OK Samson is now 2 and a typical bouncy loveable Springer. A while ago I had issues with him where he showed aggressive signs towards other male dogs (not all dogs) just ones he decided he didnt like.

That has thankfully passed. Samson sometimes has a grumble at larger dogs but nothing major and when I shout him away he comes to me.

We have a new litter of Springer pups now 5 months old coming onto the field we use and they are all living local to us. Samson automatically bounds over to them and starts to play which is great to see, but then he humps the male ones.

My fear is when these pups start to age a little they will have the alpha dog issue and they and Sam will begin to fight.

Also Samson like to hump young boys, I have a nephew who is 10 that he humps and he does like to "play" on the field with the kids, I am very wary and for obvious reasons try to keep Sam away from groups of lads as he gets too excited.

I have Samson booked in for Friday coming to be castrated.

I have doubts, am I doing the best thing for Sam and his issues and will it have any health benefits in doing this?

I will cancel the vets if I am not doing the right thing, I hope it may help his alpha dog and humping issues as well as health benefits in the future years.

HELPPPPPP appreaciated xx

Just had mine done today. He is three. I always have all my dogs done.

It stops them from being frustrated, and it can prevent certain cancers when they are older. Also they are less likely to take off it they scent a bitch in heat.

I cannot find any negatives in doing it.

And my boys are just as macho as ever. It's the un neutered foster dogs who hump anything that moves.

He will be fine

Castration can prevent prostate problems in later life. One of my cavs is entire and can't be neutered now because of his heart condition. He has monthly injections now to reduce the swelling of his prostate .

He is an adult now so he will not be hurt by any early castration issues. It will help with prostate problems in the future.

Hi, Out of choice I would castraight. Racer hasn't been because his breeder shows him. He is ok to live with only humping one visiting dog, or any lady in season. I've seen other uncastraighted males and if Racer behaved like them, I'd have problems. Murphy was done bang on six months, it took him ages to learn to pee like a man!

Sue

Dexter was done last week at 10 month old he sailed through it no problem and was his usual bouncy self the following day. Ihad him done because i have another male dog who is done and they had a fight which scared me to death . It was a male dominence thing as i also have a lovely 8 year unspayed lab so they had issues to resolve. Also dexter had started scent marking over ellie and it was not fair on her, he was fond of scenting my kitchen bin too. Do not worry all will be fine it gives a few less things to bother about and hopefully we might get calmer dogs out of it , well you can live in hope

OK Samson has had a castration, had a few complications of which he got over. He had a haemorage which made his scrotum swell up to twice the size it was before, pootr little thing couldnt go for a walk for 10 days plus and was in a bad way.

But thankfully he got over it and on Friday I was ablt to take him to the field to see his mates.

Well I thought he would be happy, but no he wanted to have a bark and bite at EVERY dog on the field. Even his mates

Today he had a go at a puppy, he is usually brill with puppies. Is this norma, will he settle back to his old self?

Ahhhh I want my Samson back LOL the one that had selectve doggie syndrome, not oh there is another dog lets fight Samson

It can take a while for the hormones to adjust after the ickle boy op

bless him, maybe just feeling a bit grouchy after having such a rotten time - hope he returns to his happy little self soon

I've never had a reason to neuter a male dog yet. Humping people is a no go, that can and should be forbidden. So can be humping other dogs. Of course, if a dog is truly hypersexual, he should be neutered and will benefit from it, but fortunately the male dogs we've had in the family have all been normal and thus controllable in this regard.

The risk of personality change following castration is greater for males than for females, and they do not have the health benefits females have (there are some benefits of course, as the prostate problems mentioned, but castrated dogs do have a higher risk of several quite serious conditions as well). Castration will only solve behavioural issues directly due to excess -*test*-('")osterone, but not all agression issues are due to this.

So with a male dog I'd always try chemical castration first, to get an idea of how things could change after neutering. It will not give you a 1:1 simulation, but you might see if he gets on better with other males.

Sam is still being a nasty dog weeks after his castration. He has turned on his friends and all black dogs (my dog is racist ) and I am at the end of my tether.

