Intact young male showing aggression to other males

[Vera Dovirak]

Hello Everyone,

My Sammy is now almost 16 months old and is intact. We decided that as long as he was getting on without any major behavioral problems, we were not going to neuter him. In the last couple of weeks, however, he's become really aggressive to other male dogs, especially if they are also intact. He got into a stare down contest with one at the dog park and when I grabbed his collar trying to snap him out of it, he started growing at me and trying to bite my hand. Yesterday we were walking on leash, he met an intact male, they sniffed each other's butts and just as I thought we were in the clear, he displayed the same behavior as described above. Each episode starts with him barking, but not in an assertive confident way, rather a nervous unsure way. I've been searching all over the internet for techniques on how to calm him and help him. My vet of course recommended neutering and I am considering it since I can't be scared of my own dog, but I am also really struggling with this decision. Has anyone experienced anything of this sort? 

Let me add that there have been no incidents of him being attacked or anything else that I can point to as an obvious source of this behavior. Also, the really bad aggression is displayed almost solely toward intact males.

Thank you all!

Vera

[Fran Griffin]

Hi. I have sent you a private message about this.