Dog recently castrated/ aggression

[Babyroobs]

Please can someone help put my mind at rest or share their experiences. My lover working cocker spaniel was castrated ten days ago and is on short lead walks only at the moment. I have just taken him for a short walk and we came across two terriers who started snarling and snapping at him and for the first time ever in his life he had a go back snarling and growling. It has upset me because he has never showed any aggression towards another dog ever and it was a huge worry for me that castration would change his personality. I'm now going to be worried to let him off the lead in his usual walking places when he is back to off lead walks. Off lead walks is the only thing that wears him out as he is so energetic.

It could be he is still feeling vulnerable/sore/pissed off he isn't allowed to be off his lead like normal, after surgery if he is normally friendly and playful I'd put my money on that, not that he has suddenly become aggressive. My boy (Akita) was exactly the same and i asked the vet the above is what they basically said, and she was right after my boy was fully healed and free to be off his lead he was exactly the same as before Mr hey new friend come play with me. All I did was give him little tests at first with dogs he knew just to test the waters for other dogs safety and my own piece of mind and he was fine.

PrettySimple - Thanks for that reassurance. I don't think he is still sore, he has been leaping around playing at home but yes it may just be frustration at wanting to be off lead. I will test him carefully on a long lead before I let him off. It has just worried me as I've never seen him react like that before .

Obviously speak to your own vet for advice, I'm going off my own experience. I castrated my boy because he got a wiff of an in season bitch (next door) once she was a 8 month old yorkie and he was a friggin nightmare trying to get into their garden and just sat at the fence wining or at the kitchen door if she was in their garden FOR TWO WEEKS!! He drove me insane!!! She had since been spayed and all is good they are vest buddies again and he is no longer a sex pest!

Sorry the pup next dose wasn't in the garden for two week he just drove me nuts for her season haha.

I was upset too. Especially because he is stigmatized breed. Because many akitas have been in the media for aggression, mine is the most stupid one you could meet... He is scared of my mum's cat! Dogs do heal quick but he might still be a bit tender, sounds like he is more pissed off that on the lead still.

I was also worried he was gonna let it if we where out and a bout if he got a sniff again and the last thing I wanted was some poor owner discovering their bitch was pregnant and being stuck with vet bills puppies because he was suddenly a horny bastards

How old is he?

I don't want to worry you but early neutering in male dogs has been shown to lead to an increase in aggression.

"The most serious effects of neutering were those which ran counter to the expectation that castration would reduce aggression. Neutered dogs were more likely to show aggression when delivery workers approached the home, when strangers walked past their home, when joggers, cyclists, and rollerbladers passed by, when they were approached directly by an unfamiliar female dog, when an unfamiliar person approached the owner or another family member or even just visited the home, and when small animals such as cats or squirrels entered the yard. Further, the earlier the age of neutering, the worse these effects were."

From www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/canine-corner/201805/neutering-causes-behavior-problems-in-male-dogs

He is 18 months.

So not too early age-wise which is good.

It could just be lead-frustration - he's minding his own business and two strange dogs are snarling at him, and because he's on his lead he can't get away, so he snapped back.

I wouldn't be too worried at this stage - he's only 10 days post-op and it's just one bad experience. Maybe work on getting him to focus all his attention on you when other dogs pass by at the moment so he's too busy with a ball/toy/treat to worry about them.

Thanks Adaline for the advise. It has just worried me as he's never shown aggression at all ever even when snarled at by other dogs previously.