Getting my dog neutered

bugslet

I think it is mostly mental stimulation and he is still a young dog.

I've had around ten boy dogs in my life and never had one done, and that includes a border collie.

I think with the training, it's a case of being consistent. He's clever enough toknow what you want him to do, he just can't see the point. Lola is about 90% of the way there - she's pretty good altogether walking on her own, a bit worse with the others by her side and it's been a case of stopping, waiting for her to get bored and issuing the command back till she's by my side. She still walks ahead, but as long as the lead is loose, I'm fine with that. But it has been a looooong and boring year at times:o

Red-Squirrel_2

You should still get him neutered and also carry on working on the training, the main reason for neutering is so that you aren't responsible for unwanted puppies!

Timpu

I could have written this. Thoughts in blue...errr, don't know what's happened to the formatting but you get the idea.

Wizard_of_Id wrote: »

I have been trying to train him since I got him in February and had limited success
I got a trainer in to point me in the right direction but even using the techniques that he showed me there are still the issues mentioned.

We ended up trying different training classes and ultimately settled on someone who used to train guide dogs and holds all classes outdoors, changing location each session. Point is, if you can try another trainer and see if they suit you and your dog any better. I'm not saying the trainer you worked with is good or bad but a different approach may help. We also referred to Victoria Stillwell's website, as well as raid the local library.


If I could just get the recall working I would then be more confident in letting him off the lead to do stuff in open spaces but he has a very short attention span and will get distracted by almost anything, favourite treats don't work nor do toys or silly voices as said by the trainer.

Ours went through this phase, nothing was more interesting than another dog/person/bin etc. all we could do was grit our teeth and persist. The advice to start small i.e. in the garden before expanding, certainly worked for us.

...he does walk by my side when I keep a very short lead but as soon as he gets room to move, he mostly pulls out front to the point of strangling himself, I was advised that he would learn not to do this himself (because he is an intelligent breed) but he is still at it.

That strangling sound is awful, used to go right through me. A trainer might be able to advise you on a nose lead. I say this with caution. The trainer who's classes we now attend tried such a thing on our hound but quickly concluded it was not suitable for her.

Good luck.

bmthmark

I have a 1 year old (birthday Friday) cocker spaniel. We had him neutered a few weeks ago.
The reason why we decided to have him neutered was because he kept getting randomly attacked by different dogs. He would also mark his scent on every tree/post. I also noticed that he would wander off whilst off lead.

The op went very well, virtually straight away he stopped marking his scent and he has not been attacked by another dog since (it was probably a daily occurrence pre op).

He is still his crazy self, his personality/behavior has not changed at all (very pleased about). Off lead I have noticed that he still goes off but will always come back, especially if he spots me walking off.

From what I have read, if I was you I would get him neutered and 100% keep going with the training.

teddysmum

I had four male cavaliers at once but could not neuter as one had a bad heart and having the others done (one of whom probably didn't know what a female dog was, after having one on heat visiting our house and he taking no notice ) would upset the balance.


When the two mentioned died, one of the others had a testicular tumour so was neutered and the one done a few weeks later. One was a compulsive scratcher so I bought an inflatable collar to prevent too much damage, but he actually ignored the wound and loved his mobile pillow .the other cried the first night he was crated to stop running about, but it turned out to be because he was confined and not through pain.


As spaying stops a female from having pyometra ,castration rules out testicular cancer, which I thought was rare but 25% of my pack had a tumour.


One person I knew did have a downside of castration, as in one of the James Herriot stories, as male dogs thought her little sheltie was a girl and treated him accordingly, but we have had no such problems.

sheramber

Many neutered dogs are pestered by entire dogs because the neutered dog does not smell like a male so the entire dog thinks it is a female.

Some neutered dogs who have experienced this become wary of entire dogs and act agressively towards them as in I'll warn you off before you come near me.

My neutered dog started lifting his leg and marking at 2 years old.

My current neutered dog has never stopped marking.

Neutering has its place but it is not a substitute for training.

It won't stop a dog pulling on the lead or start him recalling. it wonlt calm down a dog that is not getting enough stimulation.

Look at what he is being fed. Foods with lots of additives can make a dog hyperactive.

Soot2006

Good point about the food. An easy way to know if your feed is right for your dog is to go by their poo! They shouldn't produce very much; it shouldn't smell particularly (obviously it whiffs! But it shouldn't STINK); shouldn't be soft; should only be as a function of what they eat. E.g. if you feed once a day, expect one poo, if you feed twice, expect two etc!

Personally, I am not at all anti-neutering. I just wouldn't want you to confound the behavioural issues with hormones. Neutered males have an easier life in many ways, esp if they are prone to roaming or running away. Less likely to get in a serious fight, less likely to track down an in-heat !!!!!, etc ...

Forget expensive behaviourists, just find a friendly reward-based local trainer (maybe someone who does clicker training) to start a new and improved line of communication with your dog. Many trainers hold classes specifically for naughty adults dogs (trust me, I've been to many!). Your dog at his age still has everything to learn; he's also at a particularly difficult age where a weekly consistent training class will make a HUGE different to the adult dog he will become. Then consider neutering him once you have a handle on those things.

Most dogs in rescue are abandoned as adolescents, because they are frequently unbearable! But if you put the effort in now, find a reward-based trainer, it will change everything for the better x

elsien

Have you thought about something like rally or agility to use up his mental energy and tire him out?
It's taken me over 3 years to get Gitdog to the point where we now never need the head collar. He was 3ish when he came to me, completely untrained, lacking in impulse control (that's not changed!) and pulled like a steam train. I also still go to weekly training classes - more to keep me motivated, than him.
I wouldn't expect it to take as long with other dogs, but he's an !!!!, bull terriers aren't noted for their willingness to learn and pulling is one of the harder things to train once fully ingrained.
Gitdog will only go off lead in an empty enclosed field to let off steam and practice recall - is there anything like that anywhere near you? My local park has one that's secure, but also a local trainer rents a field out for an hour at a time. I use a longer lunge lead the rest of the time - not a flexi lead as they're lethal.
What's recently made a difference as well though is taking him to agility - a fun class as the serious ones wouldn't have us. If you'd told me I'd be able to let him off the lead in a field with other dogs and keep his attention I'd have rolled round the floor laughing. But he loves it, it knackers him, and it's improved his focus no end. He's still an !!!! (took me 10 minutes to retrieve him last time as he zipped round on an unofficial round staying just out of grabbing distance) but he's now a more controllable !!!!.
Training, and consistency. There aren't any short cuts.

Katiehound

It has pretty much been said already by the people who always answer with great ideas.

Sounds to me like he needs mental stimulation too-games you can play indoors: hiding a treat under one of 3 flower pots, or hiding toys round the house, playing hide and seek with you- as examples.
Collies are working dogs and will run many miles in a working day so they are very active.
I would neuter anyway.
Find some reward based training. Are you near a Dogs Trust centre? because they have (new) dog school. Also look at their website for ideas. Even teaching your dog to 'shake paws' or High 5 may be considered a trick but it would get him to focus.

If you have a safe enclosed space to exercise with another doggy pal so that they can let off steam by playing before going for a walk that would also be helpful. Then you can walk a slightly calmer , less excited pooch.

Yes and food- check for % protein content as it might be too high

Wizard_of_Id

Thanks all :T

Lots of advice about training but not so much on the neutering but all helpfull anyway