# Need help with intact male issues



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Neutering might help take the edge off....????? If aggression comes from dominance/wiring, might go away? If aggression comes from fearful/anxiety - won't go away. As well, if he's had enough incidents occur (scraps with other dogs), he'll never forget that THEY attacked HIM. 

Because some of this is mental with these dogs, I think you also need an adjustment as far as management. No playtime with the other dogs - unless it's a dog that he doesn't have a problem with (bitches, older, smaller, etc). You need to become more Intune to your dog and watchful. Your dog needs a BIG bubble around him. No using other people's dogs to train your dog! They will thank you in advance! 

If he were 4-6 months, there's a possibility that this is something he could grow out of. But your dog is 2 years old? He's at that age where these things do not go away with neuter. 

As far as the breeder - I hate to say this because sometimes things like this happen out of nowhere and the breeders are as stunned as the owners.... but sometimes there are breeders who know there is an issue with either their dog or perhaps a stud dog. 

A friend of mine with obedience line goldens never had any temperament issues with any of her dogs. She bred to a very popular show/obedience line and suddenly had a bitch who was fighting with all the other bitches the breeder owned. As well, I've heard of stud dogs who have issues and have produced issues. 

Sometimes the breeders may not want to acknowledge that they have these problems in what they breed. Sometimes it truly is a case where they've not had any problems and are kinda hoping it's the owner's fault...


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## Goldie_lover (Jan 3, 2021)

Megora said:


> Neutering might help take the edge off....????? If aggression comes from dominance/wiring, might go away? If aggression comes from fearful/anxiety - won't go away. As well, if he's had enough incidents occur (scraps with other dogs), he'll never forget that THEY attacked HIM.
> 
> Because some of this is mental with these dogs, I think you also need an adjustment as far as management. No playtime with the other dogs - unless it's a dog that he doesn't have a problem with (bitches, older, smaller, etc). You need to become more Intune to your dog and watchful. Your dog needs a BIG bubble around him. No using other people's dogs to train your dog! They will thank you in advance!
> 
> ...


Thank you for your feedback. We had him evaluated and the consensus was there was no fear or anxiety. The behaviorist actually told us that Chai seemed uncomfortable around some intact males and needed space. Unfortunately, based on what you said, I am starting to feel like his previous interactions with intact males may be a trigger. He used to get bullied a lot by intact males when he was younger. We never let it get to a fight or anything, but intact males would often make a beeline for him at dog parks and pin him down. We stopped dog parks right away, but I wonder if those handful of incidents left him feeling vulnerable to intact males?

I am very close to both his dam and sire breeders and trust them well. They have been very helpful since his issues started. I visit them a lot, take classes with them and know every one of Pretzel's littermates. It seems like Pretzel is the only one with these issues.

I don't use other dogs for training at all. I run into friends on walks and stop to say hi and if Pretzel growls at them, I walk away immediately, I am wondering if I should train during these incidents with treats while both dogs are on leash. Lots to think about, thank you.


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## Rion05 (Jan 4, 2016)

OP, I don't do dog parks with my intact male because of problem at the park you described. What you need now is management, while you try to see how much you can condition and change the behavior. Neutering may or may not help (it's too bad you can;t test it out and go back if you don't like it). After a period of months (while his scent shifts from that of an intact to a neutered dog), it MAY change the behavior of other dogs towards him. This may, over time, change his behavior a bit, as well.

I am kind of hypervigilant with how other dogs react to my intact male, due to an experience with a prior intact male. We do conformation, obedience, and agility. Intact males clearly smell different to dogs and some dogs just flat out don't like them. Add to that that some dogs don't like bouncy dogs and some goldens are bouncy...you get the idea. I try to prevent other dogs overreacting to my dog - some other dogs don't like intact males for whatever reason, so I avoid those encounters. If I see another dog stiffen or growl, I immediately create some distance from the other dog (my dog usually seems clueless that it just happened and we go do something else together, as I don't want my dog to have a negeative association with another dog). My intact male loves other dogs, but I never let him go uninvited and get in another dog's face (not suggesting that you do this, but it's something I've become aware of after watching OTHER dogs react to intact dogs).

Your best best is to continue to work with a behaviorist until you can reach a level with this dog that is more manageable. Please let us know how it is going.


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## gingy (Sep 23, 2020)

Goldie_lover said:


> Hi All,
> My Golden, Pretzel, is nearly 2 years old (22 months to be exact). He is an absolute joy! Amazingly easy to train, super loving, happy and healthy. He is 99% perfect except for 1 issue. He is intact and does not get along with other intact male dogs similar to his size and age. Females? Gets along perfectly with any age, size and spay status. Neutered males? Gets along perfectly? Small or large size intact males? Leaves them alone. Much younger or older intact males of any size? Gets along great.
> 
> Intact males between 1-3 or 4 years and 60-80 lbs? He starts low growling at them. He gets stiff and hackles are up. We remove him from the situation immediately and he has never attacked or fought with any dog.
> ...


DO NOT NEUTER HIM ,go with your husband on this . I'm impressed your breeder agrees.


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