Chemical Castration for Dogs

Hall’s production team contact local dog trainers. They’re looking for people who haven’t engaged in training programs, which is obvious when you see them with their poor dogs

No reputable, qualified and experienced behaviours would give the advice he does. Reactive dogs don’t get magically cured in two sessions.

watermeadow

Many advanced countries, like the Scandinavian ones, do not routinely neuter their dogs as it is considered unnecessary mutilation. They rely on social responsibility to stop unwanted breeding.
Ideas change over time. 20 years ago vets advocated neutering baby puppies and kittens but thank goodness this has stopped as it caused serious health problems.

I've kept cats and dogs for over 50 years during which I have NEVER encountered a vet who advocated neutering baby puppies and kittens. This is in UK. YMMV>

save your money. Get the op.

Surgical castration of male dogs is a very quick and straightforward operation and they recover fast (all ours have been done; required by all the rescues we've rehomed from).

None of them ever got fat or lazy.

Iam64, I absolutely agree. He is not a qualified Dog behaviourist or trainer and does not used scientifically backed methods. I think it is absolutely criminal that tv companies show people like him and Cesar Milan using outdated and adversarial methods instead of scientifically researched methods of Positive Reinforcement. The average dog owner has no way of knowing that the methods they use are often causing a dog more stress in the long run.

Thanks for the update and pleased it’s helping

Can I just say / Graham hall is not a dog trainer I’d trust within a mile of my dogs. He’s dreadful

dalrymple23, that is good to hear and I hope the status quo will remain a happy one . I think the worst side effects of neutering is a raised reactivity or anxiety in some male dogs. It takes a while for the relevant hormones to leave the body. If you notice that these signs, work on it as quickly as possible because it is something you can manage if nipped in the bud.

Update: Since the dirty deed was done (only about a month ago), the humping has more or less stopped and he is much calmer. The flattie is still my crazy loveable boy but the goldie is far happier about not being mounted every five minutes!! No - he never tried it with people! Ever.

David: Horses for courses - I have never had this issue over 50 years of owning dogs, hence asking for advice. Anyway, farms have acres and barns, where separation is feasible. In a two bed semi, it is not.

Another silly remark was "Animals can't consent". Have you ever had an in-depth conversation with a dog? "Would you like supper now"? "Would you like a walk?" "Would you like to go to the vet today for your booster?" Or "Have your broken leg fixed?" I doubt that you would get a sensible response. Supper and walk, maybe but the vet? Yet one knows that one is doing the best thing for the animal.

Oodles: thank you. Sensible comment. I have had that scenario.

Snowbelle: Now worried.

Update: Having taken on board all your comments, (and those of the vet, of course) viewpoints and experiences, the dirty deed was done last Monday. He is still very sleepy - currently snoring his head off in the middle of the afternoon. Is not appreciative of his medivest (aka Onesie) but at least it is not the collar of shame!

Thank you all.

David49

Sounds like you are all in favour of mutilating dogs for your own convenience.

It would s particularly important to spay bitches if you have no intention of breeding them as they are at great risk of developing pyometra.

Well said Barleyf and Iam. Appalling remark by David and unnecessary.

It isn’t a habit I’ve allowed to develop in my dogs. Like all other behaviours we don’t welcome, it can be discouraged and I don’t understand why people allow it

Both our dogs are neutered. The jackapoo (female) climbs on top of the poochon (male) after eating her dinner.

I think it is a way of asserting dominance. She is very bossy.

The poochon often grabs our leg he doesn't "hump" as such I think it is an separation anxiety thing.

Why oh why do you want an intact dog!?

Some dogs are just humpy. Some due to habit not corrected and some to dominate.

Neutering is the responsible thing to do but is not a guaranteed way to stop the behaviour.

Hi dalrymple23, If he was mine I wouldn't castrate unless for medical reasons (I'm a dog trainer). I applaud your vet for giving you the option of "chemical" try it if you like, although it's temporary but don't castrate unless you are desperate. The humping is/may be generated by pleasure/excitement in a young dog and they will often grow out of it. Castration can cause lack of confidence which can lead to dog-dog aggression towards unknown dogs and personality change. I would work on training and distraction.

