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Permalink Reply by Ludi on August 25, 2012 at 8:46am

I will be honest with you and say no. Neutering is not a magical fixer-upper to all behavioural problems in male dogs. It can help, but it's definitely not the only part of the solution. From what it sounds like, Ringo has no dog manners and has guarding issues (guarding whatever he's smelling/interacting with). At this point, I suggest contacting a certified trainer to see what they can do for you with Ringo.

In the mean time - yes, you should neuter him. Spay your girl, as well. I do not recommend keeping a puppy while you have so much work to do with Ringo. That would be unfair to both Ringo, and the puppy. You cannot start from zero with an adult dog AND raise a puppy properly.

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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on August 25, 2012 at 10:44am

The aggression has nothing to do with his being intact. Have you ever taken him to classes? I have an intact male and other than if a female is in season(and even then) he is very well behaved. Work on getting him trained and please don't add a pup if he is aggressive as he may teach the pup this and you don't want fights...it wouldn't be fair to the pup.

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Permalink Reply by Beth on August 25, 2012 at 11:03am

We know for a fact that testosterone increases the likelihood of an aggressive response to stress in so many animals.  Entire male horses cannot even be exhibited by amateurs in most venues (though pros can and do ride intact stallions of some breeds, the hotter breeds like Thoroughbreds and Arabians are rarely able to concentrate enough to compete once they've been used for stud duty).   

Despite the fact that lots of people will say that neutering doesn't fix anything, we have a fair amount of evidence that having testicles does increase the risk of dog-dog aggression.   And our own experience with other social animals (horses, humans, apes, cows, deer) obviously points to the fact that it's the males who do most of the fighting.   It does depend on the type of aggression, but your description matches the dog-dog aggression typical of intact males. 

http://www.milfordanimalhospital.com/articles/canine/aggression.htm

"

Castration decreases aggression in 62% of inter-dog aggression between male dogs. (Hopkins et. al., 1976) A re-analysis of Borchelt’s (1983) data indicates the following. Dominance aggression: Intact males represented more frequently than neutered males or females Fear aggression: Intact females represented more frequently then intact males Protective aggression: Neutered males represented more commonly than neutered females Possessive aggression: Intact males represented more frequently than intact females and castrated males represented more frequently than intact females (Overall, 1997)" HOWEVER, once behavior is learned, it's hard to unlearn.  In othe words, once dogs learn to behave this way, neutering alone won't fix your problem.  What it may do is make your dog more responsive to re-training.

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Permalink Reply by Beth on August 25, 2012 at 11:06am

I should also add that there are wide differences in personality between individual dogs.  My family had an intact male lab when I was a teenager who would never have dreamed of fighting with another dog, for any reason.  I doubt he even would have fought over breeding rights to a female.  I've seen many similarly easy-going intact males with little inclination to fight.  Corgis, however, are a breed known to tend towards dominance towards strange dogs and cats, especially if they lack early socialization.  And an intact male will in general be more inclined to fight with other males than a dog who was neutered before learning to fight, all else being equal.  

I would get him neutered and then wait for the hormones to settle and get him to training.  It is possible he may be ok with a pup he was raised with, but it is very difficult to manage a three-dog household and honestly if it were me, I would not want to try unless the existing two dogs were already under my complete control in virtually all situations.

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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on August 25, 2012 at 12:20pm

Travis, there are a few factors in the picture you paint that have worked together to produce it and all of those factors have to change if you want to end up with a different picture.

1. You are the first component. You not only have accepted the behavior of Ringo, you have excused it, allowing it to get established.  I am assuming 2 yr.old Ringo is the sire of the litter, so you thought enough of him to breed him and now want to keep a pup.... just one litter.  What to do now?  Unless you understand more about what is acceptable interaction from a pet dog and what is not and the role the human owner has in setting limits and teaching/requiring appropriate good behavior, and until you are prepared to put time and money ( training, and neutering ) into implementing  what you have come to understand, no measures will suffice to change things.

2. I agree with Ludi that keeping a pup is a bad idea, since Ringo will require a lot of training and the pup will require a lot of time.  However, if you have someone else in your home who can take charge of the pup throughout its growing up ( care, training, exercise ) and you dedicate yourself to Ringo, it may be workable, since I'm sure you really want to keep a pup and will not have another litter.

3. Neutering definitely impacts male aggression, but, from a behavioral point of view, habit impacts it even more.  A two year old dog is equivalent to an 18 yr.old person or even older ( the 1 dog year + 7 people years approximation only works as an average over a 10-12 yr.period and is not a linear progression).  Ringo has a lot of his worldview that needs changing and you will need extensive training situations to change both his mindset of what he is allowed to do and yours, so you can turn him from a punk into a gentleman.

4.  Most definitely have the female spayed at the appropriate time after she has dried up of milk and recovered fully from the pregnancy, and neuter the pup, if you keep him, no later than 6 mos. of age, so he will not be inclined to challenge Ringo.

5. When you have a dog who is a bully, it's important that you separate him from the female and other dogs in your household when you are not around, as this is when he will be more apt to assert themselves and, if you're not there, you cannot stop this unwanted behavior which will then be reinforced in the dog.

6.  Keep in mind that the physical effects of neutering will take a couple of months to fully be beneficial, as male hormones remain in circulation after the surgery and only diminish over time.

7. If you decide to keep a pup consider keeping a female, rather than a male and, either way, pick a submissive, not an assertive pup.

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Permalink Reply by travis basabas on August 25, 2012 at 3:05pm

thanks for the suggestions guys!
i mean i try to be dominant. like put him on his side if he was being aggressive or just trying to dominate him and in a calm manner at that, but he would just be soooo fixated on the other dog or whatever.

it isnt in my interest to keep the puppy but my parents, since its their house I really have no say. but i was intending to spay the female (bailey) afters shes recovered.

I know its not a quick fix. I was just wondering if it was possible to change him back to the fun all loving dog he used to be, and by your guys responses it seems it is possible with work. 

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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on August 25, 2012 at 8:39pm

Travis, google Nothing In Life Is Free and follow it! Rolling a dominant dog is dangerous and usually not an effective training method unless you are an expert. NILF will give you ways to show you are in charge in terms your dog will understand. You can also attach a leash or short rope to his collar in the house so you can more easily redirect his attention and it would be safer.

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Permalink Reply by travis basabas on August 25, 2012 at 10:38pm

yeah i realized that after a while that what i was doing was useless. hes submissive with me and just people in general. its with other dogs that he becomes dominant. but yes  ill look into that article! thanks!!! ^__^

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