Colonelmustard

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Dec 8, 2013
21
1
Fort Collins, CO
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United States
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Colonel Mustard
Today we took Colonel to the dog park, to play with all of my co-workers and their dogs, for his Birthday Pawty. Colonel had never met these other dogs. Here's the break down of "friend" dogs: Drake, yellow lab. Thor, black lab. Harley, Aussie mix. Corbett, Sherperd Mix. Rory, Sherpard Mix.

Note: Colonel had a great time with all of the above mentioned friends.

However, not even at the dog park for five minutes, Colonel was attacked by a Rottweiler, whose owner said, "He always has a problem with intact dogs. I'm so sorry."

As I type this, Colonel is at the vet being sedated so that he can get stitches for the gash behind his ear from the Rottie. No I did not get the other owner's information, and YES I understand, "Dog Park at your own risk." Bill will end up being around $500 and we will have to watch him closely for the next 2 weeks to make sure an infection does not fester.

Now, to the point of this post: this is not the first time this has happened. Dogs REGULARLY start **** with Colonel. To be clear: Colonel does not run away from the fights, he definitely tries to stick up for himself, but he never STARTS them. Nine times out of ten the other owner will apologize for their dog, explain how this is SO unlike them, blah blah blah, and then they mention SOMETHING about Colonel still having his junk.

Here are the CONS to Colonel being intact:
- Doggie Day Cares will not let him socialize with "general population." So, for example: we spent $150 in February to board him for 3 days, but since he was intact the only time he was allowed out of his pen/cage/bed/whatever was for a ten minute potty walk 2x a day. I had to pay extra for additional walks or a 30 minute playtime session with an employee. Which I did.
RESULTS: He didn't eat, or sleep for 3 days. We brought him home, he gorged himself on food, and slept for almost 12 hours straight. HE also had a hot spot on his neck from the kennel's "exit bath" that was a whole different issue.

- Dog Parks: Just like today, other dogs regularly have issues with Colonel's presence. Going to the Dog park is a high anxiety situation for me, and I know Colonel (and other dogs) pick up on that.

- At home: When we have guests at our house or bring Colonel to another house - he will eventually try to hump someone, or another dog.

This puts us in a tough spot: we know that boarding/kenneling when we need to is less than ideal based on how he will be isolated. But taking a trip to a family member's house for a couple of days is A LOT to ask of our family since our dog will try to hump them/hump their dog.


For the first time since we got Colonel we are now considering neutering him. I would like to community's thoughts. Our Vet told me today that she does not believe having him neutered will stop him from getting constantly attacked/fought with, nor will it stop the humping behavior.

We are going to do more research, but I would like to understand if anyone has gone through this as well?

Thanks,
Huston
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
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Jul 28, 2011
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So sorry your boy got bit.... it just sucks regardless of the reason. I hope he heals quickly.

Yes, i agree, it will not totally stop those things from happening, but it can lessen them. There is an opinion of many that neuter/spay dogs do no like intact dogs and will fight with them also against a bulldog is their look, many other breeds have issue with the flat face and sounds of breathing that can be mistaken for a growl.

I worked at a dog daycare for 4 yrs and we also never allowed an intact in with the general playgroup, but we also did not allow them in at all even for over nights for just the reason you state -- they would be isolated and it is just not fair to the pup
 

YHSublime

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Dec 16, 2014
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Fairfax, VA
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Taco & Thor
Neuter won't fix those problems. My guys are both neutered, one is fine, the other, mr humpalicious. That being said, the humper of the two is the easiest going one, loves all people and dogs (sometimes to much..) and the non humper is the "I'm going to attack any and all dogs I happen to see."

I think it will alleviate, as mentioned, but it won't eradicate.

Sorry about your guy, btw. I keep my aggressive one leashed at all times, even in the dog park, just because you never know.


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NewEnglandBully

Poopah Scoopah
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Dec 29, 2013
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Sebastion (Sea Bass)
I can't help you w/the neutering issue, but as far as going away and kenneling him…would you consider hiring a dog walking company to pet sit at your home? They're licensed and bonded and it probably would cost around the same as putting him in a kennel. That way he'd be in the comfort of his own home, have individual attention and you wouldn't have to deal w/all the problems from the kennel.
So sorry about your dog being bit and having to get stitches. I'm shocked the owners didn't take your number to follow up
 

tyree213

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Nov 26, 2012
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New Orleans
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Gilbert, Scarlet
I agree with YHSublime neutering wont fix the problem as far as him humping other dogs and people. Sounds like you both need some training. It will be much harder to break because he is older, but it can still be done. Whether you neuter or not I would advise you to get a professional in your area or do a bunch of research online.
 

OpieRay

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Aug 19, 2014
85
4
Nevada
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Opie
Just throwing in my two cents...

First, I am so sorry for your guy getting bit. :(

We just neutered our boy and his behavior was night an day difference. The humping has stopped, except a few times where we are playing and he is just really excited. But we no longer have to fight him on it and he doesn't just randomly mount my leg. He actually gets a long with dogs now and doesn't pee every 2 feet on walks. We did neuter him at a little over a year so that might be different than neutering at two, but I don't know.
It's always sad having to kennel our pups, especially when they are isolated like that.
Before we got him cut many people would avoid letting their dogs be around Opie as he was intact. Opie was hard headed as heck and would not give up to anything. He is seriously so much better now.
We weren't going to get Opie neutered as we didn't see a reason for it until we had reason too, we are so happy we had it done though.
 
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Colonelmustard

New member
Dec 8, 2013
21
1
Fort Collins, CO
Country
United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Colonel Mustard
  • Thread Starter
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Thanks Everyone! I definitely would not expect him to become a completely different dog overnight, which I would not even want! We love his personality, but he is really is SO stubborn and aloof at times it makes general obedience pretty difficult. We really have to get aggressive ourselves sometimes (just in body language and tone, we do not hit him ever) for him to take us seriously. We have gone through 2 training sessions with a professional. He is really smart so he does things when he knows the situation (as in he knows he will get a treat so we does things before we ask, etc.)

He's our poot and we wouldn't change his personality in any way: my thought on neutering is simply for his overall health and safety.
 

punky

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Mar 19, 2010
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washington, west virginia
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usa
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porkchop, abbey, gucci and rocky,
our rocky didn't hump a lot but we did have him fixed very shortly after we got him.. he did want to pee on everything, and i mean everything... i didn't think a dog would have that much pee in him.. and like opieray stated .. it was like night and day.. didn't even once hike his leg in the house.. in fact i don't see him hike his leg any at all.. he goes out to pee and squats and pee's then that's it.. he will sometimes do it in a neighbors yard on our walks but we were definitely happy that the problem was solved over night..
 

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