Will neutering help with aggression??

[dakotaandhearts]

Hi I have a one year old male shepherd, as a pup he was sweet and friendly so I never had him neutered. Recently as he has matured and grown he has become severely aggressive with people and other dogs. He acts as if he wants to sniff but then tries to bite. I don’t know what to do and its breaking my heart I can’t take him anywhere because of it. He will not even let the vet touch him. He needs tranquilizers for vet visits. I'm scared the neutering will be extremely dramatic for him so if it will not help with the aggression I don’t want to do it. Can someone please give me some advice??

[GSDBESTK9]

The neutering has NOTHING to do with it and won't change anything now. I have an almost 2 year old intact male who loves people and other dogs.

It could be lack of socialization as a pup, temperament/nerves (genetics), or other things.

My best advise to you is to take him to a professional trainer, and I don't mean a Petsmart trainer!

[CeCe]

He should be neutered.

[GSDBESTK9]

Originally Posted by CeCe

He should be neutered.

Although I agree, he should be neutered at some point.

[Emoore]

The neuter will not be extremely drastic one way or the other. Surgery won't fix a training/genetics issue.

[dakotaandhearts]

I have had him since 6 weeks old, been going to the dog park since 3 months old. He has only recently started this aggressive behavior. I am afraid he will hurt someone but I do not want to isolate him either.

[CeCe]

You definitely need a trainer for him. I believe that dogs with temperament problems should be altered. I waited until my normal bitch was 2 before I spayed her but my low threshold bitch was spayed when she was 8 months old.

[msvette2u]

Originally Posted by Emoore

The neuter will not be extremely drastic one way or the other. Surgery won't fix a training/genetics issue.

"dramatic" I think she meant "traumatic".
I agree that neuter won't fix this issue, it appears to be a training and/or behavioral (even genetics) problem.
But I do agree that it's a good plan to get the testosterone out of the way and see what you have after that, to work with.
It certainly cannot hurt him at this age, to neuter, and in fact may help. If you are worried about him being sore after, you can get pain meds to help.

But above all, put this dog on some routine and work with him.
I like "MIND GAMES" but do not start them without proper precautions, and also if you think you yourself may be injured by practicing them.

Information at the link! Mind Games (version 1.0) by M. Shirley Chong

[Freestep]

The dog should definitely be neutered. It may help with the aggression or it may not; it depends on what is causing the aggression. My friend had an aggressive GSD, he had been extensively socialized and was friendly and confident as a pup, so it wasn't a fear issue. He was just a hot-headed, macho, dominant brat whose owner had been too lenient with early signs of aggression (and in fact encouraged it).

He was MUCH more managable after being neutered. It didn't help his dog-aggression much, but he was a lot more controllable and predictable, and didn't fly off the handle like he used to. I think neutering can take the edge off an aggressive dog and make him more amenable to training, but it isn't a magic bullet. You still need to see a good trainer or behaviorist to address the aggression issues.

If the aggression comes from fear or insecurity, neutering probably won't help, but such a dog should still be neutered.

The surgery should not be terribly traumatic for a young, healthy dog. It is a fairly simple procedure, much less invasive than a spay, and most dogs bounce right back after a couple of days. Remember that it takes around 6 weeks for the hormones to totally leave his system, so any behavioral effects won't be noticed right away.

[vom Eisenherz]

Neutering will not change his temperament and if you can't control him as an intact dog, please don't assume you will be able to if he's neutered. Try training before removing his entire reproductive system and all the hormones that nature gave him.

The chances that neutering is going to make enough of a difference that you're not worried are so slim I don't think it's worth it. 1 year is too young to neuter anyhow, so you have another year or so to work on training before you decide.