I have had my 3year old male injected with the castration implant 8 weeks ago, and it has had  no effect at all!!!!!. My vet is contacting the manufacturer for any advice .Just wondered if anyone else has  used this method with the same 'non-effect' , and if so, what did they do next to get the desired effect?...Thanks

What is your desired effect? Or do you mean sperm has been checked for and still viable?

Surely the desired effect is the dog not being able to sire pups? Which is the exact same effect you'd get if the dog was castrated. It doesn't stop them from cocking their legs or wanting to mate or being less aggressive towards other male dogs or anything else. The testicles will eventually shrink but that takes a fair few weeks. They say it takes 6 weeks before the dog becomes infertile after the Suprelorin implant. The one male dog I tried it with (to check castration would not have any negative side effects on him) actually mated and tied with a bitch after exactly 6 weeks, bit of a hairy moment there but she did not get pregnant so clearly the desired effect was there. :)

8 weeks I would expect it to have had effect by now, is there no difference between the sperm count and condition now to what it was before he had the injection?

I know someone (they have a dog I bred) who used Tardax several times. It worked for them until this year, when it has actually made it worse :-( He is now actively looking for bitches to mate.

He is now actively looking for bitches to mate.

Well we do not know which product has been used but it is not designed to stop a dogs interest, it is designed to stop the dog procreating, so unless the sperm is tested you do not know if it worked or not - castration is the same the only thing it will defiantly effect is the ability to father pups. All other side effects good or bad can not be foreseen, will differ from dog to dog and in the same dog at different times.

Hi and thanks all for your posts....

He is not a dog that has been used at stud, not a problem with my bitches apart from mounting his neutered mum on a regular basis, I really wanted to see the effect before having him castrated, but as yet there has not been any reduction in size in his testicles which makes me think the implant has not worked at all or maybe there is still time ??He can be rather dominant and bolshy so I was hoping this would just calm him down a little ,with none or very little testosterone rattling round his system !!on other males I had years ago after they were castrated, they definitely became quieter and calmer.
Sorry I don't know which product my vet uses, so was wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation and what they did....should I get a blood test done to check his testosterone level
any advice will be gratefully received
Thanks again

castration or elimination of testosterone will only affect testosterone driven behaviours. Learnt behaviours and general character are not affected, neutered males will still mount and mate bitches but obviously cannot produce pups.  The implant may well be working just fine I suspect the effects of testicular shrinkage my take some time.
IME Neutering makes no difference to drive or activity levels the only guaranteed outcome is that they can't sire pups

Is it supposed to last for 6 months - if so I only see a reduction in the size of the testis after about 4 months, and in the first two months masculine behaviour may become more noticeable. How old is your dog if he is mature then he probably will settle down but if he is still a juvenile I have no idea what the effects may be but they may well not be at all predictable.

What ever was used and what ever his age it should stop him procreating but it may not stop him mating so best to keep him away from any in season bitch.

EDIT - sorry see he is 3 years old so depending on the breed he should be mature by now unless he is a giant breed or a late developer.

Hi,
I have used Suprelorin on two different males of the same breed, it took no effect on one, as in no change in behaviour. The other became more chilled out.
I do recall both their testicles reducing in size.

I did keep up with the male it had no effect on for 1yr, sadly it didn't do anything for him.

I guess like with castration there is no guarantees it will change behaviour or their desires.

Think that is so, like castration the results will vary the only good thing is the effect will come to an end once the effect of the implant runs out.

but as yet there has not been any reduction in size in his testicles which makes me think the implant has not worked at all or maybe there is still time ??

