Aggressive Behavior/Neutering Male GSD

[Elaine]

The last thing an aggressive dog needs is more reason to be aggressive, his hormones. I would neuter him as it may very well help; it certainly can't hurt.

[Lilie]

Thinking of nuetering your dog to change his attitude is like taking a huge piece of chocolate cake and removing the frosting, thinking it'll remove all the calories. It might lessen the calories, but you still have the huge piece of chocolate cake.

[Jag]

Neutering is going to keep him from reproducing. Aggression behaviors come from two sources- needing more training and leadership or from genetics. Neither have to do with reproduction. I've had a couple aggressive males. I neutered both. Made no difference in either. I was assured by a vet that sees the Sheriff's dogs that neutering won't affect aggression, drive, etc. If this really toned things down, you'd see a difference in the working dogs that are neutered.

[Freestep]

Neutering should take the edge off, but you'll still need to train and manage his aggression--are you working with a trainer? If not, I'd find one.

If you are not breeding him, there is really no reason to keep your dog intact. I had a friend whose GSD was becoming quite aggressive, he'd bitten a child in the face and was starting to growl at the people in the family. She finally neutered him (I think he was 2 or 3 at the time) and it really did help the social aggression, he no longer challenged the family and never bit anyone after that. It didn't help the dog-aggression, however.

[Draugr]

I would get him neutered given the aggressive behavior. That's really something that ought to be addressed sooner rather than later, and getting him neutered is the first step for that. As he isn't part of a responsible breeding program, there is no reason to keep him intact. It's unlikely to completely solve the problem behaviors but with the boy-dog hormones gone, he should be a bit more biddable/tractable, and have one less reason to be aggressive. Training and exercise will go a long way toward improving whatever undesirable behaviors remain after the neuter.

I don't put much stock in the "health studies" anymore, not for neutering a dog as old as yours. Not only are we talking about supposed miniscule increases in risk (normally on the order of 1-2%, if even that high in some cases), these are often one-time studies that are not substantiated by other studies (not that other studies contradict them, nothing else has been done - no repetition yet). I think it is more likely that other factors are coming into play as well and affecting the results. Various demographic/sociological variables, etc.

[msvette2u]

Originally Posted by Freestep

Neutering should take the edge off, but you'll still need to train and manage his aggression--are you working with a trainer? If not, I'd find one.

If you are not breeding him, there is really no reason to keep your dog intact. I had a friend whose GSD was becoming quite aggressive, he'd bitten a child in the face and was starting to growl at the people in the family. She finally neutered him (I think he was 2 or 3 at the time) and it really did help the social aggression, he no longer challenged the family and never bit anyone after that. It didn't help the dog-aggression, however.

This has been our experience in rescue. We take in plenty of adult male dogs and over the course of 6-8 weeks post-neuter, their behavior has calmed on it's own with no training or assistance from us.
Training along with the neuter will maximize your results.

Originally Posted by Elaine

The last thing an aggressive dog needs is more reason to be aggressive, his hormones. I would neuter him as it may very well help; it certainly can't hurt.

Great post, and exactly how I feel!

[selzer]

A boy with hormones has reasons to act like an idiot, be distracted, be irritated or frustrated with other boys. This can make training more challenging. Some of us have no problems working with boys in classes, and starting them young and working through adolescence we really don't have major issues.

But if boy-hormones makes training a pain, then removing boy-hormones might make training easier. If training is easier, one might be less likely to skive off training as often. If training is fun, then one is more likely to train more, or train more effectively, or train more meaningfully. And everything follows. More training, more mental exercise, better bond, better control of the dog.

End of story.

Short answer: neuter your young male, and make training fun.