NGKUR: Dog neutering / personality change?

[LadyNymeria]

Since there's a bunch of people here, I thought this would be a good place to get different answers for my question.

I have a yellow lab who will be 2 in September and we have not had him neutered yet to give him time to grow with all his hormones intact.

He is a great dog. He doesn't mark indoors, he doesn't hump anyone's leg, he's not the least bit aggressive, etc., and he has an awesome personality.

Now that he's getting closer to 2, MH and I have been talking about when/if we should get him neutered. We haven't rushed to make an appointment yet because we're afraid that it could change his personality. For those who have had a dog neutered, did his personality change at all? Am I worrying about this for nothing?

Is there even a medical reason to get him neutered other than preventing him from making puppies?

I plan to do research, but I was just wondering what people here thought/have experienced.

Thanks!

[lgraceh]

I'm of the mindset that all pets should be altered. FWIW, I've only ever heard of animals "getting better" or mellower after being fixed. For males, I think there is a slightly diminished risk of prostate related cancers and non-cancerous tumors.

[housecarder]

I've never seen a change in behavior after altering any of my pets. We debated whether or not to fix our males because it's not like we have females around to get pregnant but we wanted to do the responsible thing if he ever got out or was at a dog park or something.

[shemarie82]

We always had mixes of males and females, so it was never a consideration to not have them fixed.

With one of the girls especially, it calmed her down A LOT! Once she was fixed, she no longer dug/climbed out of the fence. It was to the point that it was dangerous because she always wanted to run free.

[teraiin]

I have a male black lab. His personality did not seem to change much (if at all). He seems calmer and is more willing to snuggle with me at night. However, I'm not convinced that's from the neutering and not just him maturing.

FWIW I belong to a lab forum and I do seem to recall one pet owner reported her lab changed quite a bit but ended up returning to 'normal' after a few weeks. My dog didn't seem to be impacted all that much except he was pretty groggy and difficult to keep low-key.

[mosdub]

Just my anecdotal story: we adopted a 2 year old intact male. He had problems marking in the house and being territorial. We got him fixed and hoped maybe he would mellow out and he's pretty much the same personality wise- just less marking. So, in my experience it didn't change my dogs personality really.

[pibblemom]

My puppy is the first male I've had since I was a kid, and he came from the shelter neutered so I can't comment on the personality change. That said, my last male dog was my parents first child and was 2 years older than me. He was un-neutered and had a tumor on his testicles, but by the time it came about, he was too old/fragile to be neutered. He lived to be 18, but the vet wouldn't neuter him when it showed up (probably around 14).

As a person who rescues animals, I'm also of the mindset that all domestic animals should be spayed/neutered, and tend to side eye people who walk around with intact (adult) males, or females who are obviously in heat. I have never noticed a personality change in my females, and they've all been wonderfully amazing pets.

[pismoduo]

It didn't change our shih-tzu's personality at all. However, we got him neutered at around 7 months.

My MIL had her min pin neutered when he was (I think) 8 or 9 years old. It did change his personality, but for the better. That dog marked on everything, barked his head off at everything, was super aggressive and neurotic. After getting neutered he calmed down considerably and was a much more social creature.

My parents have had quite a few male dogs, and the only changes I remember them going through after getting neutered were just being less energetic.

I will say that our vet made sure to tell us to reduce the amount of food both dogs were eating after they were altered - the recommended amounts to feed your dog on the back of the dog food bag are for unaltered dogs. Altered dogs have a slower metabolism and need smaller meals. When the vet told us that, the fact that my parent's dog suddenly started gaining a ton of weight after his neuter made so much more sense.

[housecarder]

Jun 17, 2015 11:55:14 GMT -5 W said:

We were told by our vet that our male dog would not be as wild when he became neutered, but I don't believe that was the case with him. He was just as wild as before. We waited until he was 9 months to get him neutered.


Eta: now that I think about it he might have been older than nine months. I don't remember. Either way, we had to wait to get the income before we could have him neutered

That's weird because our vet specifically said that neutering our dog wouldn't calm him down at all.

[samanthasays]

As people said, neutering should not affect your dogs personality, other than possibly mellowing them out a little. The benefits are many:
1. no unwanted litters
2. lower risk of cancer
3. less likely to hump (if fixed before behavior develops) or mark. And really who wants to see that lipstick tube pop out? That is fucking gross. Sorry dogs.
4. less likely to roam looking for a bitch if he gets loose
5. less likely to actively run away because he smells a bitch in heat

If I had a dollar for every time I heard people say # 4 and 5 would NEVER happen with their dog I would have enough money to bail their dogs out of the pound when they run away. Most of the time it is not a matter of if intact males will go looking for a female, but when, not a chance I want to take with my boys.

There are some (irresponsible) breeders that claim neutering negatively affects dogs. They claim it cuts off the hormones and the dogs develop skin issues and don't live as long. This may possibly happen if you fix your small breed dog at a very young age (like before his testicles descend). But with a larger dog a year or older that is basically biologically impossible to go back in time and negatively affect their development to that degree.

