Neutering because of aggression from other dogs

[MyDuvetDay]

Has anyone neutered a dog to prevent him being subject to aggression by other dogs?

Ive just had yet another incident where my dog (friendly) was saying “hello” to another dog while on our usual walk and the other dog suddenly flipped and went after mine snarling/biting aggressively. It was so terrifying for me and my dog, and his snout must have got scraped/grazed because there was a small amount of blood. The owner of the other dog was very defensive and basically said it happened because my dog is intact, as if her dog’s behaviour was justified on that basis.

this isn’t the first time I’ve heard this from other dog owners when their dog has snarled or had a go at mine. Mine was bitten by another male dog last year.

so while we weren’t planning to neuter our dog, I’m wondering if doing so would help protect him from this kind of aggression. Has anyone had a similar experience or have any advice?

Can cause fear reactivity when their testosterone drops. Stop letting your dog approach unknown dogs

Had exactly the same thing with our lovely cocker spaniel (sadly passed away now) he loved people and wanted to say hello to everyone but was constantly experiencing aggression from other (male) dogs. At the ripe old age of 8 he had the snip, it greatly improved interactions for him though. We then had to get our other boy snipped due to a tumour on his bum, which was fuelled by testosterone - he doesn't like other dogs much and tended to ignore them both before and after the snip, but it worked and the tumour shrunk.
In hindsight, we would always neuter a male dog now, I wouldn't want to chance anything with them, whether dog or tumour related..

Keep your dog on a lead and stop him from interacting with other dogs.

I absolutely hate people like you. The amount of times my dog was attacked by a “friendly” dog because when they came to “say hello” my dog didn’t like it and would growl in warning. Some people do not have friendly dogs, but still need to walk and socialise them. Mine was always kept on a lead, I would tell people to recall their dog and I’d get “it’s ok he’s friendly” great!

I have a 13 month old male Lab who is still intact. I haven’t decided whether or not to have him castrated - I’m leaning more towards not but if I do, it won’t be for a good long while yet.

He has had other dogs react aggressively to him, but it’s impossible for me to say whether it’s because he is entire or whether he’s just too bouncy and playful! For example, when he was on lead the other day someone walked their dog over (also on lead) calling out “mine is friendly!” And didn’t give much choice in the matter and his dog let mine have a fairly polite sniff for a few minutes and then went for him. In that interaction, my dog was actually being polite!

I manage it by not allowing him to approach strange dogs and working hard on his recall around other dogs. I always put him on lead if I see other dogs about. There are a few in the neighbourhood that I know he gets on with, if we see them then he is allowed to play but otherwise I wouldn’t risk it. Even if the other dog isn’t aggressive, they may be nervous and you could be undoing months of training the other owner has put in.

My dog hates intact males but I keep him well away from dogs I don’t know.

How olds your dog op? If he’s over 3 then yes I’d neuter for this reason.

You should keep him away from unfamiliar dogs at all times and on lead until his recall is perfect. I can’t believe this was news to you. Dogs don’t need to say fucking hello.

My current dog isn’t neutered or bred. It’s an unnecessary surgery with zero benefits in this instance and likely in most instances but you have to be a responsible dog owner. It’s becoming like driving - it doesn’t matter if you’re doing it responsibly as most others aren’t.

Preach 🙌

If a person ran up to you, invaded your space and forced a hello how would you feel? I’d also want to growl and snap if I was that way inclined. Are they being aggressive or trying to control your dogs behaviour because you aren’t?

Dogs tend to attack when they feel threatened. Does your dog approach other dogs in a dominant way e.g., Head above theirs, tail stiff or any other change of behaviour when approaching dogs? If he is dominant in his posture or behaviour then some dogs, neutered or not will attack him. if he is bouncy around other dogs that can also trigger aggression. Keep him on a lead and don't let him run up to dogs, especially if he's off lead. Dog behaviour is complex. If he is dominant neutering will stop that if he isn't and it's the other dogs are reacting negatively to his approach, it wont, that's for you to correct. On another note, I didn't neuter my dog until he was 13 and then after he had testicular cancer and we almost lost him. Should have done it earlier.

Poor, poor dogs.

