I have known several dogs who have lost their confidence after neutering and have become aggressive to other dogs. One in particular was a huge change.

I have also known dogs who have been shoved in by rescues before they have been ready to cope and have become aggressive to dogs and humans. John Rogerson has commented on that happening.

I do think for the majority neutering is best----but not as a blanket policy for all without any thought to possible consequences.

rune

This is what worries me, I'm not going to risk making my dog fear aggressive by getting him neutered and I am not going to keep him on lead for the rest of his life either. I will keep him under control but if the owner of a bitch in season brings it into a park and lets it off lead then I feel this is recklessly negligent and they have to bear most of the responsibility. The one time this did happen to us I was able to easily remove him from the situation - I picked him up.

Well put.

No one on here is taking the decision lightly, Dogsey owners are seriously considering what is best for them and their dogs and taking responsibility for those decisions and any potential consequences.

J.

A dog that is confident and has no temperament issues (isn't overly nervous, etc.) to begin with isn't suddenly going to turn fear aggressive the moment it is neutered. If a dog has temperament issues, obviously this aspect must be considered before neutering. Otherwise, being neutered doesn't make one iota of difference to temperament. If it did, there would be a hell of a lot of "fear aggressive" dogs out there.

I know! Sorry, obviously didn't explain myself clearly, he isn't very confident and is on the nervous side.

I agree that neutering is usually best but each case needs to be considered on it's individual merits.

J.

I agree that doing this would be highly irresponsible, but the fact is that people are ignorant and do just that. Don't forget that it takes two to tango and it swings both ways. If someone chooses to keep a dog intact, they should have enough control to call it away including from a bitch in season.

Jed has been neutered and is a fairly confident dog around all (except the ones he lives with!). He doesnt display fear or aggression but always backs down to trouble. He doesnt get hassled by entire males either.

Flynn is a different matter. He's a fairly nervous dog anyway and lacks confidence around other dogs and strangers. Over the past few months he's started displaying fear aggression - growling at approaching dogs etc and it's getting worse, little by little. It's not that he isnt properly socialised but he is neutered (done at 9 months) and I do wonder if that is part of the problem. He also gets hassled alot by other dogs, they take a wiff of his bits and start to get a bit shirty with him. Maybe this contributes to his anxiety as well.

Having now had 2 neutered males I think maybe in future I might see how it goes but I do not like the idea of them being entire and the possibility of unplanned litters.

Or pick him up!

J.

The dog I was talking about was VERY confident, he was a top agility dog and I had seen him walk round the shops at Olympia horse show off lead and and totally at home. He was a very different dog afterwards.

I have to say that years ago I would have thought as you do, but I have seen a lot more since then and being neutered CAN make a difference to temperament. Not to say it does often but I wish people would stop making these blanket statements!

Better to say that in your experience it has never made a difference.

rune

Agreed (on both counts).....but it still can happen!

It is all anecdotal really. Not sure what walking off lead has to do with confidence? or even doing agility?

I still don't buy that a confidence dog that is so laid back and afraid of nothing is suddenly going to turn into a nervous wreak because it is neutered, but that is just my opinion.