Neutering Questions

[theparrisfive]

Tank has started Marking this past month. he is now 15 months old. We have a appointment for shots the 30th and the vet said they could keep him and neuter him the 31st if we wanted to go ahead and get it done. My concern is she said that at this age it may not stop the marking or it could take up to 6 months for him to knock it off after the neuter. Also will this stunt his growth any by doing it at this age or are we pretty well at a safe age? What is the healing like? They said he would do best with being pinned during healing but he does not like cages AT ALL so im afraid that would cause more issues. Behavior wise will he change any? other than the marking and the normal bully stubbornness he is a great dog and very active. will this change any? We are on the fence about it right now. We don't plan on breeding so that isn't even a issue for us. Any advice and suggestions would be great. also what is usually average size for a male bully? Tank is currently 17 inches tall and 56 lbs (he lost some weight down south while on vacation due to not eating and depression) He is 13 inches a cross right now.

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

If you are not interested in breeding him..by all means have him neutered. The whole stunt the growth thing has been pretty well shot down. Take a look at Vegas..[MENTION=900]KMARINO[/MENTION]..he was neutered at, I think 4 months, and he looks pretty filled out to me! But know, it might not stop the marking, the longer he has been doing this, the harder to correct. But do the neuter for your Tank...

 

[cali~jenn]

I agree if you arent breeding ever then neuter. The earlier the better actually. Have heard doing it later takes longer to heal I think. 15 months is plenty time for your baby to be developed by far and I dont believe those that say it will stunt them anyhow. It is genetics how they grow. Period. My opinion anyhow. Cutty was neutered around 1 year and he is more than filled out, big head and chest etc. Not sure it will change his personality much since he is good to begin with. My boys still mark the yard like mad but thankfully not the house anymore. They do grow out of that stage I think eventually. I hope for your sake. Neutering certainly cant hurt in this aspect. The only thing that ever slowed me from neutering is just the actual surgery. As for healing? My boys were never crated and they did fine. Didnt wear cones either since they couldnt reach to lick anyhow. So long as you can keep him from overdoing it without a crate you should be fine. Maybe just crate when you cant watch him so much? My boys were done together so I didnt have to worry about 1 pup getting the other all hyper either which helped.

 

[anatess]

You kinda have to understand the marking impulse to solve this problem. There are several reasons a dog marks. I have a 5-year-old un-altered bichon frise who marks specifc spots in my house.

Reasons for the marking impulse:
1.) Establish a territory - a dog's primary sense is his sense of smell. They can communicate between packs through the unique pheromone present in their urine. Instead of having to do perimeter rounds to protect their territory, an assertive dog will leave their pheromones announcing their claim to a territory. Note that they will only protect the areas that are important to them that has a consistent source of food and water and small enough that they can adequately defend it. So more than likely, if they feel inclined to claim a territory, it will be inside your house, within "defending distance" to the food bowl and their sleeping area. A dog who feels he has to mark his territory is a dog that does not have enough confidence in his pack leader (you) to defend it. This is the reason my dog marks. My dog is a very insecure dog with an acute case of separation anxiety. Marking territory makes him feel better. I tried to correct the behavior by providing positive reinforcement, confidence builders, clear structural hierarchy, etc. It's not working for him. So he wears a belly band when his anxiety level is high and he stays in the crate when we're not home.

2.) Establish pack leadership - a dog also communicates his age, gender, and pack status through the pheromones in his urine. The marking impulse also gets triggered when the dog wants you to know that information, usually as a sign that he is getting ready to challenge the hierarchy. A clear structural hierarchy - making the dog understand without question that he is never going to be pack leader - can correct this behavior.

3.) Announce his breeding availability
This usually happens around the time the dog hits puberty. Once this marking behavior is established, neutering the dog has a lesser chance of correcting the behavior without additional behavioral correction.

4.) Medical issues such as urinary tract infection, hormonal imbalance, etc.


