# Should I neuter now or later?



## YogiBear (Feb 13, 2013)

Hi I was wondering when to neuter my 1 year old GSD. He is aggressive in certain situations. He is very reactive on the leash to other dogs. When we go on walks and he sees another dog he starts barking and snarling like he wants to kill the other dog. I reel him in and grab the sides of his head and place my face directly in front of his and tell him quiet and no in a stern voice. Half the time he quiets down quickly and starts whining and trying to follow the other dog and the other half of the time he backs up in order to try to get around me and at the other dog, but when he is off leash he has never shown any aggression to another dog, not even a bark, except one time he barked/snarled at a puppy that wouldn't get out of his face. I always know when this is about to happen because he becomes visually fixated on the other dog. I have tried to get his attention elsewhere but when hes fixed on another dog toys don't work and he is completely oblivious to the clicker at this point, he also doesn't even take treats outside of the house. He stays stiff and once i try to move us away from the dog or when i try to push his head in another direction to re avert his gaze he starts going ape sh*t.
He also used to be reactive to people on the street but now he only barks at them when they try to get his attention or when they put their hand in front of his face so he can smell them. Also he used to bark alot at people when they entered the house but now its getting a little better and he just sits in between me and the person and just watches them but if we go to someone else's house hes well behaved. I have noticed that there is a crawlingly slow improvement in his behavior but im not sure if it will get better or if it will keep fluctuating like this and he will never be stable like a gsd is supposed to be. So, should i neuter him now or wait? I have heard that if you neuter them before they are mature they wouldn't reach their full potential in terms of maturity. Sorry for the long post, i just have no idea what to do at this point.


----------



## trcy (Mar 1, 2013)

Maybe try a trainer. Riley was nuetered at 6 months and was reactive to other dogs. We were working on it before he passed at 9 months. Once he was around the same dogs for a while he was ok. 

In Kaleb's contract it says not to neuter before 18 months. The breeder says they need their hormones to grow and mature.


----------



## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

Everything you listed is a temperament/training issue. Without more information its tough to say if he's always going to be reactive to other dogs, but at this point it does sound like he'll never be alright with other dogs approaching him while he's on leash. What you're seeing is leash reactivity and it stems from fear. Your dog understands that he can't run away from the situation so he starts to be the aggressor in order to show the other dog that he's tougher and that dog shouldn't come near him.

The human thing seems to be getting better and should get better with age and more training.

My opinion is that neutering him will probably help. It will calm him a bit, it will probably get other dogs to react to him less. Having that extra testosterone probably doesn't help his case with other male dogs right now.


----------



## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

It may or may not help. I would say this is more of a trainer issue then a hormone issue, find a good trainer that's experience in GSD's and work with them.

If you're considering the neuter, then talk to the vet and breeder, those are your two best sources of information as they know you and your dog best and are experienced.


----------



## YogiBear (Feb 13, 2013)

Thanks for your advice, he has been kicked out of obedience class and i had a session with an animal behaviorist who told me to click and treat, which works in the house but not outside. ive even waved a piece of cheese right in front of his nose one time and he just ignored it. ill try find a trainer who would be able to come to my residence because i dont have a car.


----------



## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I had a trainer tell me that my dog couldn't be in a class because of his reactivity to other dogs. The same day I contacted another place and my dog has not reacted since. There was no way I was waiting any longer to get him into some training. I went through several trainers to get to one that worked. It took me several months, but I knew he needed to be in a class setting to get over his issues. Having private training with no other dogs was not the answer.


----------



## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

What you need to do is have the treat out and the dog distracted BEFORE the distraction is there. You have to slowly work the dog to where he's comfortable with that distraction. So in the beginning, if he's fine working 100 feet away from another dog, do it 100 feet away. Slowly (over days/weeks/months) you bring him closer and closer to that other dog. And hopefully in the end, he can walk by the dog and do what is asked of him from a reasonable distance.

It's true...many training facilities are not set up to work with reactive dogs. It's not the trainer's fault...they just don't have experience in it and they cant' risk the other people's dogs just to help you with yours. Unless they advertise that its a reactive dog class...you can't really expect them to have to deal with your dog.

The type of training that works is usually very SLOW going. You're not going to see "Cesar Milan" type advances where within a day or two you have a new dog. The goal should be to get your dog to completely ignore all other dogs and be super focused on you. This happens over a long time and especially with your dogs age could take longer as he is still just maturing.

I also wanted to add...treats might not be the thing that gets your dog to ignore other dogs. Maybe its a toy...a game of tug...something more exciting. Not all dogs are food hounds...my dog loves treats, but if he really wants to get to something not even a piece of steak will stop him. But if you get your dog to love playing a game with YOU over everything else...he might learn to ignore distractions just to play that game with you.


----------



## Msmaria (Mar 2, 2013)

I agree with Lombardo and martemchik. Keep checking til you find a trainer that works with reactive dogs. In one of our classes with a dog group, a dog was kicked out for being reactive.
With the trainer that we have now , she teaches service dogs, we have had at least 3 reactive dogs in our class. In the 2 that have continued the classes both are able to sit within 8 feet of another dog without reacting. It takes time. Both of these dogs have been in training for 3 months now, but I've seen a big difference from when they first started.


----------



## YogiBear (Feb 13, 2013)

Thanks for your advice but I have one more question. I know his aggression towards people is based on fear,I can see it in his eyes.But is his dog aggression fear based also? The other day after I quieted him down after seeing another dog he started to try to follow that dog and was pulling the same way when he gets excited about the park.


