My dog has gone nuts!

[adogcalledbuster]

My unneutered male dog is 10 yrs old and as weird as this sounds has never met an in season female dog. All this changed 5 days ago, I went for a walk with a friend who told me after two minutes of both my dogs behaving like idiots that her dog was in season.
Now he won't stop howling (I didn't even know he could howl) and whining all the time including the middle of the night, my DH and I thought he was ill at first. When I take him for a walk he goes out the front door like a bullet out of a gun (he's fundamentally lazy) and the day after walking with this dog he ran off, his recall is normally pretty good but he was oblivious so now I'm walking him on a lead. How long will this go on for.
The bitch lives a 10 min walk from me so not next door but probably walks in the same places.

You probably won't want to hear this but it could take months to for his behaviour to go back to normal.

It's precisely this reaction in a dog which makes me advise in season bitch owners not to take their dogs out. It just isn't fair on the owners of dogs.

Pay very close attention to where he is at the moment and make absolutely certain he can't escape because if there is a hint of an opportunity, he'll be making his own way to the bitch.

Is he entire?

The OP says he's un neutered.

Sorry. Didn't spot that.

That means be even more careful!

Easily a good couple of weeks left of him behaving like this..,

I'm about to get my younger dog neutered (who at the time seemed more interested but now couldn't care less) is it worth getting a 10 year old done? He's very fit and healthy although the average life expectancy for the breed is 10-11 I worry about anaesthetics at this age.

Keep a good eye on him that he can't escape my old yorkie used to run away when bitches were in heat and not come back for hours even though
He used to get injections to curb his sex drive! He wasn't neutral either

Could you get him neutered?

At his age neutering is unlikely to make a jot of difference to his behaviour, but it would mean even if he does shag her, there'll be no puppies.

I think making sure he can't get out is the most important thing. Is he getting more aggressive or just lively?

So hes met a woman whos lit his fire and is now pining because hes got balls, and hes not allowed to use them.

Neuter your animals kids. Its kinder, its safer.

Not necessarily.

Research suggests that neutered dogs (both sexes), of large breeds particularly, can be more prone to certain cancers and bone disorders than entire dogs.

It suggests that in nervous male dogs, neutering makes the nervousness worse due to the lack of testosterone.

In the UK and America, neutering is the norm, but not so in many other countries such as Sweden, Germany and Norway.

There is also evidence that early neutering - pre 12 months or so - stops the growth plates closing over and in some breeds has been linked with hip and elbow displasia. Can't remember where I read it though. May be the bone disorders Butt refers to.

And Bran, no knackers doesn't guarantee sexual drive disappears. There are a number of dogs I know where neutering has made no difference to the need to have sex. It is a tricky problem, and an in season bitch really can cause such problems in previously perfectly behaved dogs.

There are also a significant number of dogs who have been adversely affected by the chemical castration. Google it for info - I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.

a bitch wouldnt be in season if she was neutered. They should all be done with few exceptions.

Research shows that the hormones estrogen and progesterone (which would be gone if spayed) have a number of protective qualities for the bitch.

Some vets now believe that as long as bitches are cycling normally and not experiencing phantoms which some believe are a sign of hormone imbalance then they should be left entire and that is much more usual in most other countries.

In fact, in Sweden, I think only about 6% of dogs are neutered/spayed.

The only valid reason I can think of for spaying is pyometra, I believe a large scale study estimated that a quarter of entire bitches would get it, which is scary!

But you have to look at all other contributing factors, is there something in the food? Perhaps in the spot on treatments or the environment etc?

Veterinary knowledge has moved on and neutering is no longer a simple yes or no answers, it has both positives and negatives.

If bitch owners were more sensible and kept them in the full 4 weeks there wouldn't likely be much of a problem for the boys.

Thanks for all you input. He's besotted and lively and now has a bad case of selective deafness he not aggressive he's not that kind of dog.. He's only 14 inches to the shoulder the love of this life is about 30 inches to the shoulder; we can all dream. Luckily my house is surrounded by a 7 foot wall so he can't escape.
So from what's been said he's now to old for castration?

I wouldn't castrate personally.

It's more complicated for bitches because of the risk of pyometra but unless your male is dog aggressive (in a macho, sizing up kind of way NOT out of fear) I really wouldn't bother personally.

you should talk to your vet - he is not too old, but to be honest he has been entire so long you probably won't change his behaviour.

From what I understand there are medical reasons to castrate later- certain sorts of cancer....your vet will be able to tell you the risk factors.

Or there is an implant (I think it is and implant - maybe an injection?) a breeder friend used it on her entire male...he has retired from breeding duties....apparently he now doe not react to a bitch in season......