Did neutering help dog's behaviour?

[grunttheterrible]

I'm still struggling with 1 year old dog. Been holding out on getting him neutered to improve the teenage behaviour- low level aggression, stealing and guarding and marking my toddler's possessions . The vet said neutering him might not change that behaviour though. I'm honestly struggling so much with how much I dislike him and was hoping neutering would solve our issues. Did it solve yours?

Neutering will not help any behaviour that stems from nervousness or anxiety (which sounds like your dog has) as the testosterone actually helps dogs feel more confident.

You need a behaviourist, not removing a dogs sex organs.

I wouldn't neuter in your situation.

The vast majority of what you describe is rooted in fear and if you take away the testosterone, you take away their confidence, making fearful behaviours even worse.

I neutered my anxious dog and I regret it. If I could turn back time I wouldn't have done it, or at least I would have tried the temporary injection first.

Nope neutering will not help the behaviour you describe but it could easily make it worse.

What breed is the dog?

He's a Cavapoo. Interesting that it's anxious behaviour as he seems so confident and bolshy- he'll look me in the eye when he's doing it so it feels like a challenge, although that might be my negative perception rather than reality. So behaviourist first?

Definitely behaviourist, after a vet check.

Neutering will not solve any of those issues.

In my experience, none of the behaviours you describe occur because a dog is confident, they occur because a dog is scared.

Confident, secure dogs have no need to mark, guard or show aggression to make themselves heard.

Sort of guessed it would be a poo mix.

It is very common for them to have resource guarding issues.

All resource guarding dogs are stressed dogs.

It usually gets worse without the correct behaviour plan

Do get in contact with a qualified (not just self named as a behaviourist) behaviourist and they will help you sort this

Thanks everyone. We did have a trainer who was also a behaviourist until he was 6 months and then she went on mat leave and thought we were ok- clearly mistaken. I'll touch base with her again to see if she's back or if she can recommend someone else if not. Appreciate everyone who took time to respond

Trainers are rarely qualified behaviourists so maybe worth checking qualifications.

If they start by saying you have to teach a drop or leave it politely look for a different professional.

https://www.veterinarians.org/ashwagandha-for-dogs/

I'm sorry to resurrect this post but dog has just jumped onto the arm of the sofa where toddler was sitting (I was sitting next to her reading a bedtime story) and cocked his leg on her. I clapped and distracted him before he marked her but he looked me dead in the eye before he did it. We'd both been playing with him in the garden before the story so he wasn't being ignored, and he didn't have a full bladder, I'm not buying that he's an anxious dog. It feels more like he's showing dominance over the toddler than anxiety...

Dominance theory has been debunked for decades. You need a decent behaviourist.

That's a classic sign of an anxious dog OP - sorry.

You really need professional help.

The dominance theory has been debunked.

If you think neutering will help could you ask your vet to try chemical neutering. It's not permanent but allows you to see how the change in hormones will affect your dog?

The only thing neutering did was stop our dog humping.

The only thing that worked was a behaviouralist. Avoid ones who use dominance

We did try a couple of trainers but it didn't help.