----------



## YogiBear (Feb 13, 2013)

Also,my friends are trying to convince me to breed him because they would like his puppies but I keep telling them that its not a good idea based on his tempermant issues. Am I right?


----------



## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

You are going to have to figure out if its an aggressive reactivity or excited reactivity. Either way its reactivity, but I think they are different enough to have different training approaches. I would work with the people thing before the dog thing. It's a lot easier to manage a dog that is dog aggressive..you just avoid other dogs or find a real stable one to work with. With human aggression, no one that comes across your dog is safe. How old was he when you got him and what training/socialization has he had?


----------



## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

YogiBear said:


> Also,my friends are trying to convince me to breed him because they would like his puppies but I keep telling them that its not a good idea based on his tempermant issues. Am I right?


You are 150 percent right.


----------



## Ben Talos (Sep 21, 2013)

Personally I would never neuter a dog. If you have somewhere in the local area where a lot of people walk their dogs on a lead, Then you wouldn't go far wrong taking a good book and your dog. Sit down relax and read the book while other dogs pass you by. Dogs pick up a lot from their owner, if your nervous every time you see a dog because of his reaction then your dog will pick up on that. Sit down far enough back so your lead doesn't reach the edge of the path take a strong grip on it and read your book ignore everything your dog and other dogs. Your dog will eventually relax as well and if you don't see the other dogs as a threat neither will he. This only works if your strong enough to control your dog, just give him a yank when reacts. Remember patience is a virtue do it for an hour or so each day and relax. No need to neuter anyone if your willing to put a bit of time and effort in.


----------



## fredh (Sep 10, 2013)

When we got Jake in 2011, our breeder had the Neutering Age spelled out in the Puppy Sale Agreement. As we got him on a non breeding agreement so we couldn't get him done before 18 or after 24 months. We got him done at 18 months. Everything worked out just fine.


----------



## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i think you have a training and socializing issue. train, socialize
and find a trainer. i've never neutered my dogs and i've never
had any issues with them not being neutered.



YogiBear said:


> 1>>>>> Hi I was wondering when to neuter my 1 year old GSD. He is aggressive in certain situations. He is very reactive on the leash to other dogs. When we go on walks and he sees another dog he starts barking and snarling like he wants to kill the other dog.
> 
> I reel him in and grab the sides of his head and place my face directly in front of his and tell him quiet and no in a stern voice. Half the time he quiets down quickly and starts whining and trying to follow the other dog and the other half of the time he backs up in order to try to get around me and at the other dog,
> 
> ...


----------



## YogiBear (Feb 13, 2013)

I got him when he was 4 months old. I socialized him as much as I could but I got him in the middle of winter so there wernt that many dogs around outside but I bring him to the park everyday and we see dogs there pretty much all the time and hes completely fine with them. When theres people at the park also he comes up to them with a ball and tries to get them to chase him. His aggression is only limited to the leash and in the house. He pretty fine with people who ignore him and he doesnt like the people who try hard to be his friend. We can walk past other people on walks with him just sniffing them as they walk past but starts barking when people try to force him to sniff them by putting their hand in his nose.


----------



## Bequavious (Mar 9, 2013)

martemchik said:


> What you need to do is have the treat out and the dog distracted BEFORE the distraction is there. You have to slowly work the dog to where he's comfortable with that distraction. So in the beginning, if he's fine working 100 feet away from another dog, do it 100 feet away. Slowly (over days/weeks/months) you bring him closer and closer to that other dog. And hopefully in the end, he can walk by the dog and do what is asked of him from a reasonable distance.
> 
> It's true...many training facilities are not set up to work with reactive dogs. It's not the trainer's fault...they just don't have experience in it and they cant' risk the other people's dogs just to help you with yours. Unless they advertise that its a reactive dog class...you can't really expect them to have to deal with your dog.
> 
> ...


Yes, do this! Also if you can get in some really good exercise before working him around other dogs that might help him be able to focus on you. Mine just started showing leash reactivity a week ago (from what others have said this seems to be a common issue for her age). I think her's stems more from excitement than fear, but I'm addressing it the same way- starting far away working on engagement and a relaxed attitude and then gradually moving closer as she settles. Anywhere you can find leashed dogs at a predictable distance (ie. NOT walking continually closer) is a good place to practice. We've been to pet stores and outside the fence at a local dog park, and she's already showing a lot of improvement 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## northgashepherds (Feb 23, 2013)

It's best to wait until your dog is full grown to neuter him (18 months to 2 yrs).


----------



## JackandMattie (Feb 4, 2013)

Neutering has not been conclusively proven to address behavioral issues, neither dog aggression nor human aggression. Training is your option in that case. Work the dog 

Thank your friends for the huge compliments on your dog, genuinely and enthusiastically, and leave it at that. You already know his temperament is at issue.Trust yourself. I have a dog that receives huge compliments around here, but the people giving them don't know what's best for the breed. My dog is intact, but he will *never* breed. That's okay 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Redrider469 (Jul 19, 2013)

My Leena had the same leash reactivity you've talked about. After trying other solutions, my trainer recommended a bark collar. It only took twice for her not to lunge and bark at other dogs while walking. I don't even have to turn it on anymore. Next step is walking without the collar but I'm gonna wait another week or so.


----------

