# My pup gets bullied....will neutering help?? Advice please! :-)



## my_sam_the_man (May 1, 2013)

My pup Sam is just over 10 months old. He LOVES dogs, cats, children, adults - you name it! He's very soppy and wouldn't hurt a fly, which I think unfortunately is a problem. Ever since he hit puberty other dogs have started to be more aggressive with him. Out on a walk I have to pull him away from growling, snappy dogs. This never really used to happen when he was younger, but now it happens daily. Owners say things about their dogs like: "wow, that's not like him at all!" etc. 

I have tried walking him in remote places but even if we only meet a few dogs, it always seems to happen. Sam just wants to meet dogs and play, but they appear to just see him as a threat and react badly to him. Often they seem fine but once they have sniffed him then they turn. It's such a shame as Sam is such a softie, he's never so much as growled at another dog.

I really didn't want to get Sam neutered until he was over 18 months old (if at all) but I am considering it seriously now in the hope that this will prevent other dogs being aggressive towards him. What do people think? He's my first dog and means the world to me so any advice would be very gladly received. Thanks x


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## Selli-Belle (Jan 28, 2009)

We are going through the same thing with Duge who is 10 months and intact. The way we are dealing with it is to not let him associate with dogs if we are not sure about their reaction to him. Duge has enough friends that he won't lack in socialization. In addition, we provide him with new dogs to meet among people who do performance events. These dogs are more used to being amongst intact dogs and are under better control.

These boys are just reeking of testosterone (it is currently at the highest level it will ever be in their lives), so it can feel threatening to other dogs. Not your dog's fault, but it happens, so it is better safe than sorry.


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## murphy1 (Jun 21, 2012)

That was one of the reasons I neutered Murphy and 9 1/2 months. He was a target at dog parks and dogs on our street began giving him a hard time. Murph is a mush and somewhat submissive. Things have changed with th guys on the block but we don't do dog parks anymore. Another reason I neutered early than I wanted to.....I was afraid of a dog coming into heat and him taking off. All in all he did just fine!


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## my_sam_the_man (May 1, 2013)

Thanks murphy1. Did it make an obvious difference in how other dogs behaved towards him after he was done? I know it takes awhile for the testosterone to die down after neutering....


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

The neutering does seem to help. I had the same issue with Tucker. Since I rely heavily on dog parks to exercise my dogs (bad knee), it made it hard on him. He seemed to have a sign on his back saying "hump me." LOL he was obviously a bit weirded out by all the attention and all the males coming after him and pushing him around. I also had planned to neuter him at 18 months but moved it up. He got fixed at 11 months instead. I think it helped a great deal.

Just know that it takes a few weeks for the effect to be complete. Your dog may still attract unwanted attention for up to a month post-surgery.


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## janababy (Jan 2, 2012)

We had our last Golden neutered when he was 6 months old. He was a real musher and softie. After he was fixed we had several incidents at the dog park with being picked on out of the blue. I believe that dogs can sense their easy going personality and therefore an "easy mark" to pick on. They seem to know that they won't fight back. I always felt bad for him, but would not have traded his personality and temperment for anything.


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## Michele4 (Oct 28, 2012)

Both my dogs are neutered and when ever I walk them other dogs still act aggressive towards my dogs, while my dogs just mind their own business. I think while on a leash some dogs feel they have to be more defensive and aggressive than others.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

This is happening during walks? 

Leash training - do not let him visit unless (1) you see the other dogs are friendly and (2) you are ready to reinforce manners while the dogs visit. 

My guys are not allowed to butt/belly sniff/lick other dogs. The rest is I'm just very selective as far as letting my guys visit with other dogs. You have to be.


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## my_sam_the_man (May 1, 2013)

*megora*

Yes, this is during walks. We always go to large fields and woods so he can have a good run around and explore - he definitely prefers this to walking on a lead. Not sure in practise how he can have the freedom on his walks and at the same time I am preventing him from meeting other dogs. I don't want to feel like I am wrapping him in cotton wool for all of his life!  x


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Does he have a good solid recall?

The onlytime you should take your dog off leash is when you see other dogs and can call him and get a hand on his collar until the other dogs pass. Absolutely no off leash meetups with unknown dogs.

If you are concerned about your dog being attacked by other dogs...


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## my_sam_the_man (May 1, 2013)

No solid recall unfortunately. He used to be brilliant but is now on an elimination diet - he has a bad intolerance to something (I suspect chicken and/or beef) so he can ONLY have his specific food at dinner time i.e. no treats at all - until we have got to the bottom of what is causing the problem. Treats are the only thing that has ever motivated him enough for training. It will be weeks yet before we can even start introducing other foods to his diet, let alone treats. He won't come back for his dinner time food as a treat - i've tried!


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## murphy1 (Jun 21, 2012)

yes,,,,his bed bud Dutch behaved different a few weeks after the neutering. Now they run and play together again!


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

From a practical perspective: we walk off leash in the woods and fields around here almost daily, and I _always_ call my dogs back to my side when I see another dog or even a person without a dog. It's basic courtesy not to let me dogs greet people until I am 100% certain that the person wants to say hi to a dog.

It's also a safety issue. People carry weapons, and every once in a while you read in the news about some armed yahoo who decided to injure or kill a dog for the crime of running up with his mouth open.

When it comes to other dogs, there are also safety and courtesy issues. I don't let my off-leash guys greet leashed dogs. Period. A leash can bring out the worst in a dog who's otherwise stable because the dog is restrained and unable to freely show the body language he wants to and/or to move away from the other dog if he's nervous. It can raise anxiety. Obviously, many dogs are happy-go-lucky on leash, but you don't know that if you don't know the dog. And what about those poor people who have reactive dogs and just want to go for a walk? It's totally unfair to let your dogs mob their dog.

So when we see somebody, the dogs are recalled to my side in a loose heel command called "right here." If it becomes clear that the person or dog/person combo doesn't want to greet, I move my dogs to the side of the trail in a sit-stay. If the person asks to greet but has a leashed dog, I apologize and say that we're working on a training thing. If their dog is off leash and they want to greet, I say "my guys are friendly" and allow an interaction, but only if I think the body language of the dog looks OK. If they allow their dog to just come over without asking (rude!), I keep my boys by my side until the other dog gets to us. That way, if there's a problem, I'm right there, rather than having a problem take place 50 feet away from me.

As far as the neutering thing, I have noticed that young, intact boys get a lot of interest from neutered boys, not always nicely. Neutering _may_ help with that. However, I've also noticed that when Jax was younger, he drew negative attention much more than Comet, even though both were intact. Jax's body language is brash and in-your-face and screams "play, play, play." His tail is up, his ears are up, and his head is up. And he looks right at other dogs to invite them to play. It was clumsy communication that other dogs sometimes found intimidating. So he got some negative attention for it.

Comet, on the other hand, is the zen master of setting other dogs at ease. He is my master communicator dog, to the point that I bring him to private lessons so he can teach younger dogs manners and communication skills. He moves calmly, smells the other dog, and averts his eyes politely to make sure there are no hard stares (hard staring is highly confrontational if you're a dog). He doesn't offer appeasing behaviors, but he also doesn't get into other dogs' space. He has never been the subject of bullying by neutered boys. His complete confidence and non-confrontational body language seem to defuse potential conflicts before they get going.

So in my anecdotal experience, the dog's body language has at least as much to do with the kind of attention he gets from other dogs as his testosterone does. Neutering might improve the problem, but so will good socialization as your pup learns to speak more clearly and also to be somewhat calmer around other dogs.


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