Most controlled scientific studies on this question (and there have been many!) show that whether a dog is spayed or neutered has no impact at all on the likelihood that they will be aggressive in any given circumstance.
The results demonstrated no reduction in aggressive behavior after surgical castration and a significant increase in dog-directed aggressive behavior after chemical castration. By contrast, other studies seem to suggest that gonadectomy prevents or improves the aggressive behavior of dogs.
Fighting. Unspayed females sometimes compete for the attention of a male dog by fighting. Spaying your dog reduces any aggressive behavior patterns so your dog will likely be less aggressive toward people and other dogs after spay surgery.
The safest and most effective way to treat an aggression problem is to implement behavior modification under the guidance of a qualified professional. Modifying a dog's behavior involves rewarding her for good behavior—so you'll likely be more successful if your dog enjoys praise, treats and toys.
While he noted that the number of intact and gonadectomized aggressive dog cases made it appear that intact males were more aggressive than neutered males and that spayed females were more aggressive than intact females, there was no significant difference between the ratio of intact and gonadectomized dogs and the ...
According to several studies, the main behaviors that are affected consistently in male dogs following neutering (I guess I am being politically correct now) include: decreased sexual behavior (primarily, mounting behavior), urine marking (depositing urine on objects), and roaming.
Studies show, for example, that due to higher testosterone levels, intact male dogs between eighteen months and two years of age have a greater incidence of aggression than females or neutered males.
Fearfulness, Pain, Age, and Sex May All Play a Role in Dog Aggression. Researchers in Helsinki studied more than 9,000 dogs to uncover the most common factors shared by those displaying aggressive behaviors, such as growling, barking, snapping, and biting.
Introducing Your Pet to Others
An excellent way to start socializing your dog is to take them on daily walks. Eventually, your dog may begin to recognize the people and other dogs that live in your neighborhood. They may eventually become less aggressive the more that they familiarize themselves with others.
Dog aggression can be related to fear, prey drive, socialization issues, and guarding territory, among other things. Most aggressive behavior in dogs stems from fear and anxiety, rather than the desire to hurt others. A certified animal behaviorist can help you safely deal with your dog's aggressive behavior.
It is recommended that you spay your female dog between 6 to 9 months of age, preferably before a heat cycle to reduce the future risk of mammary cancer.
Spaying Is Not a "Fix" for Growling or Aggression
Having your dog spayed is NOT a solution to this. Spayed dogs may wander less but are often more fearful and have increased aggression problems. (1) If a dog is already fearful or possessive, they may become worse after the surgery.
You might notice your neutered dog is more anxious, clingy to its humans, or even angrier than usual. You'll be happy to know that behavioral changes in your male dog should disappear after a couple of days, but this recovery could take up to a week if your dog is older.
Is training an aggressive dog possible? Yes. Aggression in dogs, whether it be toward a dog's owner or other dogs, is a serious behavior that should be adjusted with the help of a professional dog trainer.
Neutering does not instantly eliminate hormonal behavioral patterns in dogs. In these situations, patience is required. It usually takes around six weeks for a male dog's hormones to leave his system. He may still try to breed with female dogs during that time, and he might even be able to do so.
While it is never too late to socialize your dog, the sooner you start, the better. Socializing your dog is very important at any stage in their life. It's especially crucial as they get older.
The life of a dog suffering from fear aggression can be very hard, but many of them do just fine if they are with one owner or a family that they can trust. If you want to introduce them to a new person, it can be done if that person is willing to give them treats and allow the dog to approach at their own pace.
Some form of behavior modification (#1-4) is very important to success. Spaying and neutering of intact dogs may also help. Exercise can have a calming effect, so taking the dogs for walks or runs may be recommended. Punishment should be avoided as it may either escalate the aggression or redirect it toward the owner.
Use sedatives or anxiety medications.
We have several patients who are given a trazodone dose before coming to the vet. They don't stop being aggressive, but now we can handle them better and they remember less.
"Fear or anxiety related aggression is perhaps the most common form of aggression in dogs." Early manifestations of fear related aggression are typically defensive, displayed to increase the distance between the perceived threat, or communicate 'stay away', yet aggression may become more offensive through learning.
In another study with 20 different breeds, investigators found that male dogs generally showed more aggression toward both other dogs and human strangers [70].
Older dogs may become more aggressive due to a variety of factors, including pain, fear, and frustration. Pain can cause a previously gentle dog to lash out when touched or handled.
But although it may seem like your dog is biting you aggressively or showing other aggressive behaviors out of the blue, most dogs only exhibit aggressive behavior for one of five basic reasons: Your dog is ill, frightened, possessive, showing dominance, or frustrated.
Myth 1: neutering makes dogs calmer
It is widely believed that neutering will help calm boisterous, over-excitable adolescent dogs down. However this is often not the case.