Hi, everyone,
I am having a minor dillema at tho moment, as we have a nearly five month old BT bitch, who we are planning on having spayed as we have no desire to breed from her, and the dogs have free reign over garden, so feel it would be unfair to lock her up during seasons when our other dog is allowed out still! anyway, I was wondering how neutered dogs react to bitches in season, as they have had their bits removed!, will he still try to mount her, and would we need to keep them apart during her season? If so, would there be any negative effects from speying her before her first season? Our vet has suggested this, though it was a locum, not our usual vet, so I am not sure! Also, while we were at the park a couple of weekds ago, Morris met a bitch, who he followed for ages, and when I called him he looked confused, then kept following her until I went over and put him back on thre llead, only for the idiotr with the bitch to tell me that she was 'on heat' (yes, in the middle of the day and she was off the lead, but the owner looked particularly stupid!) so I am worried that he may react to Elsa when she comes into season, even though vet told me he wouldn't! Oh! the confusion sorry it was so long winded!
Emily and terrible twosome!

Hello Emily!

All I can really say to help is that our dear old Barti, who had been neutered for medical reasons(as I don't routinely neuter/spay), managed on more than one occasion to actually tie with a full in-season bitch. The spirit and body were obviously still very willing! I was rather worried about introduction of infection, probably needlessly.

Personally, I don't like early neutering, but I suppose you need to do what best suits you lifestyle .

Jo and the Casblaidd Flatcoats

I heard if a dog has never had experince of mating he would not try after op but if he had its learned behavior and may always try.

I'd agree with HeelerKay - I had two neutered dogs and one would always try (and come home with a grin on his face <G>) the other wasn't bothered - and he was neutered at 2 years old) I don't know any history of the other dog, but I'd guess he'd fathered one litter at least before I got him........

Like Jo, I have a male that was neutered at a year old due to medical reasons, who still managed to mate and tie with an in season bitch.

Same here my Border Collie was neutered at 11 months and he managed to mate with my Labrador when she was in season.

Karen

My neutered dog tied only yesterday with my in season bitch! He was neutered at 10 months and had never previously had any experience of 'sex'. He does, however, only try to mount her when she is in full season and shows no interest at any other time.

A neutered dog will mount an in season bitch - I used to have one here and would take my bitches for mating when he mounted and tied with them. He was my best indication of a ready to mate bitch pity he's gone now.

I personally would love to have my non show/breeding puppies neutered before they leave me a service that is available in the USA but not here in the UK. A preseason spay would be my time of choice your bitch doesn't need to experience a season to continue her growth patterns etc in the normal way, plus there is always a risk that she may have a 'Phantom pregnancy' if your chap does mount her.

I have a neutered GSD who wouldn't have a first clue what to do when it comes to the opposite sex (he just likes to talk to the ladies) and a bitch who (as the leader of the two) mounts him. Guess it depends on the individual dog.

Thanks for the answers, I feared this may be the case! do you think we ought to have Elsa spayed before her season at 6-7 months then??
Emily and the terrible twosome!

The problem with 6-7 months Emily is she could be getting close to having a season, you will not be able to tell. The operation is not so safe at such a time, due to build up of the blood supply so the operation is usually done a couple of months after a season and well be the next one is due.

Hi, I am in a dilemma now as I have a young dog Jimmy - nearly 2 - who has never mated and I do not intend to use him for stud. His house companion is a young bitch who has just had her first season. Although they were kept completely seperate, he has really "suffered" - off his food and calling for her constantly. At 18 days after the start of her season I introduced them again as it seemed to me she had finished, but he tried to mount her immediately and became quite frantic, so had to seperate them again. I had seriously been thinking about having him neutered so that they dont need to be seperated next time, to make life easier for all of us. What do people think? will he continue this behaviour anyway - is there any point in having him neutered? I am condfident that i can keep her "safe" from him, but dont want the trauma for him - and the expense for me - if I'm going to have to keep them sepaerate anyway. I have never kept a neutered dog before, and didn't realise that they could still mate a bitch - or even have the urge to. Is it simaliar to horses being castrated in that if the tiniest bit of testicular tissue is left behind, that the then gelded horse will still have these desires and abilities. If this happens to a horse they may appear to be castrated but continues to behave like a stallion, in their general temperament as well as sexually. Is it that the dog has not been neutered properly or "just one of those things"? As my dog is very sexually aware - but has never mated - do you think it is worth having him done - will he still pine and be off his food? Thanks in advance.

