Will castrating my dog calm him down?

[Picksley]

Please don’t shoot me! I’d like to hear about people’s experiences.

I’ve had a few dogs in the past and always had them ‘done’ because it was what responsible owners did. They never had any problems and lived happy healthy lives. Now it seems they should be left intact.

Fast forward a good few years to retirement and the time was right to get another dog. He’s gorgeous, full of fun and a high energy breed (husbands idea). He’s 16 months old, gets lots of exercise on lead and off, lots of brain work, and his general training is progressing well.

However…for example, get a fly in the house and he bounces off the walls like something possessed, if he’s in the garden he picks up scents constantly and charges around relentlessly. He’s constantly wired and I’m finding it utterly exhausting.

I love him to bits and am clutching at straws, but would castration make any difference? I’m sorely tempted to try the chemical route.

TIA x

Breed? Size?
And has he been taught how to settle himself down?

Before you do anything in the way of interfering with his hormones, you might want to read the paper by Hart et al here:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7359819/

We had our collie (probably xlab / retriever, dad unknown as mum was herding while in heat & got away, came back pregnant) done aged 18 months. We did it for two reasons - didn’t want to breed from him & to calm
him down. Yeah, right.

We got a call from the Vet to pick him up less than 2 hours after his op as he was awake and crying for us. Keeping him calm enough to not break his stitches meant he had to have mild sedation for a fortnight.

And he’s no calmer. Honestly, he’s 6 now and you’d think he was a 6-month old. But we don’t regret getting him ‘done’.

I’d have a chat with the vet and discuss the pros and cons. Just don’t expect him to calm down (as I type ours is trying to chase DH’s electric razor and stop it attacking him - don’t ask 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️)

My dog was wild. Most people would say he still is. The fly chasing is familiar.

Neutered at 2y3m. It has made something of a difference. But i have put my blood sweat and tears into training this dog so neutering wasnt a magic pill in isolation.

Calmed ours he was done over 2 as larger breed and def helped it’s not a magical cure though. Worth speaking to a trainer first to put in some work and get advice - someone who has experience in behaviour - with a 2 pronged approach especially as it’s a while till he’s 2,

Nope both of my small supposedly calm dogs have been neutered and they are still crazy nut jobs, has made no difference apart from their pee doesn't have that proper male dog smell

Many dogs don't calm down until they are two+
Our dog was done at 15 months (rescue) and wouldbe bouncing off the walls. Once he was over two it was like a switch was flicked and he calmed down beautifully.

This sounds like you wrote this about my lab Bob. We were going to have him done coz he's bonkers but we've gone for chemical castration as a try before you buy type thing. It's not permanent and lasts about 6 months so we can see how he'll be. He's got an implant under his skin. Might be worth a chat to your vet about.

It will calm him down but not overnight. The testosterone takes approx 18 months to fully leave the body. It’s also not a major personality change, more of a slight calm down

Also depends what breed he is. Labradors make amazing family pets, but they are mental for the first few years. Takes a good 2 years for them to calm down and become a wonderful family pet

I agree, talk to the vet about trying the chemical route.

Age and consistent training were what calmed my male lab. He was a fabulous dog, but very high energy. He was neutered at 3; the only thing that changed was that he forgot to chase bitches ( plus weight became a never ending challenge)

My bitch on the other hand is extremely calm and achieved that at a younger age.

Some is just down to genes I think.

Sorry, edited to add : calm owners are a huge influence in calming dogs.

No. From experience it doesn't calm dogs down.

It really doesnt take 18 months or testosterone to leave a dogs body.

Studies have shown that the only behavioural change that castration makes is scent marking - nothing else.

It will not calm your dog down. Your dog may calm down as they are getting older but it will not be due to castration.

Chemical route will remove all testosterone whereas castration there will still be a small amount of testosterone produced.

The effect of the implant is noticeably different in many dogs to being castrated.

I’ll inform my vet, I’m sure she’ll be pleased to know her 5 year vet degree is incorrect

I considered neutering mine in the hope that it would calm him down, but so many sources and anecdotes across the internet suggest it doesn't actually do anything to their energy levels.

You still haven’t told us the breed of your dog.
we have a 2 1/2 yo Weimaraner who’s as batty as shit.
no way would we castrate him in the hope he’d stop chasing flies.
Hes still a baby and will be for a while yet.
must admit I put it to our vet the other day and she laughed her head off.
told us Rafa is just an energetic puppy and will likely stay that way for another 6/12 months.
she did however give us a little more info on the temporary implant.
because he’s an ‘energetic’ dog he would have to be sedated to have the implant, which she said was probably better.
she would be able to place the implant into his belly button (didn’t know he had one!) meaning it would be easy to remove if we saw no or negative changes.
it was all hypothetical anyway cos we knew we were getting a slow to mature pup

No - it’s breed, age, training and temperament that make the difference, not castration.

However lots of people get their dogs castrated at the age they’d calm down anyway, so they think castration = calming rather than age.

This.

Teaching a dog to settle is crucial skill, OP. Would suggest you try that first rather than castration! 16 months is very young to consider castration if it’s a large breed

or quote the correct information she tells you.....