Help needed - dogs booster or neutering??!

[ForeverAintEnough12]

Hi all. Hoping you can help me. I live in a very populated urban area - full of dogs as you can imagine. My dog has been told he can no longer go to daycare as he is now humping a lot (he is 14 months old. We delayed neutering because he was anxious but now he has started humping etc)

My local vet has a two month waiting list for neutering. With recovery time he would be out of daycare for nearly 3 months. My parents vet in the countryside can neuter him on Friday.

The issue is he is also due his booster vaccination this week. Is it a problem if we delay the booster for a few weeks and prioritise the neutering? Can he do both this week or will he be more vulnerable after his booster to staying in the vets all day?

Any help appreciated!!!

My vet told me there is a 3 month grace period with vaccines.

Get him neutered, do the booster at his final post op check.

Are you aware that neutering may not solve the humping issue?

Thanks guys! I just wasn’t sure and as I’ve two vets on the go now didn’t want to ask them

@EspressoExpresso yes sorry it’s more he might impregnate the other dogs! The daycare have a policy that all dogs need to be neutered once they are over 9 months but they made an exception for us cause our guy was so timid and just kept him in a separate group away from any unspayed dogs but now he’s started showing an interest he needs to be done as he is a lot more determined so it’s getting hard for them to control which is fair enough.

Humping is not always sexual, most often it’s not.

Over excitement, dominance and stress can all cause it- something lots of dogs in daycare settings feel. The staff are often inexperienced in behaviour and presume neutering will solve the issue.
Personally I would never neuter a nervous male without a consult with a behaviourist to discuss the root cause and what impact removal of the testosterone could have. Sometimes castration can make them much worse.

@Leonberger I don’t think that’s it. He has only just starting trying to hump us too when he never did previously. He wouldn’t be over excited in those situations. He has been going to the daycare since he was 6 months old and never had an issue with humping - the staff there are very experienced. We’ve also noticed on walks he has started whining lots and trying to get over to other dogs which is also a new behaviour so it all seems to be pointing to sexual.

We spoke to a behaviourist who said delay him till he’s over a year old and his levels of testosterone have peaked - the daycare also advised leaving him longer and they accommodated us with this - was this wrong?

[quote ForeverAintEnough12]@Leonberger I don’t think that’s it. He has only just starting trying to hump us too when he never did previously. He wouldn’t be over excited in those situations. He has been going to the daycare since he was 6 months old and never had an issue with humping - the staff there are very experienced. We’ve also noticed on walks he has started whining lots and trying to get over to other dogs which is also a new behaviour so it all seems to be pointing to sexual.

We spoke to a behaviourist who said delay him till he’s over a year old and his levels of testosterone have peaked - the daycare also advised leaving him longer and they accommodated us with this - was this wrong?[/quote]
Humping can be a sign of anxiety - I'd want him assessed by a behaviourist again before making an irreversible surgical decision

Thanks guys I will give her a call

You have some good advice here, but have you considered short term chemical castration. - Basically an implant, which will give you time to assess the effects of actual castration before committing.
We did that with our timid boy, and I think it was worth it, as castration is so final.

Would your daycare accept a vasectomy or chemical castration? I wish DDog's previous owners hadn't neutered him - he's a worried boy who could do with the testosterone really.