Does Castration Stop Aggression?

[snapdogs]

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One of our 4 whippets has suddenly become posessive with his food, and agressive towards the other 2 male whippets...... we have a bitch but she has been nutered! I was almost hysterical when he attacked one of the other whippys back in the summer, he does not do it all the time, but it seems to be getting more common. Has anyone else had their dog castrated for the same/similar reason?

and did it work?

he is 3 1/2 years old.

thanks Dawn

 

[jezza]

Canine concepts

Hope this link works :b quite a good article. I don't know whether anyone can say whether castration will definately reduce the aggression. In some cases is does, others it doesn't, suppose it just depends on the dog.

My behaviourist advised against castrating my fear aggressive dog because she thinks it can sometimes make them worse (lack of testosterone could make him more aware that he can't defend himself, but he is fear aggressive, not dominance aggressive). He is going to be castrated at some point however because his testicles are undescended

Is the aggression just about food? If it is then just feeding them in separate rooms would stop the aggression. Mine can eat together but put a pigs ear into the equation and they have to be in separate rooms :lol:

 

[Evie]

Castrtion can help in some cases. To me this sounds like hierarchy issues within your pack that needs to be addressed to help prevent any serious fights. I'm not experianced enough to offer any advice on that, but I'm sure others here can offer some help. A dog trainer or behaviourist might be of good help as well.

Good Luck. :luck:

 

[Evie]

Just to add, Jezza's suggestion of feeding in seperate rooms is a wise one. :thumbsup:

 

[jezza]

I should've put in my first post that it is my dog that sees a behaviourist, not me!!! (w00t)

 

[FeeFee]

That's a good article, Jezza, I haven't seen that one before but it's very balanced :luck:

As the others have said I'm afraid there's no clear-cut answer as to whether it will help without knowing a lot more about the behaviours and personalities of the dogs involved. On the other hand unless your dog has fear issues, in general I would say it won't make things worse and may very well improve things.

Although neutering definitely isn't a miracle cure for all behaviour problems, I have found in my own experience that it does often make male dogs generally more tractable and responsive to training.

Is the dog he is fighting with also entire?

 

[snapdogs]

That's a good article, Jezza, I haven't seen that one before but it's very balanced  :luck:
As the others have said I'm afraid there's no clear-cut answer as to whether it will help without knowing a lot more about the behaviours and personalities of the dogs involved.      On the other hand unless your dog has fear issues, in general I would say it won't make things worse and may very well improve things.

Although neutering definitely isn't a miracle cure for all behaviour problems, I have found in my own experience that it does often make male dogs generally more tractable and responsive to training.

Is the dog he is fighting with also entire?

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Hi yes the other males are entire.... Puzzle the one causing the prob's, has and does show agression to other dogs on his walks when he is walked with the others. on his own he will still growl but is no where near as bad... but that is a pack thing I know. He has broken both front legs, 1st @ 7 months 2nd @ 15 months and when tired he gets very grouchy... and panic's if he thinks someone is going to lay on his legs! although not the oldest dog he is top dog... we have had fights with the oldest dog - 5 yrs of age and he came out on top!! they had to be seperated for 2 weeks then, could not be in the same room as each other.... sometimes he can be playing with the other dogs, then he just rases his hackles and will have a go! He stays with the others during the day, when I am at work, and I do sometimes worry, in case a biscuit has been left or he will find something to fight over... I really have to make sure that there is nothing left laying around that could cause probs...... he never used to be like this... I love him so much and could not part with him... to me a dog is for life!! but my husband keeps saying it's time for him to go....

thanks for your help

Dawn

 

[FeeFee]

If it's a matter of his behaviour being so bad that you feel you may not be able to keep him, then please find a good behaviourist who can come and assess him with the other dogs before you take any drastic action. They will be able to look at the way the dogs and people in the house interact and suggest ways to improve things. They will also advise whether neutering will help.

Personally if I were faced with that situation I would consider having all the males neutered (I don't know if you breed or show your dogs, of course that might not be an option) but you really need someone to come and look at the whole situation.

Good luck, I hope you are able to resolve things. :luck:

 

[snapdogs]

If it's a matter of his behaviour being so bad that you feel you may not be able to keep him, then please find a good behaviourist who can come and assess him with the other dogs before you take any drastic action.  They will be able to look at the way the dogs and people in the house interact and suggest ways to improve things.  They will also advise whether neutering will help.
Personally if I were faced with that situation I would consider having all the males neutered (I don't know if you breed or show your dogs, of course that might not be an option) but you really need someone to come and look at the whole situation.

Good luck, I hope you are able to resolve things.  :luck:

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Hi yes we do show our dogs obvioulsy not poor puzzy with his bandy legs..... so we could not have the other two castrated. I cannot afford for a animal behaviourist to come to the house.... and I would not re-home him, bescause someone else might not be as patient and undersatnding of him as I!

 

[Evie]

Are your dogs insured? If your vet refers you to a behaviourist then it could possibly be covered through insurance.

Check out local dog trainers for classes and give them a call. Perhaps they could help?

