Dogs getting attacked because they are entire....

[Loafline]

Is this another myth or excuse regarding dog aggression?

My dog was attacked at the park yesterday - the dog had just attacked another dog and was still hyped up and the owner let him go and he made a beeline for my dog. Thankfully no physical harm was done but a friend suggested that my dog was more prone to attack because he was still entire and other dogs don't like that.

Is this just based on an old fashioned idea that people just latch onto or is there evidence or studies showing this is the case?

I don't have a jot of evidence, this is all based on one dog, so please feel free to take it with a pinch of salt.

My dad's dog seems to have some issues with fear aggression. Dad handles it as best he can; and the dog's not let off lead on walks, so there's as low a risk as possible of incidents when out. He seems to show more aggression toward males, and more so toward entire males, as opposed to females. That's a very inexact science though; and it's only a case of 'more likely to bark at a male dog' than anything definite.

Sorry that it's all anecdotal. Hopefully someone else might know more.

I have read that entire dogs are more competitive for resourses/females but my dog isn't aggresive.

Many people who tell me their dog has fear aggression don't feel threatened by my dog when they've been gently introduced.

I was hoping to keep him entire because I'm not keen on unnecessary ops and i have heard that the extra testerone they get helps develop confidence and he is very confident for a whippet and i want him to be able to stay that way but attracting dog attacks will scupper my plans.

I'm not sure scientifically speaking, but prior to Pip being neutered he was constantly being squared up to by other dogs, both entire and neutered - which didn't help with his fear of other dogs and caused no end of problems on walks.

I wanted to keep him entire for as long as possible, because he's highly strung and prone to being anxious and I felt he needed the confidence while we were working on fearfulness. Unfortunately the rescue he came from had other ideas and while they let us delay it a while, we had to have him done last Autumn.

I was told by a behaviourist, prior to having him neutered, that we might have more success working with his fear of other dogs if he were neutered as he would be less likely to attract aggression from other neutered dogs. The behaviourist concerned is very knowledgeable and highly respected, but I didn't have chance to discuss it further with her, so don't know the 'science' behind why this might be the case.

I have an entire male, and occasionally we will have a problem - but only occasionally and I have to say when you do, if you talk to the owner of the dog that has behaved aggressively towards him, it is not the first time, and will do it with "some" dogs.........I am not sure if the fact that he is huge makes a difference.

he is also perfectly fine with other entire males.....but he has been very well socialised and I continue to work on this.

I think the biggest problem with un-nuetered males is their drive to find bitches and sniff makes recall work hard, for this reason I am very careful about where he is off lead.

So far he's not been bothered about bitches in heat...he just doesn't seem interested-despite her standing right beside him.

We had the opposite problem. Our neutered male Bedlington was constantly being hassled by other male dogs. They seemed to think he was a girl. Our other neutered male has no such problems. Everyone knows who he is, lol. So horses for courses really.

It depends on the origin of the aggression.

Entire male dogs are more prone to confidently aggressive encounters with other entire male dogs.

Nervous/fearful dogs are more likely to develop aggression if neutered before they're sexually and emotionally mature and testosterone builds confidence and can help them to overcome their anxiety

Neutered female dogs are more reactive to stimuli and therefore more likely to be aggressive than non-neutered female dogs

My dog is still entire. A few months ago, another entire male went berserk at him, luckily both on lead in car park. My dog has no aggression so just ran off (I had to let go of the lead to let him get away as the other dog got between me and my dog). The owner of the dog was mortified. Her dog was about 2 and had never ever shown aggression to any other dog. The only thing we could think about was that entire dogs are quite unusual in our area, so mine might have been the first adult he had come across.

thats where kingcraft classes are very helpful (as long as you don't take them too seriously)....because to "show" males need to be entire they meet and are around loads of them at a young age and in a controlled situation.