Neutering Implant

[Binman]

Has anyone tried the implant before neutering their dog? If so how did it go?

We have a springer, he's a lovely nature, pretty chilled and he's well behaved, well mannered with other dogs when out. But he will not stop jumping up when people come in to the home or garden (soon settles) and has recently this has included trying to mount them 🫣 he has also started to bark at other dogs walking past our garden when he's outside. He's 2 years 6 months.

We had been considering neutering but have read about the implant and think this could be used as a trial period. We've had a Springer before but not neutered.

Ant thoughts or advice? Thanks

God, ignore that!

Neutering won't solve those behaviours - they're down to lack of management and training rather than anything hormonal.

By all means trial the implant before committing to neutering but don't expect either to make any difference to those particular issues.

These are training issues and the fact he’s a young working breed.

Neutering in no way calms a dog down. Age does to a point but most working dogs are high energy and remain that way, spaniels in particular.

Oh I was told by the vet that it may stop the mounting. He's a well trained dog with ample stimulation and these behaviours have just started, I thought the jumping and barking may be to do with the humping desire. Any training tips on how to manage them?

Mounting can be sexual but generally it's over-stimulation and excitement - jumping is often the same, but also because they find jumping (and normally getting attention) is more rewarding than not jumping, if that makes sense.

I would work on "four on the floor" where you totally ignore any jumping or mounting behaviour and reward him for having all four paws on the floor. You can also scatter treats on the floor in scenarios where he'd normally jump up so that he learns not to.

We Have a 21 month old Weimaraner and I get so bored with people questioning me if he is neutered or when are we going to.

It won't change the fact that he's just a very large puppy who will take longer to mature than other breeds.

Ours went through a mounting phase and it was definitely related to excitement.
Luckily ours was directed at particular toys.

You know your dog best but I've been amazed how the advise has changed, as confirmed by two vets we've consulted.

Both said if it wasn't an insurmountable problem then keep them intact for at least as long as possible.

The idea that it solves behaviour issues is long forgotten nonsense

Thanks, he knows the four on the floor we taught him this when he was a puppy and we scatter kibble to distract him, but the humping, jumping and barking is when we don't know someone is coming or passing and is new behaviour.

Just get him neutered.

It definitely sounds like excitement to me - I would keep practising with "four on the floor" - be really consistent. Maybe even go and stand somewhere busy with him and then every time someone passes, you can work on distracting him until it becomes second nature that person = sit down or stay on the floor.

By all means trial the implant if you want to or feel it would be beneficial - after all, it's not permanent so you can just let it leave his system if it doesn't make a difference, but a lot of what you describe sounds like typical young, energetic working dog pushing boundaries to me

@drivinmecrazy do you mean you distracted your dog with toys or diverted him to humping the toys instead?

My parents have a 13 year old springer who was super aggressive in his youth. Tried everything to manage the behaviour and as part of this they tried the implant. It certainly solved the aggression but he turned into a dopey, apathetic shell of a dog. As soon as the implant was removed his mood improved and they had him permanently neutered instead. Sadly that just froze him in the aggressive behaviour.

He doesn't do this to people outdoors, only when they come into our space. So he will stop to let horses and riders past, cyclists pass no bother, he sits at the side of the road when traffic passes. He doesn't jump up at other dog walkers or bark at the dogs. He is out with other dogs every day, he plays with my daughters dogs in our garden, in fact he often ignores them.

Maybe its a territorial thing or excitement, we do not have a busy household.

Castration doesn't solve behaviours - otherwise the majority of men would be ball-less!

Ah okay, it definitely sounds like excitement then - can you ask someone to repeatedly come to the door or come in so that you can practise keeping him calm?

Another option is to train an alternative behaviour when someone comes in to the house - like going to his bed.

😂😂

Neutering won't fix those behaviours, I'm afraid. Dogs Trust have a free behaviour advice helpline that are brilliant for training tips, or check the Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC) website for properly qualified trainers near you. Dog training is an unregulated industry so be very careful and ensure people have good qualifications (some aren't worth the paper they're written on!). Science shows us that force free, positive reinforcement training and behaviour modification is the way forward and RSPCA and Dogs Trust agree.

We had the chemical implant as our dog was showing sexual behaviours but due to his anxiety and low confidence vet and behaviourist suggested neutering may make things worse due to taking away testosterone, so implant is something to try as it can be removed if urgent and will wear off. We're 9 weeks in and his behaviour is the same, minus most of his urges to hump. It has knocked his confidence in my opinion, and we probably won't have it again or have him neutered. It's a good option if you're not sure on neutering, and if it really has a negative impact they can surgically remove it before it dissolves after 6mo-1year but vets don't like to do this unless it's an extreme case.

You'll get lots of people who have "had dogs for 30 years" who tell you neutering will solve your dogs behaviour problems 😂 it's nonsense and there's no science to prove it at all. The science actually suggests that neutered dogs are more prone to behavioural issues such as resource guarding and tend to be more anxious

Ooo and just wanted to second that mounting is often not sexual, more just over excitement / stimulation. Top tip would be to give him something to keep him busy BEFORE he starts mounting. The more he mounts, the more it becomes a habit. If you can prevent it from happening that could help. Also maybe teaching a "leave it" cue. Lots of tips on dogs trust website and others for this. I walk a dog who had a really solid "leave it" cue and it's so useful for making her leave things alone or come away from something she shouldn't be doing

An unneutered male is often a target for other male dogs’ aggression, neutered and unneutered. It makes a difference where you live - rurally it would be easier to manage an unneutered male dog, but I don’t know how it could be done in London(for example) because you can’t control other dogs’ reactions to his hormones. It shouldn’t be done before 18 months in my view but others think differently and do it earlier.

FWIW, I think jumping won’t be fixed by the implant.

I considered the implant as my dog, at the same age, started barking at other dogs. In the end I just got him castrated as I didn't want to breed from him. The implant, only available for a year here, worked out considerably more than neutering, factoring in two appointments for the six monthly implants. He is as ebullient as previously but the barking seems to have stopped. Testosterone is produced in the adrenal cortex but this is also removed by the implant, as well as that from the testicles, unlike castration.

We chemically castrated our dog as a trial when he started to mark everywhere after previously being perfectly house trained. The jab stopped him marking and didn't seem to have any negative effects so we went ahead and got him done. I was pleased we'd had a trial run first.

Ooo and just wanted to second that mounting is often not sexual, more just over excitement / stimulation

Yep, over excitment combined with tiredness always leads to humping here in the evening. It's definitely not sexual. Spayed female.