 

[snapdogs]

Are your dogs insured?  If your vet refers you to a behaviourist then it could possibly be covered through insurance.
Check out local dog trainers for classes and give them a call.  Perhaps they could help?

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Hi There will look into that............ thanks would never have thought of that!

Dawn

 

[FeeFee]

A trainer is a very good idea. There is a regional list of APDT trainers here:

http://www.apdt.co.uk/list_trainers.asp

A lot of these will also deal with behaviour issues one-to-one, and may not be as expensive as you think. Definitely worth checking your insurance, as you may find you are covered.

 

[jayp]

i keep four entire males together and have had only one major scrap between topdog and young male, this too was food related. i stopped the fight but they just started again. iwas really frantic as i had to go back to work and darnt leave them! i rang a very experienced dog friend who said under not to separate them or they would continue to fight every time they met.she suggested i took the two fighters to work with me, leave them together in the car as whippets do love company and they would only have each other to lie with. she suggested i took them out to walk and pla y together as they would associate each other with good times,no competative games though. idid this for a week with my nerves on edge in case it all kicked off but i have had no problems at all since. it may be worth a try if your insurance wont cough up. try not to stress as this makes dogs worse. stay strong and calm. :luck: hope all goes ok

 

[05whippet]

Ask your vet if they will give him an injection........it has the same result as neutering and will save you paying out unessecarily to neuter if it does'nt work,as it does'nt always with all dogs,age can play a large part in it too.

I am sorry that I don't know what the injection is called but maybe someone else on here might? We had this done with a JRT that we had a few years ago,our vet advised us to use the injection as the dog was just over two and like yours was getting aggressive with another entire male (this happened out of the blue and got progressively worse over a period of time) we strangely enough also had a speyed bitch,anyway to cut a long story short,the injection did'nt make any difference in our case,so our vet said that the neutering would'nt curb his aggression either, and unfortunately in our case we were left with no other choice but to rehome him as the agression toward the other dog got out of hand to the point where they could'nt be in the same room together without a fight ensuing (the other male was and still is very placid and always was submissive with the JRT)

I wish you lots of luck with this,as it is a horrible situation to live with as you are always just waiting for it to "kick off"

I now have 4 entire males,1 neuter and 3 entire bitches altogether with no bother,but I know firsthand that it is'nt that easy for everyone.

 

[fallenangel]

just arthought coming at it from a differnt angel. has he got worres as its got colder I ask as one of my whippets ha had both frnt lwegs brocken and gets tired easly and also realy feels tha cold. if she get cold in her legs shes very upset and niggaly.

We make sure shes warm at home and when out if shes not actualy moving to keep warm she allways sits or stands on a mat or blanket it may sound silly but its when shes still the cold seams to get her more.

Allso get a good joint suplimet even though joints arent brocken with the imobility when the dogs in plaster especaly o young the joints arnt allways as flexabell after. My girl brock bothe hers before she was 12 months old and her front legs now look like an old clothes peg when you look at her.

raies his food bowl up slightly so he dost have to strain his front legs to eat becous if hes in discofort when eating hes going to be a grump .

The castraion things a difficut one I have 3 mail greyhounds who were att casterted around the age of 4 when they came from resuce one was very domint at first and it took 6 months for him to carm down. But I dont know weather that was castrion or settling in I think a behavourist is a good first step allso I think you can get a chemical castrion from the vets to see if it works. dont know much about it personaly but you could allways speak to your vet about it

 

[jezza]

If it's a matter of his behaviour being so bad that you feel you may not be able to keep him, then please find a good behaviourist who can come and assess him with the other dogs before you take any drastic action.  They will be able to look at the way the dogs and people in the house interact and suggest ways to improve things.  They will also advise whether neutering will help.
Personally if I were faced with that situation I would consider having all the males neutered (I don't know if you breed or show your dogs, of course that might not be an option) but you really need someone to come and look at the whole situation.

Good luck, I hope you are able to resolve things.  :luck:

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Hi yes we do show our dogs obvioulsy not poor puzzy with his bandy legs..... so we could not have the other two castrated. I cannot afford for a animal behaviourist to come to the house.... and I would not re-home him, bescause someone else might not be as patient and undersatnding of him as I!

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Have you looked into getting a behaviourist? I know things can be cheaper up north but we have paid £200 in total for Lennys training and we've been going since January, we haven't got a lot of money so they let us pay in stages.

The injection is called Tardac (sp) which I have considered for Lenny but I was put off by some of the side effects, cant remember off hand what they are now.

Incidently, my insurance does not cover for behaviour problems so I've had to pay for it all myself, who are you insured with?

 

[05whippet]

If it's a matter of his behaviour being so bad that you feel you may not be able to keep him, then please find a good behaviourist who can come and assess him with the other dogs before you take any drastic action.  They will be able to look at the way the dogs and people in the house interact and suggest ways to improve things.  They will also advise whether neutering will help.
Personally if I were faced with that situation I would consider having all the males neutered (I don't know if you breed or show your dogs, of course that might not be an option) but you really need someone to come and look at the whole situation.

