his behaviour changes with the testosterone reduction. That's a chemical neutering.

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Bowlersarm · 14/08/2013 17:16

Thanks OneHolyCow. I think you might be right about the pain issue. Nothing has been suggested apart from upping his dosage of Rimadyl. A bit nervous about that as Dr Google said it could cause organ failure, and as he is so young am a bit worried his life will be shortened, but yes I do need to explore this a bit more.

I spoke to the vets about the chemical neutering, but they had very little experience of it, and were quite negative about it. They basically said he may just as well be neutered in the normal way.

I really want someone to come on and say, that yes, neutering made a difference to their dogs aggressive behaviour, so I can do the responsible dog owner thing and neuter.

But I don't want to put him through another OP and general anaesthetic (he's had a few) if there would be no benefit to his behaviour.

Incidentally, he isn't affected sexually by being intact in that he is never interested in bitches or wandering, at all, so that isn't an issue we have with him.

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OneHolyCow · 14/08/2013 17:24

A lot of vets are very keen on neutering..

I'd go for the pain first, either with rymadil or with metacam (have you tried that?) Maybe that will sort him out. If not, you can always revisit the neutering plan. But if his joints are painful that will still be a problem of course. Do you give him things like fish oil? There are some natural remedies that sometimes help.

Good luck.

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Bowlersarm · 14/08/2013 17:46

Thanks for your help OHC. He has supplements and am now about to change to a joint specific dog food. He is so gorgeous, in all other ways. Without this aggression towards other dogs he would be perfect. It makes dog walking very nerve wracking!

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OneHolyCow · 14/08/2013 18:02

How about training him for it? He's young enough to learn and sounds like a great friend. I had a cat hunter... she learned eventually with loads of little treaties.

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Lonecatwithkitten · 14/08/2013 20:34

In general I don't find that neutering old dogs has any effect on behaviour. I would definitely tackle the pain first. Often change the anti-inflammatory can give a good improvement there are a hold load of others on the market. Which ever one you goggle you will find horror stories on the Internet (goggle any human drug and you will find the same) they are the rare exceptions, but talk to your vet about your concerns.
I have used chemical castration both the injection that lasts 3 weeks and the implant that lasts 6 months. They are both good, but I would only try them if pain management and behavioural management does not help.

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Isham101 · 12/11/2013 06:57

Haven't tried before, but my friend had neutered a 7 old retriever and there weren't any observable changes...

Stan B.
NYC
pethealthsupplies.net

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daisydotandgertie · 12/11/2013 07:08

Neutering is very unlikely to make any change to his behaviour and I'm afraid I know two people where the use of chemical neutering has catastrophically changed their dogs behaviour. I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.

Can you ask your vet to refer to you to a properly qualified behaviourist when you visit to change pain meds? Getting his pain under control is vital - leaving it as it is is not at all reasonable - and pain makes a huge impact on a dogs behaviour. A behaviourist should be able to help with the aggression.

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tabulahrasa · 12/11/2013 10:54

You get pain specialists...the one my dog sees also does behaviour (we're seeing them for both) - if you're in Scotland I can tell you who to ask for a referral to, otherwise you'll need to see who's local to you.

If he was a teenager and the aggression had just started then neutering might help, but at that age I can't see why it would suddenly be hormonal and if he's already decided that dogs are bad, that's what needs worked on whether you have him neutered or not.

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GeeinItLaldy · 12/11/2013 11:25

If it's fear aggression that he has, neutering can actually worsen it.

I would get a second opinion in the pain management. My old giant breed (sadly gone now) had elbow problems and when conventional pain meds were proving ineffective, we gave acupuncture a shot. It was incredibly effective and we managed to keep her comfortable with it and a tiny dose of NSAID for the remainder of her life (over 3 years...she was PTS a few months ago due to cancer at aged 8) and it was covered by her insurance.

A change of of meds may also be in order as we found some to be less effective than others despite there being little apparent difference in them.

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Bowlersarm · 12/11/2013 11:42

Just seen the replies to my old thread I started in August.

So its too late for the later replies today, as we did go ahead and have him neutered at rhe time, despite my concerns.

In his case he actually is much calmer since it was done. I wouldn't trust him with the type of dogs he has always had issues with, but he definitely doesn't look for trouble as he used to. He seems a notch less excitable in all situations, but effectively he is still the same dog only calmer. So I am mightily relieved it seems to have helped rather than hindered.

Thank you for all the ideas about pain management though. He is currently on Rimadyl, Seraquin and glucosamine. He's doing ok at the moment, with most days better than others, but I need to have other options because he will only get worse over time, so thanks for the advice on that.

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tabulahrasa · 12/11/2013 12:00

That'll teach me not to look at the date on threads, lol.

Well it might be handy to know at some point that there are pain specialists.

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Bowlersarm · 12/11/2013 12:07

Hi tabulah, I'm pleased in retrospect I didn't have all the replies today at the time, as DH was pretty determined to go ahead with it and I would have just wobbled further and made myself totally miserable over 'the decision' to have him 'done'.!! It's interesting that it has made a difference to his behaviour, but clearly doesn't with all dogs from what people are saying.

We're not in Scotland, but it's handy to know there are other options we can use to manage his pain in time. I love my gorgeous boy!