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Question for dog owners

(77 Posts)
Ziggy62 Wed 16-Apr-25 11:53:39

We have a male miniature schnauzer/yorkie almost 2 years old. He is incredibly well behaved and we adore him

Yesterday he had a trial sleepover with a dog boarder. It didn't go well as he got so over excited with the 3 girl doggies that live there.

I'm happy to have him neutured (hope that's correct spelling) but my husband isn't keen, he's worried it may change his playful personality and he may become fat

Advice from long time dog owners most welcome

Gingster Tue 06-May-25 08:09:04

We had our female cockerpoo neutered at 6 months. The vet said it made no difference as to when it’s done. Shes now 8 and still full of the joys of Spring.
No problems at all.

LaCrepescule Tue 06-May-25 07:20:04

Oh god, get him neutered! All my dogs have been and the current one is built like a whip and extremely playful.

Nanato3 Mon 05-May-25 22:37:30

Oh & he does like to mount his brother ,not other dogs though so the urge is still there .

That's dominance by the sound of it otherwise he'd be interested in other dogs.

NanaTuesday Mon 05-May-25 22:24:37

Interesting post , as we had our KCC neutered for health reasons & he HAS put on weight plus his fur has grown wild !
we have him on a diet & he gets long walks. Oh & he does like to mount his brother ,not other dogs though so the urge is still there .
Anyway the other thing is that today we had a family get-together & on arriving discovered that my GS was also visiting with his bitch on heat .
This made for an uncomfortable day as our other KCC was really very interested in this Dog .

I felt that we should have been informed of the fact & then we would have made a decision for only one of us to visit sans our two dogs .
For most of the time spent my DH took control of our unneatered dog by sitting elsewhere with him .
The dog on heat was allowed free rein of the house & did her part in ‘ flirting’
We were made to feel that we had done something wrong by being put out re the situation.
And yes , I do take my dogs state of mind seriously
It all made for a stressful visit & I suggested that as a responsible dog owner my GS should of let us know in advance, so that we could of made our decision.

Arto1s Mon 21-Apr-25 22:56:51

We have had all our dogs spayed and/or neutered. Unless you intend to breed, it is always best to do this when they are young.

Lisadoolittle0 Mon 21-Apr-25 21:36:16

👍

Sheian57 Mon 21-Apr-25 21:33:09

My dog was neutered and isn't fat. We walk him every day for about an hour. Don't overfeed or give too many treats. Word to the wise. Heceill attempt to mount other dogs, but our vet said this was a domination habit, not sexual. It can be either a dog or a pitch. Our dog is male

Iam64 Mon 21-Apr-25 20:03:44

It’s bonkers ilovedogs. My sons in law got a petition to try and persuade me against neutering my five stone muscle lab whose sniffing and marking, lunging to any sniff of a possible girl friend had my arms yanked. Yes I can train a dog to walk on a lead but despite consistent training, his nose got the better of his manners. My vet and two experienced trainers said it depends on the dog, this dog needs castrating to help stop the behaviour being an established habit
He’s just achieved kennel club gold obedience test, which includes good heel work on a road walk 🙈😇🐕

Bestgrammaever Mon 21-Apr-25 19:59:28

I am in the US where it is absolutely encouraged to have all animals neutered, (we are also encouraged to keep our cats indoors). We pay half the licensing fees for neutered animals. We can't get animals from shelters without them being neutered.

Ilovedogs22 Mon 21-Apr-25 19:56:56

Iam64

Men 😂

😅

SheepyIzzy Mon 21-Apr-25 19:43:44

I've had farm dogs, never spayed/snipped etc (our original was a tart, when in season, she went awandering.....,) Never got caught, obviously choosy, as mum put her in pup twice to the same dog. This was the 1980's, never bothered with us girls playing with her pups (or so we thought) mum couldn't find them one day, then heard something, followed the noise, Silver was carrying them one by one to a new hideout (the coal house!)

1998, my 2 farm dogs did accidentally get together, there was no yodelling or howling so I didn't know my girl was in season. I took her to the vet to have the jab to stop the pups, as the Vet said her pelvis was too narrow.

8 weeks later we were greeted with 1 pup! She lived with her mum for over 12 years, she was meant to be, so I couldn't get rid of her.

Our house dogs have always been spayed due to blood in the house, we don't have dogs as house dogs due to cocking their legs, I know they can be house trained but we found bitches better, all were spayed, the current 2 were spayed last year when they were almost 1 & 2, mainly because I wanted them done at the same time and we.needed to wait for their seasons to synchronise. However, saying that, the one did bleed again, sooner than she should, so the Vet spayed them, they're fine.