An English Bulldog matures slower than most dogs, so 15 months of age is about that time. Tank could be expressing territorial claim, pack leadership challenge, and a mating call all together at the onset of his maturity. Neutering him may correct the marking impulse or it may not. You may still have to do some behavioral correction according to the reasons presented above after he is neutered. It's not too difficult to do unless you have a dog like my bichon who has psychological issues. Usually, a strong pack leadership is all that's required to curb this behavior. Things like making the dog sleep in his crate/bed instead of your bed reinforces your status on top of his, making him wait for his food and water, making him "work" for treats, making him wait for you to go through the door before he goes through it, not allowing him to walk infront of you during walks, etc., etc. And making sure that there's no trace of urine smell left in the house at all because smelling their urine would trigger the impulse to make the smell stronger. Very strict supervision during the correction stage (may last for more than a month) may be necessary because one marking incident could undo the entire training process.

But, if you have something like my dog, you may need physical aid in addition to behavioral correction. I take my dog out to pee for an extended time because he would hold his pee. I taught him to pee on command. So, I would give him the command to pee repeatedly until I see him lift his leg and nothing comes out before I let him back in. Then he gets his water on a schedule. And when his anxiety level is high, I put a belly band on him - it's this piece of cloth that you put a disposable padding on that would wrap around his belly covering his genital for extra protection.

And a few words on neutering: There is no scientific evidence that shows that neutering can stunt a dog's growth or change his personality. The only thing that has scientific backing is that it will reduce a dog's desire to find a mate.

Hope this helps!

 

[KMARINO]

We adopted Vegas when he was 4.5 months old, he was already neutered. Trust me it did not stunt his growth! He has maintained his weight for over a year and a half of 63 lbs. and his chest is so broad I cant find cute clothes for him (my husband is thrilled over this, lol) I think that is a myth that it stunts their growth. Vegas has never marked so I can't comment on that. He has always and still does pee like a girl.

 

[2BullyMama]

i agree with [MENTION=900]KMARINO[/MENTION] and [MENTION=2092]JAKEISGREAT[/MENTION]

 

[LisaMarie]

[MENTION=3251]theparrisfive[/MENTION], It will not stunt his growth and it will calm him down. You are doing your dog a favor by getting him fixed. I was watching an episode of Cesar Millan and he explained the reasons why it is a good thing to neuter your dog. It is a myth that it will stunt their growth. You need to asume your roll as a pack leader and let him know that marking is not allowed in the house.

 

[hoegaandit]

Let's get some facts here.

"Precis
At some point, most of us with an interest in dogs will have to consider whether or not to spay / neuter our
pet. Tradition holds that the benefits of doing so at an early age outweigh the risks. Often, tradition holds
sway in the decision-making process even after countervailing evidence has accumulated.
Ms Sanborn has reviewed the veterinary medical literature in an exhaustive and scholarly treatise,
attempting to unravel the complexities of the subject. More than 50 peer-reviewed papers were examined to
assess the health impacts of spay / neuter in female and male dogs, respectively. One cannot ignore the
findings of increased risk from osteosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, hypothyroidism, and other less frequently
occurring diseases associated with neutering male dogs".

From http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

(Note: this is only covering the health issues, not whether neutering is advisable for other reasons - but don't we want the best scientific advice about what is best for our dog's health??)

We have a five year old unneutered dog who does not mark inside (although he is a very keen marker and sniffer outside). He is generally happy and content.

 

[theparrisfive]

The hubby started being stricter on Tank yesterday in hopes to knock off the marking. We also have a appt the 30th with the vet where we are going to talk about neutering him. I admit we are maybe a tad too easy on him... you just look at that face of his and its hard not to just spoil him and not be mad at him :/. He stopped listening to my husband pretty much and it would take saying the same command a couple times before he'd listen and hes getting the same with me. Its our fault for being to easy on him so we are back to a strict schedule and training. Poor Tank just keeps giving me this sad face like he thinks we are being mean

 

[Vicaroo1000]

[MENTION=2874]anatess[/MENTION] - great post, full of interesting things to ponder!

[MENTION=3251]theparrisfive[/MENTION] - that look you see is Tank saying "Thank you. I don't have to be in charge anymore." That look is relief. ha ha ha ha

I waited as long as possible to neuter Bo but ultimately had him altered at 9 months old. Unaltered dogs can and will act out of sheer frustration. Some won't. I didn't want to take that chance - and I'm no breeder. I just want a happy go lucky English Bulldog - which is what I got.