Hi All,

We have taken on a new dog walker for Nando (GSD Pup.. going on 8 months) as my uni work is increasing and we want him to get out and about to continue his socialisation throughout the day. He is the most daft dog we have ever had, he has a sound temperament and is really doggy and human friendly. The dog walkers came today to meet Nando, show us their insurance and their CRB checks as well as filling in a questionnaire regarding his behaviour etc. They seem like fantastic dog-savvy people and do training as well as a quick brush-down/clean after the walks, too.

One of the dog walkers is studying animal behaviour and when we mentioned Nando's lack of recall and his jumping up at visitors- she cited castration as a possible answer! My parents have listened to me so far RE: Castration, however now I know they are not going to let it go!

I have explained to them what I have read but they are taking the dog walker's word as gospel. I'm not doubting that she is a very VERY knowledgeable lady and I have seen her doing training sessions with their dogs on walks, but I disagree with what she says that it will help with his behaviour.

Now- this is where I need your help! I want to print off some information to give to my parents about neutering and why it shouldn't really be done just to alter behaviour, and definitely not done until he is about 2/3+!

Any input welcome!
Josh

Josh please don't castrate!  What an idiotic thing to tell you to do.  Not very knowledgable IMHO.

I hope Barbara will notice your post, as she has loads of links for advice of this nature. 

And please remember that your boy only needs a walk of 40 minutes a day at this age. 

LOL I have a LOT of dogs but only ONE that never, ever comes back when called -he is my ONLY castrated Malinois!!!
http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html
http://www.showdogsupersite.com/kenlclub/breedvet/castrationindogs.html

I had 2 more articles bookmarked but both seem to have been removed from the web.

> One of the dog walkers is studying animal behaviour and when we mentioned Nando's lack of recall and his jumping up at visitors- she cited castration as a possible answer!

I personally would be looking for a new dog walker, if this one thinks castration is a 'cure' for jumping up & recall then I'd worry about how generaly dog-savvy she is.
It's fantastic that you are thinking of Nando's socialisation, but if somebody with no dog-sense is taking him out & about, I'd be worried about them giving him bad experiences (handling greetings with other dogs badly, handling any jumping up at strangers badly - the last thing you want is somebody ignorant of dog behaviour to bring out guarding instincts through poor handling/judment).
If this person thinks chopping a pups bits off teaches it how we want it to behave in certain circumstances, then is she really able to judge how to handle Nandos greetings? Sorry if I'm going OTT and being unduly wary, but it seems like you've put a lot of work into Nando (well done :) ), he's now approaching the teenage stage, it would horrible for some numpty to come along and undo all your hard work.

> I'm not doubting that she is a very VERY knowledgeable lady

Knowledge is no good if you haven't the common sense to apply it properly ;)

This si the main pros and cons one I have: http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

Thanks for the links, folks! Finding a new dog walker is a bit extreme <G> She said that the increased testosterone levels at his age will make it harder to train his re-call and stop him jumping up. I disagreed with her but she did have some arguments that obviously she had been taught through her study of animal behaviour. I'm not saying I agree with her but I think I just inadvertently over-exaggerated her claims in my first post!

She was very respectful and understood my reasons for not castrating/neutering, too without arguing or making me seem like I didn't know what I was talking about!

She handled the way in which he greeted her exactly how I've been telling my Mum to do it- only she would listen to the dog walker, she takes after the dog and goes selectively deaf sometimes!

Thanks for the links and the advice, I'll let you know how I get on!

> She said that the increased testosterone levels at his age will make it harder to train his re-call and stop him jumping up.

I'd agree to some extent adolescence in all species is not an easy stage it's the process of growing up.

I'd be against castrating all little boys before they started Junior school just becauses they would become difficult when puberty hit.

> My parents have listened to me so far RE: Castration, however now I know they are not going to let it go!

This is more worrying.... if they continue to press you hard, could you print off some information about Suprelorin? I'm not suggesting you try it - although it could be a better short-term solution than de-nadding Nando! but you might even be able to tell a porky and claim he's had the implant, to stave off unwelcome interference.

Suprelorin should only be used in mature male dogs -so an 8 month old pup wouldn't be suitable for it.

oh my word what an idiot!  I would agree with the others that it's just a crazy suggestion which would end in far worse issues - tell your parents that it may make him aggressive, it will make him taller, he may be more likely to get more difficult to treat cancers and he may have arthritis (due to the unnatural length of his long bones) in later years.  He will be 'attractive' to entire dogs - and hence defensively aggressive and will remain 'puppy-like' all his life ie he's more likely to continue to jump up for all his life if he's castrated at this age!  Hormones are needed to get through the 'teenage' years and he will be more mature as he grows up if he keeps those hormones!

yes Chris Zinc's article is really useful...here's another one from her

http://www.caninesports.com/SNBehaviorBoneDataSnapShot.pdf