I am contemplating rehoming him as I don't enjoy taking him out and I am terrified of walking him.

I know he needs a behavourist but I simply can't afford it

Help, any constructive ideas.

New dogs he meets he sniffs and then he has a snarl and lunges at them, i have him on a 60ft lead all the time so he is always under control and I can pull him away, I would just like to see him bounding around playing with other dogs like he used to .

Whereabouts are you ? pm me if you'd prefer. I'm sure we can find someone to help you with Sam. For now, I would advise you don't walk him, you both need to calm down and chill out - both your stress levels must be high.

Btw there are plenty of benefits to castration the main one being that a dog cannot father puppies that's a biggie and chemical castration is not the same as surgical castration. One removes -*test*-('")osterone, the other is an injection of female hormones - not the same thing at all

Both my boys were "done" at 1 years of age. They are 4 1/2 now. Neither of them pee like a dog (cocking leg) one of them occasionally humps other dogs, which I believe is a dominance issue. He tried humping my 5 year old nephew once but that was a one off and it never happened again.

I'd talk to your vet. I was expecting a massive change in their behavior but I didn't notice any change. Of course if I hadn't of done it so early then I may have had issues.

Get in touch with Pen, she's a wealth of advice. Also, where abouts are you. I'm sure there's someone nearby who could help you with some socialisation.

Dogs can often be wary of black dogs so I hear. Apparently it's something to do with not being able to distinguish their features because their faces are all the one colour. Don't know if there's any truth to it, but I've heard it from lots of different sources.

I'm sure with a bit of help you can both get through this.

Hugs. Sounds really difficult to deal with.

I would also let him chill out for a few days. Are you sure that Samson is no longer in pain and was in no pain when he first started going out after his castration.

It is really easy for dogs to associate other dogs with their pain and to start to react defensively. This learning does not always wear off when the pain goes away.

As Sam has always been fine with other dogs and his problems are recent, if you get the right help, there is a good chance (not a guarantee but a good chance) that he could get over his problems.

It would be a shame to rehome him just because he is finding life difficult.

Dogs do not behave aggressively to be horrible. They do it to help them deal with difficult situations. They are often unhappy and confused and IMO they need to be treated with understanding and compassion. And guided to make more socially acceptable choices.

I totally understand what you are going through. One of my dogs became aggressive toward other dogs following a chemical castration. He is bullmastiff and his problems became apparant when he attacked my friend's much smaller dog. He picked that dog up in his mouth and shook him causing extensive injuries.

From then on my dog was aggressive toward all other dogs. Young dogs and puppies, entire males and spaniels were worse than others but he would also be aggressive toward even the most passive, quiet bitches.

Working with him to help him get over his problem was the best thing I have ever done. It changed my life compleletely for the better.

My dog is fine now - he was at the spring fling and was totally fine - he was extra happy to see Freya's Willow for some reason and Selina's Rufus who he hadn't seen for 2 years.

We stayed at Penel's during the summer and Cal walked happily with all of her dogs and all of the dogs who came to visit during the weekend. We had to ban him from the house however. He wasn't being horrible rather the opposite.

He was over the moon to meet Morris - an entire male adolescent - and spent ages after a walk encouraging Morris and my puppy, Cuillin to charge around the house like idiots. The puppies thought it was hilarious but Penel's other dogs were trying to rest and were less than impressed by a giant dog like Cal careering around their house. So Cal had to go and rest in the car.

There is hope for aggressive dogs. Cal is by no means unusual - I know loads of people who's dogs have gotten over aggression problems.

If you can't afford a behaviourist, there are a lot of books available and vidoes on the internet. It is easier to have a professional but no essential - I did not consult a behaviourist when Cal developed problems. His problems were caused by following advice from a behaviourist who then told me that she couldn't help get him over the problems. It rather led me to feel that all behaviourists are idiots so I didn't even consider speaking to one.

I have discovered differently now and have some very very good friends who are behaviourists and who's opinions I do trust.

Tracey xx