Thoughts please ?

kateincornwall

kateincornwall

Location
Cornwall , UK
Reuben has been such a good lad recently but I`m not hoodwinked into thinking that this will last , and it didnt :facepalm: Today ( as with the time before ) it involved a bitch on heat, being walked off lead in the woods . All recall flew out of the window , which I know is to be expected when we have an entire two year old male but it worries me greatly . I was angry with this couple , I didnt lose my temper because I dont have the energy but the bitch was approaching the three week mark so still very tempting to a male , and they had it off lead ?? He ran like the wind when he got the scent , the man put his dogs lead on to Reubs and headed back to where I was, in panic because at this point I had no idea why he had taken off . The rest of our walk had to be with my dog on lead because of his determination which is not satisfactory to me at all . This happened a few weeks ago with the lady who didnt realise that bitches kept on having seasons , he scented her and followed .
I`m now in a right old tizzy , do I get him castrated ? Something I had no plans to do but its the worry that he would run over a road , I just know he would if temptation was over the far side , would he take off in the woods if he scented a bitch ? Paul feels strongly that I shouldnt take this step just because a couple of ill informed ( or totally stupid ) people chose to walk a bitch on heat off lead , oh I dont know what to do x
 
Boogie

Boogie

Moderator
Location
Manchester UK
Goodness, what an idiot man!

Bitches on heat should be at home. I’ve had three and it was not difficult.

I‘m with Paul. Have Reuben castrated if it’s the right thing to do for him, not because of other people’s idiotic behaviour.

I have no problems at all with having dogs castrated and always would, once the dog had matured. But I wouldn’t have it done due to someone else’s stupidity.

Hugs xx

:hug:
 
Selina27

Selina27

Location
Herefordshire, UK
I'm in agreement with the others and Paul, don't have Reuben castrated because of the behaviour of idiots. I can't believe that people do that, it's so unfair on all the dogs involved and also innocent owners. You might find that it doesn't stop him being interested anyway, I don't know.

It must be difficult though, when you have no way of knowing when and where these twurps are going to be.
 
F

FayRose

Location
Close to Devon/Somerset border
Sad thing is, a lot of folks don't realise how things 'work' with seasons etc.

Believe it or not, I have come across someone who thought dog owners could 'tell' their dogs that it is not good manners to rush up to a bitch and try to mount her :facepalm:

I agree, why should you have to have your dog castrated because of others ignorance BUT, it will always happen. I also fear, after all the lockdown new dog owners there will be a lot more trouble with this sort of situation and a heck of a lot more.

Good luck @kateincornwall , I don't envy you this dilemma x
 
Atemas

Atemas

UK Tour Guide
Location
North Cambridgeshire
I have never had a male dog....but I do understand about the running away and causing you a fright and having to then keep him on lead for the rest of the walk. In a heightened state, I would imagine he would have pulled you. If that is so, then I do think you need to weigh up the pros and cons of the implications this can have on you, particularly physically.

I have a very strong dog - she might be smallish compared to many Labradors but golly she’s strong. Not a problem normally but she can be reactive at times and I do worry about my safety now I am older.

Food for thought? Do what is right for you
 
Jen

Jen

Stanley’s without his balls. He still goes after a bitch in heat if there’s one around for a good sniff. It’s an all of a sudden take off as well.

So I wouldn’t hugely expect it to change his behaviour if you did get him castrated. Would just mean you could not worry about the consequence of a meeting x
 
kateincornwall

kateincornwall

Location
Cornwall , UK
@Atemas , Reuben is a big dog and very strong with it . Usually he walks very nicely onlead but as today, he was so excited and hyped up over the bitch so it was far from a relaxed walk .
Its funny how different these dogs of ours can be , Sam never gave any bitch a seconds glance post castration neither did Ben my old GSD , and yet others like Stanley still have the urge , just that they cant impregnate . Its a big dilemma so I`ll think long and hard ( pardon the pun ! ) xx
 
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HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
My understanding is that behaviour can vary between dogs; some will recall (whether they have less of a drive, who knows) in the face of a bitch on heat, and many won’t. Not sure what the determinants are (and what’s malleable), but as @Jen has just posted ;), castration isn’t guaranteed to fix drive in any way.