I have 2 males, one was fixed very young, the other at 7. Neither exhibited any personality changes.

[TheEleventhHour]

We had females growing up - 2 labs and a corgi - their personalities did not change at all (the two wild ones stayed nuts and the calm one stayed calm). We currently have a male Border Collie and he became insanely calm after being altered. He was nuts as a puppy! For us, not altering is never an option. Though our dogs never showed unwanted behaviors prior eliminating the risk of surprise puppies is worth it to us.

[LadyNymeria]

Jun 17, 2015 12:18:23 GMT -5 samanthasays said:

As people said, neutering should not affect your dogs personality, other than possibly mellowing them out a little. The benefits are many:
1. no unwanted litters
2. lower risk of cancer
3. less likely to hump (if fixed before behavior develops) or mark. And really who wants to see that lipstick tube pop out? That is fucking gross. Sorry dogs.
4. less likely to roam looking for a bitch if he gets loose
5. less likely to actively run away because he smells a bitch in heat

If I had a dollar for every time I heard people say # 4 and 5 would NEVER happen with their dog I would have enough money to bail their dogs out of the pound when they run away. Most of the time it is not a matter of if intact males will go looking for a female, but when, not a chance I want to take with my boys.

There are some (irresponsible) breeders that claim neutering negatively affects dogs. They claim it cuts off the hormones and the dogs develop skin issues and don't live as long. This may possibly happen if you fix your small breed dog at a very young age (like before his testicles descend). But with a larger dog a year or older that is basically biologically impossible to go back in time and negatively affect their development to that degree.

I have 2 males, one was fixed very young, the other at 7. Neither exhibited any personality changes.

The bolded is why we would like to get it done. As great as he listens now, I realize it's a completely different scenario when females (especially ones in heat) are involved.


I was just looking for some confirmation/experiences from others that it wouldn't negatively impact his personality. It's comforting to read so many people say there was no negative changes in their dog's personality.

[LovesMeSomeCake]

Jun 17, 2015 12:18:23 GMT -5 samanthasays said:

As people said, neutering should not affect your dogs personality, other than possibly mellowing them out a little. The benefits are many:
1. no unwanted litters
2. lower risk of cancer
3. less likely to hump (if fixed before behavior develops) or mark. And really who wants to see that lipstick tube pop out? That is fucking gross. Sorry dogs.
4. less likely to roam looking for a bitch if he gets loose
5. less likely to actively run away because he smells a bitch in heat

If I had a dollar for every time I heard people say # 4 and 5 would NEVER happen with their dog I would have enough money to bail their dogs out of the pound when they run away. Most of the time it is not a matter of if intact males will go looking for a female, but when, not a chance I want to take with my boys.

There are some (irresponsible) breeders that claim neutering negatively affects dogs. They claim it cuts off the hormones and the dogs develop skin issues and don't live as long. This may possibly happen if you fix your small breed dog at a very young age (like before his testicles descend). But with a larger dog a year or older that is basically biologically impossible to go back in time and negatively affect their development to that degree.

I have 2 males, one was fixed very young, the other at 7. Neither exhibited any personality changes.

YES. YES YES YES.

[samanthasays]

Jun 17, 2015 12:26:48 GMT -5 LadyNymeria said:

Jun 17, 2015 12:18:23 GMT -5 samanthasays said:

**snip**

The bolded is why we would like to get it done. As great as he listens now, I realize it's a completely different scenario when females (especially ones in heat) are involved.


I was just looking for some confirmation/experiences from others that it wouldn't negatively impact his personality. It's comforting to read so many people say there was no negative changes in their dog's personality.

I totally get it. I am super pro-spay and neuter. But looking back I got my 10 year old done too soon. He was barely 3lbs and had an undescended testicle. Being a responsible pet owner is hard, and you are definitely a responsible pet owner if you are thinking so long and hard about this You have a lucky doggy

[mazzola23]

It didn't change my dog's personality. The only time he started to calm down was around 3.

[LovesMeSomeCake]

I should have posted all in one, but got too excited by samanthasays, post.

Our boys are 8years and 5months old lab mutts. The older guy got neutered at 5 months when he started to LOVE his bed a bit too much. His personality did not change at all, but I do wonder if it impacted his joints, (there is scattered data that it does) and resulted in his two ACL tears. He is a large breed >100 pounds. So now I'm worried about the little guy who's scheduled to go in on July 3. I'd wait (only bc of the joints, if he were a small breed it would already be done) but the shelter we adopted him from is very strict about it, even though I'd gladly cover the cost myself but at a later date.