Delila. Apologies if I misunderstood. I’m whizzing about a bit today and not giving things my full attention

Maybe70, I am not saying breeders who exhibit their dogs are unkind in any way, most, I’m sure, are exemplary dog-owners who love their dogs and want the best for them and their puppies. (Not the case with puppy farmers)

I am comparing conditions in breeding kennels, where un-neutered dogs of both sexes have to be kept separately at times for obvious reasons, requiring facilities, often kennels, for doing so, with dogs kept in the home as pets, where segregation is difficult, or nuisance behaviour hard to manage. In those circumstances castration could be a sensible option.

My comment above is a response to David49’s reference to the behaviour of dogs at Crufts.

Another point David - in-season bitches aren’t usually exhibited at dog-shows, so entire male dogs aren’t put to the test.

Not the breeders I know. For one thing they make a point of rearing puppies in homes so they are well socialised by the time they go to their new owners. The breeder of my current dogs father told me he had a separate room to keep his bitches in when they were on heat. My first whippet did come from a breeder that had pens outside but he also had lots of land to exercise them on and all his dogs had wonderful temperaments so they certainly weren’t incarcerated in pens outside all the time It’s one reason why it’s so important to visit the breeder prior to buying a puppy. I don’t know how the breeder of my current dog deals with entire dogs and un spayed bitches. I don’t really want to contact her to find out but will mention it in passing if we speak about anything else. I think she does pass on some of her older dogs when they’re no longer showing as well as always taking back any of her puppies throughout their lives if their owners circumstances change although I don’t think that happens very often; it’s like the Spanish Inquisition trying to buy one of her pups.

David, you can bet the professional breeders and owners of the dogs shown at Crufts keep their entire male dogs isolated (and unhappy) in kennels when their bitches are in season, except for breeding purposes, or travel with their in-season bitches to chosen entire males for breeding. Not an ideal existence, and very little comparison with the life of the average family pet.

Chemical castration is a temporary measure, neutering is for life. If the latter is the wrong thing for your dog, there is no going back. Chemical castration is no worse for a dog than a woman having the pill as an implant. Once the implant is removed, the side effects gradually dissipate.
Dog owners aren't thick they just don't always do due diligence to their research to inform themselves. One mis-spay isn't doing proper research. For every bitch that has problems after spaying there are many more who have had positive experiences. My bitch was spayed early (using my vet's advice) and it was totally the wrong thing for her. She was too young and it has impacted her temperament enormously. She is the first bitch I have ever had neutered but just because things have been problematic this time, it won't mean that I will condemn spaying forever for all dogs. It just means I will take the time to research things better.

Iam64

*this why so many dog owners are so thick. You either keep a dog or you keep bitches……..*

You’re taking patronising, confrontational rudeness to another level here David49. You’re also appointing yourself the thread expert. You’ve had one bitch you ‘mistakenly’ adopted despite her having been spayed. She ‘was more trouble than all the others put together’ and this makes you more knowledgable than others posting here.
Get over yourself

Well said, Iam. I couldn’t agree more. 👏👏👏

It really is worth going the chemical castration route first to see whether your dog suits castration. My sister found that her dog was far better castrated but my friend went down the chemical castration route and her dog's anxiety shot through the roof so he became very reactive. It too ages for the chemicals to stop working so she had a calmer boy again. Some dogs just need their testosterone, others don't.

Today we travel a lot so we have chosen to not have pets for now,
Well that's no excuse either. I'm neither a lazy nor thick dog owner. My dog travels with me to France four times a year, it costs a fortune and incurs some sacrifices for me during my stay. When I fly somewhere, he is well looked after at DD1's with his sibling.
Most dog owners do their best for their pets.

This is why dog owners are so thick
Every word is just wrong David not to mention rude and ill-informed showing a depressing degree of ignorance.
Of course show dogs at Crufts aren’t neutered- they are entered by breeders (the clue is in the word) and with the exception of the agility classes, we have no evidence of their training or otherwise. But you can bet the farm that bitches in season give any show a miss.
PS the word you wanted was spayed, nothing to do with the Scottish river.