Hello there,

Our little Jack Russell Rescue dog is booked in to have a castration this Thursday.  As well as for medical reasons, we are hoping that it will help him a bit with his fear/agression towards other dogs, although he is thought to be about 3-4 years old.  We have heard a rumour that we will have to wait six weeks before we can walk him after the op.  Is that correct?

Hi Guest

You say "as well as for medical reasons" - are these diagnosed medical reasons, ie a current problem in the testes or "preventative" reasons?

If he is currently fearful and agressive towards other dogs and has always been so it has become a "learned behaviour" which castration will have no benefit with.  In fact it could potentially make matters worse as to other males he may smell like a bitch and they will therefore approach him more :(

Why don't you join the forum ;)  It's easy, quick and free to do and then you can provide more information plus ask and answer further questions.

Regards, Teri :)

Additionally a main role of testosterone is confidence.  If your male is already fearful and lacking confidence removing most of his testosterone is likely to make matters worse.

Hi there

Come on guys!!!  I believe the OP wanted to know how long it would be before their dog could be walked on the lead not what we think about castration!  It's not fair to bombard them with your opinions on castration when they have obviously taken advice from a vet and it's clearly stated that another reason for this is a medical condition.  Regarding fear aggression -  it could be the testosterone that is making him aggressive towards other dogs!!!! 

I know that a lot of people on this board are anti-castration and that is their choice but sometimes it gets really wearing when all somebody has to do is mention the word castration and they are potentially made to feel as if they are doing something wrong or the dog could end up being a devil dog.  It's not a debate I want to get into as everybody has their own views and experiences.  However, it has never been my experience that a dog has become more fear aggressive following castration.  There is also an injection you can get to give your dog a chemical castration which lasts for about 3 weeks.  It is called Tardac.  When your dog is castrated you can walk him on the lead straight away.  Off-lead exercise is often reserved for when the stitches come out and everything has healed.  Hope this helps.

Kind regards
Annie

Come on Annie,

Two replies with helpful and practical info rarely mentioned by vets   Bombarded - can't say I'd describe it as such.   Luckily Tohme added an answer to the original query anyway so why make a big deal out of it? 

> Regarding fear aggression -  it could be the testosterone that is making him aggressive towards other dogs!!!!<

Yes but at 3 years of age it will be a learned behaviour - removing testosterone has no value in such circumstances hence the query if castration was for *current* medical or preventative reasons ;)  It may just encourage the Guest to join if they are given more info - but inhouse bickering just for the sake of it certainly wont :(

Teri

>Regarding fear aggression -  it could be the testosterone that is making him aggressive towards other dogs!!!! 

Annie, it's testosterone that generally lessens fear. If he's already fearful, castration is likely to make him more so, therefore actually increasing the aggression. It's vital to get the diagnosis right, as it's not something that's easy to correct if you've got it wrong - after all, you can't put the testicles back on again!

>after all, you can't put the testicles back on again!

:D :D :D Teri

Having seen the misery of dog and owner of a dog with no confidence being castrated, adn teh OP stating that one reason for castration was to help with fear aggression I think it is quite relevant to point out that this side of things may actually be worsened.  If the other problem cannot be sorted any other way but castration it is a moot point, but the OP needs to know this.

You can walk your dog on the lead straightaway......

My Alfie is very attracted to bitches and castrated males, he treats them all the same (I wont tell you how :o ).  I would try Tardak first to see whether it makes a difference instead of getting him castrated, it could potentially make matters worse as males dogs *may* start to mount him which will just instill his fear a bit more :(

Hi

I am not bickering for the sake of it.  It just appeared to me that the original question wasn't being answered although the reasons for getting him castrated were being questioned.  For the record, I am neither for nor against castration but I can honestly say that I have never ever seen a dog that's aggression has become worse due to castration,  but I have seen many dogs whose behaviour has been improved significantly due to being castrated.

I am not trying to get anybody's back up.  I am merely stating a point and it is something that I have noticed when castration is discussed on the forum.  I also added that there is the drug Tardak which mimics castration which could of course be used prior to castration to see if it has any beneficial effects.  I don't want to get into a debate about castration because everybody has their own views. I just don't think that the OPs question was answered - if there had been a bit added to the end answering the original query then what you said would have been justified but you didn't answer the question, you just gave the down-side of having the dog castrated and I just don't think that is fair because the OP didn't ask that.

 
Annie

You could of course simply have answered the OPs question yourself Annie without commenting on earlier replies.   But then of course Tohme had already done that ......

This is after all an Information Exchange - there are a couple of posts on specific subjects which Visitors are always referred to (such as the Pet Dog at Stud) which saves repetitive info being posted - perhaps CD should have one on every potentially "hot" subject and there would be no need for posters to be critical of other members offering sound advice based on experience.  But of course were that the case it would be more of a "Champdogs Notice Board"  - except of course for "Foo" and "Idle Chat" ;) 

Regards, Teri

I'm simply not getting into an argument about this.  I have said what I believe to be right! 