[lgraceh]

Jun 17, 2015 12:18:23 GMT -5 samanthasays said:

As people said, neutering should not affect your dogs personality, other than possibly mellowing them out a little. The benefits are many:
1. no unwanted litters
2. lower risk of cancer
3. less likely to hump (if fixed before behavior develops) or mark. And really who wants to see that lipstick tube pop out? That is fucking gross. Sorry dogs.
4. less likely to roam looking for a bitch if he gets loose
5. less likely to actively run away because he smells a bitch in heat

Haha! That is what we call it too. But we do see it on altered boys too. My mom's standard poodle shows it every time he goes for a ride in the car. But he wasn't fixed until my mom rescued him around age 6 or 7? I wonder if that has something to do with it.

[rablissful]

Jun 17, 2015 13:29:18 GMT -5 lgraceh said:

Jun 17, 2015 12:18:23 GMT -5 samanthasays said:

As people said, neutering should not affect your dogs personality, other than possibly mellowing them out a little. The benefits are many:
1. no unwanted litters
2. lower risk of cancer
3. less likely to hump (if fixed before behavior develops) or mark. And really who wants to see that lipstick tube pop out? That is fucking gross. Sorry dogs.
4. less likely to roam looking for a bitch if he gets loose
5. less likely to actively run away because he smells a bitch in heat

Haha! That is what we call it too. But we do see it on altered boys too. My mom's standard poodle shows it every time he goes for a ride in the car. But he wasn't fixed until my mom rescued him around age 6 or 7? I wonder if that has something to do with it.

My dog shows his as well one I a great while. He was altered when he got taken into the rescue group, and we got him at about 6 months old.

No idea if he had a personality change though since he was already neutered when we adopted him.

[samanthasays]

Jun 17, 2015 13:35:25 GMT -5 rablissful said:

Jun 17, 2015 13:29:18 GMT -5 lgraceh said:

Haha! That is what we call it too. But we do see it on altered boys too. My mom's standard poodle shows it every time he goes for a ride in the car. But he wasn't fixed until my mom rescued him around age 6 or 7? I wonder if that has something to do with it.

My dog shows his as well one I a great while. He was altered when he got taken into the rescue group, and we got him at about 6 months old.

No idea if he had a personality change though since he was already neutered when we adopted him.

My grandmas poodle does it too and he is fixed. It is so funny/sad, when it happens he cant walk. He just lays there looking guilty! Ha ha ha. My rescue boy got fixed around 7yo, he actually fathered at least one litter, I have had him for almost a year and have never seen him 'get excited'. So who knows! I think most dogs have less of a sex drive when fixed, but there is always that special snowflake  

[cheshie6]

Jun 17, 2015 13:29:18 GMT -5 lgraceh said:

Jun 17, 2015 12:18:23 GMT -5 samanthasays said:

As people said, neutering should not affect your dogs personality, other than possibly mellowing them out a little. The benefits are many:
1. no unwanted litters
2. lower risk of cancer
3. less likely to hump (if fixed before behavior develops) or mark. And really who wants to see that lipstick tube pop out? That is fucking gross. Sorry dogs.
4. less likely to roam looking for a bitch if he gets loose
5. less likely to actively run away because he smells a bitch in heat

Haha! That is what we call it too. But we do see it on altered boys too. My mom's standard poodle shows it every time he goes for a ride in the car. But he wasn't fixed until my mom rescued him around age 6 or 7? I wonder if that has something to do with it.

Seconding this!  Our boy has been neutered since we got him at barely 4 months old and playing certain games, meeting little kids ("his size people"), etc. and his lipstick tube will pop out!

[NariaDreaming]

Our current male puppy is the first male dog we've adopted already neutered. We've always done our boys at 18-24 months due to the growth issues. So props to you for knowing that with larger dogs it's best to wait if you can be responsible about it.

That being said, no, we didn't have any major personality changes. They did tend to pack on weight easier though, as others have said.

I'm not opposed to responsible owners keeping their males intact even if they don't intend to breed, but you do lose out on a lot of play and socialization opportunities such as doggy daycare and dog parks.

[thechickencoop]

Neuter neuter neuter! Please! Here's some light reading - www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/how-will-neutering-change-my-dog

It will not change his personality. Aside from preventing testicular cancer (because...well...they'll remove the testes) the biggest benefit is to keep him from roaming to mate. I was a vet tech in my previous life - we had a client whose male intact dog SWAM ACROSS A FUCKING LAKE to get to a female dog in heat. Seriously. Dogs are insane.

[helloerrbody]

My dogs have never seemed to have a personality change after being spayed or neutered.

[kayladawn91]

We had our male dog neutered at 9 months old. About a month before that, he had started trying to hump our (spayed) female ALL THE TIME. After we neutered him, he never tried humping her again, which we were all very happy about. He also started lifting his leg to pee after we neutered him which he had never done before surgery.

As far as personality goes, he is 15 months old now and as wild as ever. It calmed him down for a few days, but then he was back to his crazy self.

ETA: I also second what everyone else said: Please neuter him! It prevents the risk of testicular cancer and makes for a healthier dog!