Hi WL

I think if you have a good search through the archives here, you'll find so much discussion on this. I do think that having an entire dog and an entire bitch is risky if you don't want them to mate let alone have puppies. As some recent posts have shown, there is no guarantee on which days a bitch is safe from conception when in season and the end of a season and start even can in some be so difficult to determine.

I don't think you have a lot of choice here but to have one of them "done". It's true that getting the boy done will not neccesarily curb his natural male desires, he's a boy anyway:D but it might. On the other hand getting the bitch done will remove some of the risks of future illness bitches can experience, but will not stop your dog wanting to mate. Personally, I think it is unfair to separate two dogs who are intended as companions for each other, each time the bitch has a season. He will pine and suffer and so will she - they both will equally want to perform their natural instinct of procreation and while they can smell each other - they will go crazy.

A real dilemma - but if one of them is done - then even if they mate - there will be no pups so no real harm done - or is it the fact of them "mating" that disturbs you?

I think my view would be to get the girl done. She'll then not produce the hormones etc that give off the scent that drive the dog crazy. What do others think?

Pam n the boys

Hi , thanks for the input. Bella, the bitch, will eventually be part of my breeding programme- hopefully - so I wont be getting her done. My worry now, after reading about neutered dogs sometimes being keen or able to mate is that he will pester her so much that I will have to seperate them anyway, to prevent her being hassled and maybe even hurt. I wouldn't want the chance of them mating unsupervised, whilst I was out shopping etc, in case there was some kind of problem with struggling while tied. He really is sooo keen. But on balance I will probably get him done, as hopefully there is a good chance he wont behave like that. I am 100% confident there wont be any accidents - my "purdah" kennel and run is like Colditz!! Sods law isn't it - a dog I bred specifically , some years ago to be a husband for two of my girls and who won more than anything I have ever bred, and was probably the best male anyone could ever hope to breed - was completely uninterested in the girls and would never mated either of them !! I wish AI had been more available then - though I dont know if I would have gone ahead with that as I guess no interest to mate is as much a fault as any other!!

Dont worry Mandy, in my house its the other way round. Polly is the biggest tart ever and I have to separate her because she flirts with the boys too much rather than the other way round!

A friend has a neutered dog and two bitches and the male will mount and tie with them when they are in season. The first season of one of them she would not let him anywhere near her but permitted it the second season. He was "done" as a youngster and never mated before and it does not appear to have done any of them any harm.

Christine

I seem to have had slightly different experiences; my male Terv was neutered at just over a year old, due to medical reasons of a retained testicle. The vet only managed ot get one testicle out and had to then bring my boy round or he was in dnager of losing him. So technically he still had one testicle if you see what I mean.

My dog and entire Terv bitch were constantly together from puppyhood on wards for nealry 11 years, and althugh during her first few seasins he showed a small interest - and i do mean small, a few sniffs and licks - there was no attempts to mate at all. Interestngly the male showed a few entire dog traits because i presume there was still some testosterone wandering about in his system.

INteresting discussion! :)

Lindsay

Hi Lindsay,

Was the retained testicle ever a problem? ie did it ever become cancerous? I understood leaving a dog (or horse) like this was undesirable as it lead to increased risk of cancer (although I understand it doesn't mean the dog *will* develop cancer)

Fran

HIya Fran

The reason i had him neutered was because he didn't "drop" (althoguh i feel now maybe I could have been advised to wait just a bit longer ...) and i was concerned about cancer. I was worreid when the vet said he only got the one out, but what could i do? NO way was he going under again - so i just hoped.

As far as I know there was never a problem as he died of acute kidney failure, also he had jjust started to develop a breathing problem and found it difficult to llie down and he sorted of rested like a seal on his breast bone. Had an endoscopy but it showed nothing. Something was badly wrong - breeder felt it might have been pneumonia but I don't think so... he also brought up bile ....just the last few days. So ... who knows what was going on underneath. He was really happy until a few weeks before his death though. I still really miss him, he was so faithful. :(

Lindsay