Dog Behavior after Neutering

Many owners often complain about their dog behavior and think about giving them up for adoption. Dogs that are not neutered often exhibit aggressiveness, submissive urination, disobedience or maybe hyperactive or ignore the owner completely. Thus, many vets advice neutering male dogs. Neutering male dogs, especially puppies can bring out the change in their behavior. In older dogs, unruly behavior becomes a habit and may take many weeks or months to see the difference in dog behavior. Let us see the effects of spaying or neutering in canine behavior.

What is Spaying or Neutering?

Before we get on to the effects of spaying or neutering in canine behavior, let me first explain what do these procedures actually mean. Spaying or neutering, also called altering, is a surgical procedure that prevents the animal from reproducing. When the dog reaches puberty at around 3½ month of age, they are like little teenagers. Small dog breeds like Chihuahuas, Yorkshire Terrier, etc. are adolescent till one year of age, medium-sized dog breeds like Labrador, German Shepherds, etc. for about two years of age and large dog breeds like Newfoundlands, Saint Bernard, Great Danes, etc., are adolescent for up to three years of age.

The dogs undergo behavioral changes due to their increasing sex hormones. Dogs become aggressive, often mark territories by urinating in the house, yard or anything that he considers as his property. He may even urinate on some family member to mark him as a member of the pack. When the dog smells a female dog in 'heat' he becomes stimulated and will concentrate only on getting to her and breeding her. When unsuspecting owners stop him from leaving the house, the dog becomes destructive and will howl and bark continuously.

The dog will continue with this behavior for more than one or two weeks, till he is stimulated by the scent of the female dog in 'heat'. If the dog manages to go out, he will meet competition, that is, other dogs stimulated by the scent of female in 'heat'. This will lead to dog fights. Whether your dog wins or loses, he may probably get injured seriously. It is a myth that dogs should be allowed to breed at least once in their life. The truth is, if he is successful in mating with the female, his testosterone mediated behavior will get even more intense.

Behavior of a Neutered Dog

In order to curb this aggressive and destructive dog behavior, vets advice owners for neutering male dogs. One can get a dog neutered at any age. But as mentioned earlier, it is better to neuter a puppy as early as possible than an older dog. It is also better to neuter a dog that is young and healthy at about 6 months of age. When both the testicles are descended in the scrotum, then a minor surgery is advised. The dog will recuperate very quickly after the surgery, when one or both the testicles are retained, that is, testicles inside the abdominal cavity. The process of neutering a male dog is similar to the spray of the female dog. The dog in this case too, will recuperate quickly. Those that are strongly driven by the testosterone levels in the blood will take some time to show change in behavior. One should keep in mind that neutering does not change the attitude of the dog towards people, but lessens his aggressiveness due to the decrease in testosterone levels. You will also find dog behavior after neutering to be more calm near other dogs.

The behavior of a neutered dog is altered after neutering. The sexual behavior may disappear after neutering a male dog. Though puppies may continue to show some sexual activity that they exhibited before neutering, as they are growing. Neutering shows reduced frequencies of dog fights and other dominance tendencies. But the dog will continue to be territorial. It is a myth that the dog will no longer guard the house after neutering. The truth is neutering in no way affects the basic temperament and intelligence of the dogs.

Also, the behavior of a neutered dog to urinate around the house will reduce considerably. It may cause weight gain in some dogs. This because the dog becomes less active after neutering and you should provide enough time for exercise to the dog so that it remains healthy and active. Another aspect of dog behavior after neutering shows reduction in excessive dog barking and hyperactivity.

This shows that neutering male dogs is good to improve your dog behavior. It also reduces the chances of injury to your dog due to increased aggressiveness and other people due to the dogs testosterone-mediated behavior. For the safety of your dog and those around him, you should seek medical advice and get the dog neutered. It is the owner's responsibility to maintain optimum dog care.