Has your dog been showing undesired behaviors such as mounting or urine marking? If yes, you may need to neuter your dog, as reproductive hormones often prompt these behaviors. Neutering is a surgical procedure that involves the removal of a dog’s reproductive organs. The article sheds light on why neutering is important and the signs to watch for that indicate your dog needs neutering.
Why Neutering Is Important
While neutering offers various health benefits, it also helps reduce unacceptable behaviors, such as aggression toward other dogs, urine marking, roaming, and humping or mounting. These behaviors are usually the signs your dog needs to be neutered.
If you’re wondering how it affects all these behaviors, neutering typically reduces reproductive hormones (testosterone and estrogen) influencing them.
Excessive Marking Behavior
Excessive marking behavior is one of the major signs your dog needs to be neutered.
What Is Marking, and Why Do Dogs Do It?
Marking is when dogs urinate in small amounts in specific spots regularly, often driven by testosterone in the urine. However, there are various reasons your dog is urine-marking, including:
Communicating with other dogs because urine carries much information, including sex and age.
Marking their territory - the scent lets other dogs know another dog has claimed the space.
Stress or anxiety - your dog may be urine marking because of anxiety or stress.
How Neutering Helps Reduce Marking
More often, unneutered dogs show this behavior because of instinctual hormonal urges. Testosterone influences the sex drive and territorial behaviors such as urine marking. Neutering the dog helps reduce testosterone-related behaviors including humping, mounting, etc.
Aggressive Behavior
Unneutered dogs often display aggressive behavior, mostly towards other dogs.
Signs of Aggression in Unneutered Dogs
Common signs of aggression in unneutered dogs that you may encounter include growling, baring teeth, lunging, snapping, snarling, averting gaze, and biting.
How Testosterone Contributes to Aggression
Aggression in dogs is usually associated with the reproductive hormone testosterone, predominantly produced by the testicles. Testosterone may influence male-specific behavior or increase the tendency to establish dominance, which can often but not always induce aggressive behavior.
Behavioral Improvements After Neutering
Neutering dogs leads to positive behavioral changes, such as decreased roaming tendencies, calmer temperament, less urine marking, and reduced aggression. It happens because of lowered testosterone levels.
Constant Roaming or Escaping
Roaming or escaping is another undesirable behavior you can prevent by neutering your dog, as it has serious consequences, such as accidents or theft.
Why Unneutered Dogs Roam
Unneutered dogs roam because of their drive to find a mate, which is driven by sex hormones. The search for a partner compels them to roam large distances following scents. Intact male dogs also roam to claim their space and display dominance.
Risks of Roaming: Injuries, Traffic, and Fights
Roaming dogs can be hit by cars if they escape towards the busy road with traffic or get into fights with other animals. It mainly causes trauma or infections.
Mounting or Humping Behavior
Mounting or humping refers to a common dog behavior where they thrust their hips against another dog, a person, or an object.
Why Dogs Mount Other Dogs or Objects
Dogs typically mount or hump due to strong hormonal urges. It can be a sexual drive that causes them to hump or mount. In intact male dogs, testosterone usually induces mounting behavior that typically occurs around a female dog in heat or an unspayed female dog.
However, dogs may also mount or hump because of various other reasons, such as anxiety or stress, itchiness or irritation (caused by UTI or allergies), or overstimulation.
How Neutering Can Reduce Sexual Behaviors
A neutered dog exhibits less sexual behaviors because neutering decreases reproductive hormones (estrogen and testosterone). According to an article by PetMD, neutering can reduce mounting behavior by 50-60%.
Health Concerns Related to Not Neutering
Neutering not only helps prevent undesired behaviors, it also reduces the risk of various health issues.
Risk of Testicular Cancer in Male Dogs
Unneutered male dogs are more susceptible to testicular cancer. While this cancer can occur at any age and in any breed, it is more common in dogs over 10 years old. The breeds that are more prone to testicular cancer include Afghan Hound, Boxer, German Shepherd, Weimaraner, and Collie.
The early signs pointing out testicular cancer in dogs include varying testicle size, scrotal skin thinning, an enlarged scrotum, scrotal area pigmentation, and brittle hair in the genital area.
Hormone-Driven Conditions (e.g., Prostate Issues)
Intact dogs may also experience hormone-driven conditions, such as prostate issues, including prostate gland enlargement. The prostate gland plays an essential role in reproduction. It provides the needed fluid to the sperm cells for nourishment and transportation.
A more prevalent condition in unneutered male dogs is Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), which can cause prostate enlargement. Prostate gland enlargement can occur in male dogs aged 5 and older.
How Neutering Improves Overall Health
Neutering can help reduce the occurrence of testicular cancer and prostate issues in male dogs. It also improves your dog’s behavior, such as aggression and roaming, often resulting in trauma, infections, or even death.
According to a study by the University of Georgia, neutering increases life expectancy in male dogs by 13.8%. The mean age of death in unneutered dogs was 7.9 years versus 9.4 years in neutered dogs.
Overpopulation and Ethical Considerations
The Role of Neutering in Controlling Pet Overpopulation
Neutering helps control pet overpopulation by preventing unwanted pregnancies in pets because unplanned litters often result in homeless animals and overcrowded animal shelters.
Supporting Shelter and Rescue Efforts
Neutering reduces the number of stray animals and prevents overcrowding in underfunded animal shelters. The rescue organizations would not have to euthanize healthy dogs only because of a lack of space.
When to Talk to Your Vet
It is crucial to understand when to make an appointment with your veterinarian to discuss the right time for neutering your dog.
Signs That It’s Time to Neuter Your Dog
If your dog is showing increased aggression, urine marking spots in and outdoors more frequently, mounting or humping other dogs or objects, or is escaping the house to find a mate.
Age and Timing Recommendations
A vet will assess your dog’s health and needs and guide you. Small dogs can be neutered at the age of 6-12 months. However, since large dogs are more likely to have health issues, veterinarians recommend waiting to neuter until 9-18 months of age.
Conclusion: Enhancing Your Dog’s Quality of Life
Neutering considerably enhances your dog's quality of life by reducing the risk of certain cancers, hormone-driven conditions, and unwanted behaviors, such as territorial and sexual aggression, urine marking, mounting, and roaming. It is also the best way to avoid unwanted litters and to support controlling pet overpopulation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does neutering a dog help with new aggression?
Yes, neutering a male dog helps reduce aggression, especially, when it is related to dominance or territorial behavior, often influenced by higher testosterone levels. However, aggression caused by stress or fear may also need behavioral training.
How can a veterinarian tell if a dog has been neutered?
A veterinarian can easily tell because a neutered dog will not have testicles in their scrotum and have a surgical scar on the scrotum.
Is it absolutely necessary for me to have my dog neutered?
While it is not necessary, veterinarians strongly advise neutering dogs as it offers notable health benefits, such as lowered risk of certain cancers, reduces unwanted behavior, and helps control pet overpopulation by preventing unwanted pregnancies.
What should you know before spaying your dog?
When you finally decide to spay or neuter a male dog, consult your veterinarian about the dog getting neutered and assess their health.
My dog is being very territorial after neutering, what should I do?
If your dog is territorial after neutering, you can consult a professional dog trainer or animal behaviorist, and discuss it with your vet. They will be better able to evaluate the situation and form a customized training plan to manage the behavior.