I can entirely understand your frustration; we’re currently avoiding one of our regular walks as we met a young bitch who obviously smelt fruity (her owner said she was due her season ‘any time soon’) and whilst Kipper was calm, he was definitely interested.

But I’m sure other’s advice is sound; castration may not fix Reuben’s drive for bitches on heat; and it may well have other effects. If you’ve decided not to castrate him for other reasons, I’d think long and hard about doing it for this one reason (without any guarantee it would work).
 
Boogie

Boogie

Moderator
Location
Manchester UK
kateincornwall said:
@Atemas , Reuben is a big dog and very strong with it . Usually he walks very nicely onlead but as today, he was so excited and hyped up over the bitch so it was far from a relaxed walk .
Its funny how different these dogs of ours can be , Sam never gave any bitch a seconds glance post castration neither did Ben my old GSD , and yet others like Stanley still have the urge , just that they cant impregnate . Its a big dilemma so I`ll think long and hard ( pardon the pun ! ) xx
Click to expand...
Yes. Zaba is entire and can walk past a bitch on heat with hardly a sniff. Tatze shows more interest than he does.

Echo was impossibly highly sexed - a dog didn’t need to be on heat or a bitch for him to be driven wild. Cushions would set him off too - every cushion in the house had to be removed. I was very relieved once he was castrated! The difference was noticeable within a few days. Now he’s a normal dog.

Spencer had the most enormous balls I’ve ever seen away from a ram! But he had no urges in that direction that I ever noticed. Castration didn’t change him at all.

🤷‍♀️
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
I've never had an entire male. When I was looking for a puppy, I said I wouldn't have him castrated due to the health issues that can arise. Brogan was badly effected by these, though his case was extreme.

However, it was also a really good lesson for me to see @Beanwood 's poor Benson being driven out of his mind by having just out of season Bramble around. The pillows did not survive and Benson looked like he'd been shot up with a speed ball. That taught me that every case is different and the owners of intact males have a lot of things to consider.

For a random meeting in the forest - and if you have no other concerns - I'd probably side with Paul. But whatever you decide will be the best choice for you. ❤
 
Natalie

Natalie

It's a difficult one, but I'd stick to your guns for now. I have a feeling Bear might be incredibly interested in certain lady dogs. We plan to keep him entire ( and might even look into him being a stud dog, though that's some way away and I'd have to research a lot more about it and depending on all health checks , natch) and , if we did stud him we'd probably want him to be interested in females of course, so might be a difficult one to manage.
However, if we were considering castration for any particular hormonal issue I'd probably look at the temporary implant first to gauge the impact.
 
Beanwood

Beanwood

Administrator
A difficult one and deeply personal. One thing is certain, where there are dogs, so there are in season bitches ... off lead! :facepalm: Really it's so common, try not to get annoyed at the owners, just mutter under your breath ...... "Darn! But his mange is so hard to treat right now! It's just whether you can deal with the worry of it all. :hug:
 
Beanwood

Beanwood

Administrator
HAH said:
My understanding is that behaviour can vary between dogs; some will recall (whether they have less of a drive, who knows) in the face of a bitch on heat, and many won’t. Not sure what the determinants are (and what’s malleable), but as @Jen has just posted ;), castration isn’t guaranteed to fix drive in any way.

I can entirely understand your frustration; we’re currently avoiding one of our regular walks as we met a young bitch who obviously smelt fruity (her owner said she was due her season ‘any time soon’) and whilst Kipper was calm, he was definitely interested.
Click to expand...
Drive for a bitch in season, and ovulating is a very different kettle of fish to a pre-season bitch smelling interesting. While sexual drive does vary, it is natural for a castrated dog to be interested and aware that a bitch is in season, and this interest will increase in line with a bitches receptiveness to mating. An entire dog in the same context can have a vastly difference response, this becomes frustrating and very stressful with the effect lasting up to a couple of days, notwithstanding the memory of where the bitch was, which then can become a bit of a bother later.
 
kateincornwall

kateincornwall

Location
Cornwall , UK
I have to add that I was well pleased with Reuben for allowing a strange man to put a lead on him and walk him back to me , or maybe I should be concerned that he allowed this to happen , must stop over thinking :facepalm: I wont take him back to that particular trail for a day or so because the scent will have lingered . Lots to think about x
 
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