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hi my alfie is an entire male who is 19 months, he keeps getting other male dogs coming to over to him in a very agressive manner. alfie is a very laid back dog, he has no fear or agression issues, in fact he is just a happy go lucky chap. on sunday a staffie made a beeline for him, and started attacking him, [alfie was just walking next to me at the time] luckily as he was next to me he didnt get hurt. today a black lab did the same thing, again alfie was doing nothing but walking next to me. the labs owner had to kick his own dog to get him away. is it because alfie is en tile and young, i dont want him castrated, will this get better as he gets older and not as much of a threat? if it happens again what do you all suggest i do to stop the other dog. any suggestions and advice much apprieciated

amanda and alfie

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hi barbara,

the staffie was on its own, but the lab was with another dog, they both ignored my vizsla bitch, and made a beeline for alfie.

amanda and alfie
In my experience it doesn't get better if they are around different dogs all the time. That was why I had neutered my last dog and will again with my new puppy. At our dog park for some reason anytime an intact male comes in some males love them, like mine did. His favorite dogs were intact and he would roll on the ground in front of them and act like a moron! But other dogs who like to be alpha, even though they are neutered would take it as a threat and become aggressive. My friend has an intact gordon and that sweet dog doesn't bother a soul but other dogs have attacked him often. I keep telling her why, but her husband won't fix him. If we aren't showing our dogs or breeding them it just seems to be safer for the dog to get it done. I know others here won't agree but I can't live with the anxiety of others bothering my baby. And having lost our first setter at 6 to prostate cancer, it is another good reason for me to have it done. Again if I was breeding or showing obviously I would have to find a different way to let my dog run daily. But here in suburban chicago we have to use our forest preserve dog parks.
I agree with what Fran says about the high levels of testosterone possibly being behind the behaviour of the other males. For one thing it has been shown that young males go through a testosterone 'surge' which indicates that they are no longer harmless Teenagers but have now become 'of age'. To other mature dogs this can pose a threat to their 'reign supreme' in the park.
It sounds as if so far your Alfie is quite unaware of the changed state of affairs and still thinks he can carry on like the happy-go-lucky boy he has been so far. Many entire males will not tolerate this, unfortunately.

I see three ways of dealing with the situation:

one: by putting your dog on the lead when you see one of the unfriendly chaps in the distance, hereby forcing the other owner to do the same (this is a standard dog-owner's rule where I live). You do not let the dogs sniff or make contact in any way.

two: assume full control over the situation yourself by telling your dog to sit and put yourself between Alfie and the other dog. You hereby show the unfriendly dog that he has to deal with you first (and most of these dogs will pull up short) and at the same time show Alfe that you are the leader and have everything under control;-))

three: try the homone control and see what effect it has on Alfie and on the situation. A hormone treatment can sometime cause other entire males to molest your dog by trying to mate him - something often seen when an intact male meets a castrated one. This can make life a misery for the 'fixed' dog...
I agree with Gennadi, Camilla and Susan, the time will pass. For now you need to protect him so that he is not hurt and he is not affected temperament wise. My suggestion is to try to exercise Alfie at a time or in a place where you avoid dogs that you know are a threat to him, and try using a citronella spray on his back to disguise his new manness (Boots do a natural one, no chemicals, marketed as an insect repelant). It will be a great help if you can join up to walk with other people with friendly dogs, as many as possible, an agressive dominant dog will always think twice before taking on a pack of dogs. I see this with my own dogs, they have no aggression, but dogs approaching us that I think are going to be trouble are totally intimidated by my nine waggy tailed pack surounding them. Why not put out feelers to other ES members who might live close to you, Best of luck!

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