my old boy (neutered at 7 months) was a crazy humper, but he never once in the 9 years we had him went after a bitch or showed any interest to. some dogs can be different though, and more sexually driven than others. but neutering, IMHO, is the responsible thing to do coz even if it doesnt stop the chasing, it will mean that if he does go after a female in season, he cant get her pregnant. an unplanned litter is not something anyone should want to happen.

even if it doesnt stop him going after them, surely its better to be safe than sorry? hearing another unplanned litter has been conceived is that last thing i want to hear from anyone.

I partly disagree with that statement. In some cases nuetering won't change his behaviour, but in some cases it does.
My first Rough collie was awful if he got a whiff of a bitch in season, even if he couldn't see her he would take off in search and if he could see her he was a nightmare to get him away. He would scale a 6' fence to get to an in season bitch he could smell so eventually we had him nuetered, a couple of months later he was a changed dog, never scaled the fence again, could go anywhere off lead and any dog or bitch in season or not got the same greeting sniff then he would ignore them.
Sometimes it won't change that behaviour but as I said earlier it will ensure he can't produce yet more unwanted puppies to end up in a rescue as well as the health benefits that go with it.

It's a tough one! Before Takara was neutered I walked her when she was on heat but I tried to keep away from heavily dog populated areas (it's much of a nuisance for us bitch owners too!) and always had her on the lead.

A black lab did once jump the wall of the park to follow us but as much as I had to keep him away from Takara, I would never have dreamed of just walking off and letting him follow us.

Personally, I would always have my male dogs neutered for fear of them following a bitch on heat and because I'd have no intention of breeding. But it's your choice and people should be more considerate.

Shame really, we can't just look out for each other!

I never changed the way I walked my bitch when she was in season but I keep away from the hustle and bustle anyway and I always put her on lead if I saw another dog approaching. It's not a problem now anyway as she has been spayed.

I also have 2 neutered males and although they pay any bitch interest, it's quite easy to call them away from a bitch in heat. I can tell when a bitch is in heat as they get a bit more fruity with her but once I intervene, they are happy to come away and leave it at that. I've never had any of my 2 running off after a lady. They were neutered at a young age though so I dont know if that makes a difference.

Furthermore, it was totally irresponsible for the owner of the labrador to walk off and not address the problem of your dog. I always walk back to the owner if their dog is following mine and they cant get it back.

When I first had my male lab at 18 months old he was entire, & I intended to keep him that way. But it was a problem if any bitches in season were in a 2 or 3 mile radius!! I used to call it "red mist" as he would just put his nose to the ground & off he went. Many times there were no other dogs in sight but the smell was still there. All his fantastic training went out the window as his hormones took control. He couldn't help it & there was nothing I could do.

Unfortunately he developed a tumour that was testosterone-driven so the vet advised castration to see if the tumour would shrink. This was probably one of the few ocasions when the insurance company paid for castration! After 6 months the tumour was still there & growing so I still ended up having the tumour removed.

I couldn't believe the difference in his behaviour after castration, even after only a few weeks. He seemed happier, more relaxed, more playful (almost reverting to puppy hood) & much more responsive to me. With hindsight I was really glad that he had the op & I also really believe that Barney is much happier too. It has taken away very strong hormonal urges that I would never allowed to be fulfilled which would have lead to frustration & stress.

Barney has since been diagnosed with hip dysplasia so it was just as well that fate intervened & his breeding opportunities have been taken away. I would certainly recommend neutering for any dog that is intended as a pet.

It works for some dogs and not for others----it is that simple!

My friend had a lhasa who had been used as a stud and a week after neutering he was a different dog----as I have said before if I hadn't seen it I wouldn't have believed it. If you are really worried about the op try the implant first.

rune

I agree with Rune, try the implant to see if neutering will change his urges! My neutered male was terrible for going after the ladies. The lab owner was totally at fault there. I walk my girl when she is in season but only road walks where we won't meet other dogs. It's unfair on owners of male dogs to walk a bitch in heat through a park IMO. I would also consider letting him trail a long line so you can step on it if he starts to put the nose down!

Hi,

My 2 GSDs are both neutered and both will go crazy for a bitch in season.

My last entire male dog was a loopy Irish Setter who was entire adn if a bitch in heat offered herself to him he'd tasnd there looking blank and not knowing what to do.

I think it just depends on the dog, size, breed, previosu experiences, determination etc.

You won;t know if it's made any difference until afer you've had it done and th testosterone is completely out of his system (up to 6-12 weeks for the hormones to start to reduce). By then you could have spent a lot of money opn having your dog neutered and it may, ultimately, not make a scrap of difference to him.


Laura xx

As the owner of an un-neutered male, I just watch for him becoming very distracted and overly interested and excited in smells on a walk. If that happens, he goes on the lead as I take it as a sign there's an in heat bitch around.

I'm all for off lead walks but you do have to concentrate on the signals your dog's giving off and scan ahead for possible distractions. Remember, your eyes are several feet higher than your dog's so use that advantage!

Thanks again everybody!

I do watch Torres very closely, but he is very cheeky. There was no sign of different behaviour until I took the leash off. Then he just took off full speed to the other side of the field. He is very clever little dog. I asked a trainer at dog training school were we go every sunday. He advised against neutering as he is such a lovely dog in every other way. My husband, who was not keen on neutering anyway, said "you see, I told you so". I guess it's "man solidarity" .