Neutering

[Kay Edwards]

Baylee is 10 mos. old and since he is a pet with many behavioral problem I plan on having neutered next month. My concern is this, is there anyway supplements oor whatever to prevent his hair color or texture from changing, please any suggestion.

[Lesley Gilks]

I would say, from experience, that neutering will not solve behavioural problems and all you're left with is a dog that has a ruined coat.  Further more, you have to watch everything they eat because weight gain is a real issue.  

Ten months is also very young to be thinking about neutering.  What are the problems you're talking about and is it something that can be worked through with one to one training?  

[silvia]

Hi kay!! I looked at the pics: Baylee is so lovely, a great "bandit" face and a lovely shiny coat :)

[silvia]

my message get truncated, but its continuation was:

" many behavioural problems" at 10 months old sound like a strong statement.. may i ask what's going on with him? I would vote for not neutering, unless you strongly feel for some reason.. 

[Kay Edwards]

I don't want to neuter him either but, my hope with his aggression issues it will change the level down a bunch...pls see my response to Rosie. Where do I get truncated? Than you!

[Kay Edwards]

Thank you!

[Kay Edwards]

Pls. See My reply to Rosie below as it explains my reason.

[rosie beere]

Hi Kay ,
Have to agree with Lesley, neutering will not fix most behaviour issues, including humping.
This eases off by 18 months in most cases. Ive had fixed males and females that continue till their last breathe god bless them.
I'm sure it cannot be aggression issues not in an Irish Setter.
So please let us know the problems you are encountering and let's see if we all can help you.
Be such a shame to ruin a coat for nothing.

[Kay Edwards]

Actually it is, he will nip at you when I walk to the back of my property with him off leash or becomes very agitated when on a lead and so many other time. He is definitely not like my other Setter who mouthed only for a short time when he was a puppy. After many months of intense training medication was the last resort, and I hate it, but I hate him not stopping mouthing to nipping. I will not destroy a dog. My hope is the neutering will decrease the testosterone and my hope is it will at the very least slow the nipping and I hope eventually get him off meds. I never thought an Irish Setter would ever act this way! We are together 24hrs a day. Oh, one more thing and that is he chases cars, tried everything to correct that, tries to nip at people who are guests or people he knows..the list goes on, and on.

[Trish Haill]

My bitch is 10 months. She still nips to get my attention, bares her teeth when I want to remove her from the room and was hanging off my arm with her fangs sunk into it at the show we went to last week whilst I was trying to smile at the judge! On walks she'll occasionally start jumping up and mugging me to get her recall treats

There is no way I'd call her aggressive. Puppyish, I've not got her trained enough yet, and she's too damned intelligent for her own good and, of course, she's a stroppy teenager.

Give it time, go back to basics with training. Ignore bad behaviour and try to shape the good with rewards and bribery. It's hard when you turn your back and they're jumping up biting the back of your jumper, but preserverence is the key.

If you neuter too early before he is fully grown and out of puberty you risk him never growing out of this behaviour.

[Kay Edwards]

Do you believe she will out grow this behavior? I am grasing at straws at this point hoping for a miracle! Baylee started training the day I brought him home. He has been through 3trainers besides myself( I use to be a AKC canine good citizen evaluator who has trained many many dogs with great success, but Baylee is quite different to say the least. The usual training methods do not work on him. I spoke with his breeder last nite and she told me that if I get him neutered now it will effect his growth plate...not going to do that for any reason. So, I am going to cancel his surgery for at least 6 mos. to see if his behavior changes once he is 16 mos and at that point re-evaluate. He is currently on Amitriptyline 100 Mgs twice a day to help his anxiety. He gets plenty of exercise and playtime. You see he wants to walk but I get him on his lead then starts the whining, constant barking and lunging with month wide open and has literally taken me down to the ground with last time bruising my bone, again he is inconsolable. I have tried all kinds of treats, toys on our walks but when he gets in his panic mode nothing and I mean nothing snaps him out of it. I end up with a dog on level 12 on the panic level and before meds it would take an hour to get back to a 5. In the meantime, I am trying to keep calm and protect myself from an injury. I thought at one point he was playing a game with the cars passing by,then after a while I realized he was afraid of them and his running at them was his fight mode,. The problem is I am at the other end of the lead when he decides to pull this shenanigans. I just want it to stop!!! I have had a lot of uneasiness about his surgery since I lost my Irish Setter to cancer 8 mos ago at age 8.5 yrs old...Sean was so willing to learn and in fact he was my service dog. Sean had been neutered at age 6mos so, it does make me wonder....
So consistency in training is prime but when regular training doesn't work then what? I am open to time tested suggestions. Thanks...Kay

[Torie Lancaster]

Kay -

Think back to when you collected Baylee as a young puppy, did he display problems then or have these problems materialised as he has developed?

I worked with a golden retriever who was terrified of the outside world.  The owner of this beautiful 11 month old show dog was at her wits end.  He had the potential to do very well in the show ring but unfortunately, he was so terrified, his owner had to carry him to the car to attend shows. This poor dog had been pushed far beyond his comfort zone and was in a dreadful mental state.  He had such severe anxiety that he could not listen to or follow commands. Walking him was almost impossible as he would flip when he got to the end of the road where he lived and then drag his owner at full speed towards home.

After almost seven months of working with the dog and his owner, I am happy to tell you that Oliver has overcome most of his fears and anxieties (without the use of drugs) and will soon be ready to handle attending champ dog shows again.

All but the most severe innate behavioural problems can be cured to some extent. This usually involves massive changes in the way the dogs owner handles situations as they arise as it did in Oliver and his owners case.

Getting the right professional help is essential.

 

[Kay Edwards]

Thank you. When I brought him home he was very mouthy and reacted to any type of touch with biting and what I have learned as whale eye. I am interested in what you did, please with your problem dog and if you would be willing to give me some hints I would appreciate it very much. I live in a rural area in which I am the only "professional" trainer and am open to step by step suggestion. My goal is to get him off meds as soon as ii can get him to change.