The "keep them quiet" idea was a bloody nightmare as neither of them after a couple of days would understand "calm down, you've had major surgery!!"

dog will only get fat if you overfeed it.

Mine, a Chihuahua and a scruffy pup with short legs and long back (but looks gorgeous with her fluffy butt and curved tail over her back) mustn't get heavy, their food is weighed 3 times a day, they have zoomies! If they go too heavy they'll go On a diet!

Grannylynj Mon 21-Apr-25 19:34:03

You have a male dog called Patsy ?!

Newtothissite Mon 21-Apr-25 19:29:27

He won't get fat or be less playful. Unless you want to breed it's unkind not to neuter dogs. It's incredibly frustrating for them and also makes them much more likely to run away when not on the lead

PuffernutterUK Mon 21-Apr-25 19:22:48

You can use a hormone treatment (temporary chemical castration) which works for 6 months or so, has the same effect and will let you see if there are any personality changes. It is called Superlorin. As others have said, make sure you do not do it too early in their life.

Littlebea02 Mon 21-Apr-25 18:12:22

Hey there. I spoke to my daughter who is a veterinary nurse and she indicated that neutering would not affect his personality at all and unless you’re breeding him neutering is a wonderful thing to do! Good luck

Bromley Mon 21-Apr-25 17:41:25

I’ve been professionally involved in dogs for many many years. I’m against castration for the sake of it, but not if it’s better for the dog.
You have various options.
Maybe you could find a different dog sitter that doesn’t run an entire male with females which is not a good idea. If he’s not causing you problems at home then this could be your best option. (Was one in season or due?)
You could try an implant which would show you how he would react to castration. He could have a six month one.
Castration will change his coat quality , appetite and possibly his temperament.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Ilovedogs22 Mon 21-Apr-25 17:28:53

buffyfly9

I hope you had time to call out, " have you looked at yourself love".!! Damn cheek!

Oh, buffyfly9, When the awful woman first growled "Fat" at poor dog we were so discombobulated we just sort of shuffled away like scissys!
We were so shocked but we shouldn't have been as she has a terrible reputation for being a madam!
If I see her again, I will mention the benign tumour, just to guilt-trip her. 🤔

Anneeba Mon 21-Apr-25 17:08:03

Absolute supporter of neutering here, for both my girls and boys. They kept their joyful approach to life and trim waistlines. Two if my girls were quite miserable when in season, so were much happier after we had them spayed. Our big yellow Lab boy still occasionally tried to mate with other boy dogs but otherwise remained exactly the same. 🤣. I've had two get to over 15 and a half so clearly no I'll effects. Men are always squeamish about this, but just need reminding it's not their bits under the knife.

Iam64 Mon 21-Apr-25 16:50:00

Humping is a habit . I’ve never allowed my dogs to develop or improve this habit. Distract and stop it - like any other behaviour they practice, the more it’s repeated, the more they will repeat itv

Blossom5 Mon 21-Apr-25 16:43:55

Not intermittent, more intimate with Bulldog

Blossom5 Mon 21-Apr-25 16:42:13

My small terrier, neutered at 6 months, and now 14 years old has been spending the last two days being uncontrollably intermittent with my 6 year old English Bulldog. He has always had an interest in females especially when their playing with people or toys

Crasymum1561 Mon 21-Apr-25 16:32:46

My lab is a loving boy , no aggression or moods. He does squat to pee unless other dogs are about then he cocks his leg . But he was neutered somewhere in his past lives. And was then unwanted ( other than by me ) because he wasn't fit for mating. My previous German shepherd was also neutered and he was just big daft lump afterwards .

Picklesgranma Mon 21-Apr-25 16:29:55

I have a Miniature Schnauzer who has been neutered and he is very playful and not fat at all. As the others have said unless you intend to breed from him it is the most sensible step.

Frenchgalinspain Mon 21-Apr-25 16:25:54

Definitely pro neuter and pro spaying ..

Some very valuable commentary above so I am not going to repeat ..

Just watch their exercise and dietary regime ..

Rocknroll5me Mon 21-Apr-25 15:53:00

Hi Ziggy, I have a gorgeous schnoodle. Had her neutered at 5 months. She is so lively and funny and bright and bossy and popular and she’s nine. My grandog poodle miniature was neutered at a year and similar fears were expressed but really he is the most delightful dog ever. Has to be friends with everyone. Enormous confidence. Just so pleased they were both neutered to take the worry away. The main risk for males is that they will recklessly chase a female scent for miles and might get run over.