It just seems to me that whenever there is a question about castration everybody seems to be in the "against" camp.  There are also very positive things about castration which never seem to be discussed.  I have personal experience of this type of situation.  One of my own rescue dogs had very similar problems to the OP when he came to me.  Before having him castrated I talked this through with my vet and we discussed all the options - for and against.  He was perfectly candid about everything.  Firstly we tried Tardak to see if this would help.  It helped him tremendously so we decided to have him castrated.  He was 3 years old then so he too would have learned behaviour but it did help him and a nicer dog you couldn't now meet.  In fact, my friends sometimes ask me specifically to bring Bazil to help socialise their puppies because he is so good.

As I said before I have met lots of dogs who have benefitted from castration - many with the same problems as the OP.  I also meet dogs who are entire who are perfectly fine with no problems.  As with everything one size does not fit all.

Annie

>I'm simply not getting into an argument about this.  I have said what I believe to be right!

You and me both Annie :)

Great that you've had positive experience with castration - but others have seen the negative sides and as I mentioned it is an Info Exchange so there are perfectly valid reasons (and rights) for us each to proffer our experience and no complete way is absolutely right or wrong.  At least the OP has been given additional info which they may not have been privy to before - I fail to see why you have a problem with that  

Pity it's been twisted - another guest unlikely to join I should imagine :(

ps. If you read the original replies, you will notice no-one mentioned being against castration ....

 

Yes, U agree there are negatives as well but the OP didn't ask for information on castration, just when it would be safe to exercise their dog.  I don't really see there's a need to go into the negatives and positives because they state clearly that they hope it may help their dog.

I don't believe I have twisted this, I am merely pointing out that you gave information that wasn't asked for.  I believe in information exchange when that information is asked for and it wasn't in this case.  Also, it the OP decides not to join, do you not think that it may be because you have questioned their ability to make a decision that might have something to do with that as well.  Or is that point not valid either.  I'm sorry if you can't see that but I can and I think you are being unfair blaming me for "twisting" things.  That's not the case at all.

Annie

>Also, it the OP decides not to join, do you not think that it may be because you have questioned their ability to make a decision that might have something to do with that as well.

Who questioned their ability to make a decision? From the original post it seemed that the OP had been told that castrating a fear-aggressive dog is the right thing to do, when generally it isn't. Better to know that before the die is cast. Rational decisions are based on as many facts as possible. To withhold relevant information is highly irresponsible IMO.

However, this is going way off topic - the OP's question was answered by Tohme hours ago, and the OP has been given useful information.
:)

:D How'd you manage to get the last word :D  See you've not lost the magic touch ;)

Actually JG the OP states that castration is being done for medical reasons and they hope it may help with his problems with dogs.  Not that castration had been recommended for the dog problem.  Just setting things straight.

Annie

Annie, the OP also says:

>we are hoping that it will help him a bit with his fear/agression towards other dogs

Do you not agree that it's important to point out that this hope may well not be realised, and in fact the opposite result may well occur? Of course, if the dog already has a medical condition that requires castration as a remedy, then that's an entirely different matter, and the possible negative behavioural change would have to be accepted as a necessary evil.

I agree JG and quite often people get dogs castrated for medical reasons those reasons being preventative not necessarily that the dog already has something wrong with it.

Ah, then in the case of it being a preventative procedure even more information is required to make a rational decision!

In the absence of any evidence (well, I can't find any, no matter how I search) that the chance an entire dog has of developing a condition (such as testicular cancer, say) is greater than 50:50, it's logical to assume that, even without surgery, the dog's unlikely to develop the condition. This is where the owner must decide for him/herself whether the side-effects are likely to be more troublesome than the risks they're trying to avoid. If nobody tells you the possible side-effects then you can't make a reasoned choice. (This is why doctors talk to you before an operation and make you sign a disclaimer ...)

There have been several people on here who've asked why dogs keep mounting their castrated dog and his temperament has changed, making walks a misery rather than a pleasure. They always say "but nobody told us that this could happen - I'd never have done it if I'd known." By which time it's too late. :(

Well said and very true JG.  Teri :)

Annie, the name of this site is 'Champdogs Information Exchange'. Therefore we have to exchange information, both positive and negative. Out of interest, where on this thread has anyone said castration is wrong?

You have met dogs which have benefitted from castration. Great! Other people have dogs who have had more problems following castration. Not great! Both experiences are equally valid.
:)

>It just appeared to me that the original question wasn't being answered

Tohme answered it three-quarters of an hour before you complained nobody had answered the question! ;) :D The other replies were just suggesting that, from what the OP had said, castration might not be the right course of action - information the OP might not have been aware of. :)