Good luck, I hope you are able to resolve things.  :luck:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

Hi yes we do show our dogs obvioulsy not poor puzzy with his bandy legs..... so we could not have the other two castrated. I cannot afford for a animal behaviourist to come to the house.... and I would not re-home him, bescause someone else might not be as patient and undersatnding of him as I!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

Have you looked into getting a behaviourist? I know things can be cheaper up north but we have paid £200 in total for Lennys training and we've been going since January, we haven't got a lot of money so they let us pay in stages.

The injection is called Tardac (sp) which I have considered for Lenny but I was put off by some of the side effects, cant remember off hand what they are now.

Thanks for that,at least someone has a better memory than me! We only opted for the injection as life was so unbearable in the house and thankfully we had no side effects other than it did'nt work in our case.

Incidently,my insurance does not cover for behaviour problems so I've had to pay for it all myself,who are you insured with?

 

[dessie]

That's a good article, Jezza, I haven't seen that one before but it's very balanced  :luck:
As the others have said I'm afraid there's no clear-cut answer as to whether it will help without knowing a lot more about the behaviours and personalities of the dogs involved.      On the other hand unless your dog has fear issues, in general I would say it won't make things worse and may very well improve things.

Although neutering definitely isn't a miracle cure for all behaviour problems, I have found in my own experience that it does often make male dogs generally more tractable and responsive to training.

Is the dog he is fighting with also entire?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

Hi yes the other males are entire.... Puzzle the one causing the prob's, has and does show agression to other dogs on his walks when he is walked with the others. on his own he will still growl but is no where near as bad... but that is a pack thing I know. He has broken both front legs, 1st @ 7 months 2nd @ 15 months and when tired he gets very grouchy... and panic's if he thinks someone is going to lay on his legs! although not the oldest dog he is top dog... we have had fights with the oldest dog - 5 yrs of age and he came out on top!! they had to be seperated for 2 weeks then, could not be in the same room as each other.... sometimes he can be playing with the other dogs, then he just rases his hackles and will have a go! He stays with the others during the day, when I am at work, and I do sometimes worry, in case a biscuit has been left or he will find something to fight over... I really have to make sure that there is nothing left laying around that could cause probs...... he never used to be like this... I love him so much and could not part with him... to me a dog is for life!! but my husband keeps saying it's time for him to go....

thanks for your help

Dawn

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

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I know it is hard and you love him dearly but sometimes it is best to re-home them for their own sake. He is obviously not a happy person and would probably be FAR better off in a home either on his own or with a spayed bitch. However good behavourists are they cannot alter your home arrangements or what Puzzle feels in his own mind (especially about his legs) and some dogs just aren't pack animals. I certainly do not think castration is the answer either.

 

[Macha]

I've heard some people even say their dogs got more aggressive after castration and (most) others say there was little if any difference. Some articles I read say it only makes a difference if the dog is neutered quite young. Well, I'm very sceptical about that as I have a dog who was neutered by rescue group when he was about 7 years old and he somes a lot of dominance behaviour. He also lifts his leg a lot, scent marking, when we are outside - like any male and interestingly that behaviour developed after I got him when he was over a year old. Probably he'd been kenneled most of the time up till then and didn't have much opportunity. Anyway, I have to agree with the others that neutering is unlikely to solve behavioural problems so do get advice from an experienced trainer.

 

[Kirawan]

One of our 4 whippets has suddenly become posessive with his food, and agressive towards the other 2 male whippets...... we have a bitch but she has been nutered! I was almost hysterical when he attacked one of the other whippys back in the summer, he does not do it all the time, but it seems to be getting more common. Has anyone else had their dog castrated for the same/similar reason?and did it work?

he is 3 1/2 years old.

thanks Dawn

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Seemingly I am coming in a bit late here, but if I were in your position, and if, as you say, this aggression has come on suddenly, or is unusual, my very first port of call, would be to the vet's surgery. It is a fact that humans and dogs alike, get grumpy if they are unwell.

A check up would be a sensible place to start.

If a dog has a low thyroid output, that can make him aggressive (there are a lot of other symptoms too, but certainly uncharacteristic aggression is one of them).

A blood test would give a very good idea of anything amiss healthwise.

If he were to be castrated and he was not completely healthy, I can see that it might produce more problems than it cures.

Usually if it is a dominance thing, it will involve one particular member of the family, or another dog which whom he has recently had a spat. It does not sound as though this is the case though.

From the follow-on posts, it sounds as though he is a bit fearful, - that again, would make me suspicious that something isn't quite right medically.

No fun at all for you though, waiting for the time bomb to go off.

I hope you might consider a trip to the vets.

One other short term thing which might get you over Christmas in relative peace... is to try him with some Bach's Rescue Remedy... just a couple of drops on the tongue might calm him down somewhat and make him feel more relaxed.

There is also something made especially for dogs which they stock at my vets it is called 'Anxiety'. Costs about £9.95 and is dosed via a little dropper.

Made by Homeopet http://www.homeopet.com/anxiety.htm

Good luck, and best wishes,