I wouldn't expect to see this after just 8 weeks. MY dog was as proved infertile after 6 weeks, but his testicles didn't shrink until after 4 or 5 months. Don't expect any changes apart from in fertility, it's pretty much a myth that castration changes any behaviours in dogs at all. It may do in the odd one, but certainly not in all. (One Swedish study years ago now showed that the only thing it can change is a reduction in aggression towards other male dogs, but only in 50 % of all cases.) So far this year I have had a total of four different male castrated dogs of mine mate and tie with in season bitches. Four different breeds, castrated at different ages (from 7 months to 3 years), with the end result all being the same -no change in behaviour at all. Every single castrated male dog I have ever owned has been the same, still wanted to mate etc. Yet vets are very quick at making people believe it cures everything.

thanks again one and all for your info'.............
it is the 'chilled out' effect I am REALLY wanting  and hoping for !!! he really is the underdog here, as  his mother(10yrs)  will only tolerate soooo much ,then will tell him off in no uncertain terms -then mount him to assert her authority, and my other bitch(8years), who he wouldn't DARE try and mount !! - I only have the 3 at present after a terrible loss of my 2 oldies in the last 12months, including my old neutered male who was top dog-when he could be bothered....since when these 'bolshy ' spates have started-guess he is vying to be number 1-hence the implant to try and bring him down a peg or two !!
I really appreciate all your posts and your time in writing them too, will see what happens in the next few weeks and decide if the 'op' will be worth while or not
many thanks once again

thanks again one and all for your info'.............
it is the 'chilled out' effect I am REALLY wanting  and hoping for !!! he really is the underdog here, as  his mother(10yrs)  will only tolerate soooo much ,then will tell him off in no uncertain terms -then mount him to assert her authority, and my other bitch(8years), who he wouldn't DARE try and mount !! - I only have the 3 at present after a terrible loss of my 2 oldies in the last 12months, including my old neutered male who was top dog-when he could be bothered....since when these 'bolshy ' spates have started-guess he is vying to be number 1-hence the implant to try and bring him down a peg or two !!
I really appreciate all your posts and your time in writing them too, will see what happens in the next few weeks and decide if the 'op' will be worth while or not
many thanks once again

> One Swedish study years ago now showed that the only thing it can change is a reduction in aggression towards other male dogs, but only in 50 % of all cases.

That's interesting. Some years ago, Tardak was being used on aggressive male pet rats (to see if castration would work) and I remember speaking to someone in Holland where it was more commonly used, who also said it only worked in 50% of cases. So the behavioural element (and genetic influence, as rats can't really be trained out of aggressive behaviour in the way that dogs can) is almost as important if not more, than any hormonal cause.

I do not know of a large enough sample to say for sure but it seems that if a dog (male) is edgy, a bit tense, always quick to defend his place in the 'pack' then castration can relax the dog but there is the 'hale fellow well met' sort of charictor for which it seems to make no difference and the pushy, 'growl first, talk latter' type for whom it seems to make matters worse. This is only my observations and could be based on the 2 or 3 breeds I know well. By the way the effects on bitches seems to be totally different.

I'm confused.  Can someone tell me what a "castration implant" is?  I've heard of the injections, for temporary or permanent chemical castration.   Which we don't have here.   But I have not heard of an implant.  I'm getting in my mind the idea of something similar to a patch, say for birth control or to stop smoking or like the nitroglycerin patch my Mum is currently on, only this rather solid object is placed beneath the skin or in the body somewhere.  Maybe like a microchip sometimes used for identification?  Is there a name for the company that makes this implant?

In the UK it's marketed by Virbac.

To be honest as eh is the only male there is no reason to bring him down a peg or two re the other dogs. 

Dogs and bitches do not compete for status. 

Bitches will usually be the bosses.  They will tell him what they will accept.

Personally as the owner of males I would never interfere with the pecking order anyway that is up to them to sort out and I only step in to say 'enough' if it seems to be getting a bit too excitable. It is perhaps best to remember that removal of the male hormone can cause the dog to be either more biddable or more pushy, so not a good choice to use in an attempt to control temperament with hormones, try saying no or enough.

I think Tardak is a waste of money, it made both Addison & Curtis worse when I used it on them.