Thoughts please ?

[Anne123]

We just encountered a bitch in season. We walked in an off lead area. There she was, didn’t listen at all, recall was worthless. She was off lead and so was Finn. Finn is castrated, but she didn’t know that. Even though he was castrated he was still eager to mount her and urinated while sniffling her female parts...I told her that she couldn’t let her off lead while her dog is in season...!!! She said she knew, but that her dog still doesn’t want another dog mount her. She will keep an eye on her dog and then she goes on lead....I told her that it could be too late by then...

 

[MellowYellow]

If this really becomes a problem Kate (which I don't think it will), remember that two years old is the worst time... in my experience, male dogs calm down after a few years as they become more experienced. Merlin is four years old now, and never runs away, but then of course all dogs are different. If you get to the stage where you think castrating would really help his behaviour, then I would try the contraceptive chip first, which lasts for around six months. That would give you an idea of how he might react after castration.

 

[kateincornwall]

I took him back to the same place today , I wasnt going to but decided to test him . He did spend a while sniffing where the bitch had been and then instantly forgot it and reverted to his usual happy go lucky ball games and fun . I`m not rushing into anything because his recall is generally excellent , I guess the temptation was just too much for him yesterday but thats not his fault , its the fault of the owner of the bitch for being so stupid . Today he has been a joy, met two other dogs politely with not even a sniff round the rear end , so he gets to keep the crown jewels for now xx

 

[snowbunny]

Our neighbour's dog is entire and he lets her roam even when in season. It was an issue with Shadow absconding at the end of walks for a short while, but I doubled-down on training, made sure to keep an eagle eye on him at the point he was disappearing (right as we were getting home and our guard was down!) and now he's absolutely fine. Of course, if we see her around he goes on lead because I don't know when she's in season or not, but it's really a non-event now. Of course, we also have Ginny here who is entire as far as she's concerned, and we manage to get through those "seasons" a couple of times a year living under the same roof, even though it's not the most fun thing in the world. However, Shadow doesn't have a high sex drive so it is very dependent on your own dog and how much impact it is having on his quality of life.

 

[JES72]

Every now and then we come across a female in season on our walks. So often it's only when Homer is really up close and sniffing intently and won't leave her alone that they say "oh, she's in season" It's amazing how ignorant so many people are. I've always responded politely but I think my patience is running thin and I can feel a row brewing next time this happens.