# Will castration lessen a dog's attempts to dominate?



## Anakat (Feb 5, 2010)

We're at a bit of a crossroads with our 13 week old pup.

Very Alpha Male dominant Cocker Spaniel. He 'humps' pretty much any dog, any size, and any arm / leg within humping distance. He can show aggression towards us, and we are concerned about the safety of our 3 year old (see post in nipping pups threads!)

When, eventually, he is castrated, will his aggression and sexual behaviour be reduced? Will there be big noticable effects?


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## The Dog Butler (Feb 21, 2010)

Oooh, so is he humping and gets away with it from other dogs?

Anyway, he will certainly be less snapped at and challenged by other dogs in the park. 

Apparently after about 3-4 weeks his hormones will start giving out a scent of a female ready to mate and therefore will be pestered by other male dogs sniffing his bits enthusiastically. not permanently though. 

I am sorry to tell you but he will not stop showing at you his dominance and at others even after neutering, unless you address it correctly. What as I understood neutering does is makes the Alpha dog less stubborn and therefore more readily to give up its Alpha position if correct training is applied.

In the end he will YES calm down in trying to hump dogs and you, but then again and again, largely only if you address the humping. Also results come later rather than sooner.


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## CarolineH (Aug 4, 2009)

Please note that your puppy is being quite normal for a puppy? He should not be castrated yet - wait until he is 6 months plus before you consider that and let him grow a bit. Also, watch this video and listen to what *Dr Ian Dunbar* has to say in this video YouTube - The Alpha Fallacy A lot of it is relevant to your pup and his behaviour.  Castration cannot replace proper ongoing socialisation and training.


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## hazel pritchard (Jun 28, 2009)

Our Lakeland was "chopped" at 6 mnths old he sometimes will hump our other dog if the bitch next door is in season,having "his bits" removed has not made any difference to him being hyper,he is fed on Burns and is as mad as a hatter!!!! and will try to dominate any other dog, dispite extensive traing and seeing a behaviorist


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## ArwenLune (Jan 3, 2010)

He's not showing dominance. He's being a puppy. This is also a useful link:

The Dominance Controversy and Cesar Millan


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## lemmsy (May 12, 2008)

13 week old pup?
Dominant?

:lol:

wow- this one really is on the ball!!!
You can just see him thinking "Today the family. Tomorrow the world!!!"

Ok so I'm only joking!
In all seriousness now, please rest assured your puppy is not being dominant! He's just being a normal pup.

You say he shows aggression towards you? Do you mean that he nips you? This is also perfectly normal puppy behaviour. He is trying to engage with you in the only way he knows how to. He is playing, just as he would with other puppies. Naturally we don't recieve this behaviour quite so well. Not even if it is well meant as his little teeth are sharp.

There is no need to "correct" or punish the puppy for doing this. You will only create a dog that is confused and potentially starts to negatively associate interactions with humans.

The only way that I would do this would be to totally ignore the pup for rude nippy behaviour. Turn around and walk immediately away from him when he starts to nip. What you want to teach him is that nipping means- people go away. What he craves most afterall is your attention!

Teach him how you DO want him to behave. 
-You will need to teach a bite inhibition. Take a look at the following link for more info:

http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/teachingbiteinhibition.pdf

- Teach your puppy to greet you calming rather than jumping. Tell him what you want him to do! SET HIM UP FOR SUCCESS! Ask him to sit when you greet him and reward him calmly for doing so 

With regards to the humping: Do you know anyone with calm and bomb proof dogs who he could meet up with to socialise with. By this I mean, dogs who will socialise with him and gently teach him manners rather than reacting excessively and scaring him. Looking into training classes would be a good idea as a good trainer (who uses positive reinforcement methods) is likely to know good stooge dogs who will be able to help socialise him.

I hope this helps and please rest assured that your puppy is not dominant!

It is baest to move away from the idea of dominance IMO as "dominance/ alpha" theory is a very inaccurate and outdated one (the evidence originally said to support the theory has since been declared "flawed") and the theory has been debunked time and time again. It was created at a time when there was little/no research on canine behaviour- hence is incredibly outdated, inaccurate, painfully simplistic and to my mind certainly, a huge injustice to our dogs.

Your pup is just being a young bouncy puppy. Don't punish him for behaving in a normal manner. 
Remember- REWARD the good, ignore (or withdraw attention from) the bad!

Set your puppy up for success by teaching him how you DO want him to behave! 

Best of luck


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

Anakat said:


> ...our 13-WO... Male Cocker Spaniel... [snip]...
> When, eventually, he is castrated, will his aggression and sexual behaviour be reduced? Will there be big noticable effects?


yes, desex will reduce aggro, both toward other dogs + toward humans; desex also reduces the intensity of a M-dogs search for bitches in estrus. desexed Ms are less likely to leap fences, dig-under walls, jump thru windows, etc, in an effort to roam, searching for Fs. 
Â© 2003 James OâHeare. All rights reserved Applied Companion Animal Behavior Network www.ACABN.com The Effects of Spaying and

desexed Ms are less likely to fight or bite other M-dogs; less likely to bite humans; and less-likely to display serious resource-guarding toward humans. 
_however... _ 
it is not a magic-bullet; MANAGEMENT + TRAINING are important, so preventing him from getting his thrills in humping is management; teaching him to greet strangers by sitting politely, in order to get attention + petting, is training. 
Free Downloads | Dog Star Daily

since he is an early humping-fool, i would *not* wait later than 6-MO to desex him; definitely avoiding the testosterone spike at 9-MO would be advantageous, as *learned behaviors* cannot be un-learned, any more than toothpaste goes back into tubes, or geniis back into bottles...  
cheers, and happy training, 
--- terry


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## Anakat (Feb 5, 2010)

I'd just like to say a quick thank you - it's all really interesting, and we're feeling a lot calmer, had a much better day today with Barney.

We'll go through all your comments and links, all much appreciated and very helpful, and get back with any questions.


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## CarolineH (Aug 4, 2009)

Brilliant! Glad you are all doing ok and that things are working out.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

Anakat said:


> I'd just like to say a quick thank you - it's all really interesting, and we're feeling a lot calmer, had a much better day today with Barney.
> We'll go through all your comments and links, all much appreciated and very helpful, and get back with any questions.


Yay! better is good - and the links have great info.


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## Corinthian (Oct 13, 2009)

Nice to see the beginning of success.


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## staflove (Sep 4, 2008)

I hate that word dominance, hes a puppy and doing puppy things just remember to soacialise him with plenty dogs and people so fear dose not kick in, introduce him to everything you dont have to be Alpha just look after your dog they do not try take over they are soacial anmails and live in a soacial unit rules are needed from day one you set them and stick with them this way there are no mixed signals. 

Good luck 

Katie


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