Please have him neutered. It helps reduce humping and I think, aggression. It also categorically means no unwanted pups and the shelters are very full.
Some day cares won't take unneutered male dogs and kennels have to be careful with them.
My neutered male dog hated unneutered male dogs and would always have a pop at them if he could. (yes this is a situation I tried hard to avoid). It meant I had to peer at any new dog to see if it was safe for my dog to meet. My problem I know before anyone has a go at me.
I cannot honestly think, OP, why you wouldn't.
NB Neutered at 9 months because of the humping. Nr related health issues and he had a happy life for 15 1/2 years. Not bad for a Lab X.

There are many ways to keep a dog on lead and happy. I walk my dog with a long lead. He gets to run in the sea, walk through the woods. He’s a very happy dog and your comment suggests you could know much more about dogs.

You will get all sorts of excuses/reasons from people with reactive dogs. Easiest solution is to mind your own dog, don’t allow them to say casual hellos and keep them on a lead if you see another dog off lead. Mine are on leads on walks but have regular secure field sessions. If your dog is happy entire then it’s fine.

Thanks for your concern.

I have a lurcher - initially a foster at 7mo, but we adopted him as he had various issues that could have got him into trouble in lots of homes... Initially he was really positive towards all other dogs and wanted to play with them - but initially he had to be on lead as he was a foster, then once we adopted we were starting to let him off lead to play with suitable dogs after checking with their owners first. Unfortunately he was attacked by a labrador. Then we started getting various males going off at him because he was still intact. We knew we were going to castrate him as it was a condition of adoption - but we went for a chemical castration initially when he was about 20 months and then had him castrated at 28 months. This has definintely reduced the number of males that have had a go at him. However, due to a number of different labradors and a couple of retrievers attacking him on various occasions, we now have to keep him on lead most of the time in case one of those breeds turns up because he is very defensive with them now - understandably.

I expect I could but I’d truly hate to have to keep a dog on the lead all the time.

My lab definitely got unwanted male attention before he was neutered. One particular neutered male ( ironically a Visla) was never on lead, and would follow us on our runs, then become aggressive with my boy., who was definitely not approaching the Visla.

We did eventually neuter him, at 3 years old; prior to that the vet thought neutering could trigger nervous aggression in him, so we waited, then tried Chemical castration to see how he coped.

It definitely seems to be a thing between some males, and other than carefully monitoring interactions with any unknown dogs, I am not sure there’s much to be done.

I don’t agree that automatically neutering dogs is right. My lab was not a humper, nor aggressive. We neutered him because we lived in an area with many dogs, and wanted to reduce the risk of unwanted mating. But it’s not always the right answer.

My dog has never attacked or behaved aggressively to any other dog. I’m sorry to hear that your dog has been the victim of attacks too

@Khaykermy dog doesn’t seem to approach dogs in a dominant way. But he does do a slightly funny thing - which he’s always done - where he lays down totally flat, chin on the ground, and stays still until the approaching dog comes closer, then he’ll stand up and sniff, say hello, wag etc. It seems pretty passive/submissive to me but maybe something about this is off putting to certain other dogs. As you say, dog interactions are complex and I’m not a behaviourist

Thanks all. Putting him on lead when approaching others dogs is good sensible advice. I’ve been wrong in assuming that another dog being off lead is a signal that they’re safe for us to approach. I can see that now.

I’m still undecided about whether castration is right for him but will definitely revisit the issue in a year’s time when he’s 3.

Respectfully, I think this is part of the issue. He hasn’t attacked or behaved aggressively but he’s pissing these dogs off because you aren’t reading the behaviour or calling him back.

it does change things that the other dogs are off lead also. That would typically be a sign that they’re trusted but honestly, nowadays, people just let them off without really understanding the needs or consequences which leads to this situation where neither dog is a bad dog but is being put in a bad position.

We're talking about dogs safety not your feels.

Welcome

I know it’s about safety. I have friends with dogs with no recall. Just expressing a feel.

My dogs have recall but I'm not wreckless with their lives by assuming other dogs do, know how to behave, won't fight or kill due to prey drive, lack of training etc.

Your sharp tongue is revealing limited perspective.