Intact dog treated more aggressively by other dogs?
- Thread starter phillo
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I don't know about your history - BUT, I've recently have had an experience like this. I got a temporary foster, and he was intact. Dogs hated him! We had more run ins and attacks when he was here than ever before, or since then. BUT he also had very "rude" dog manners.
He had to be separated at the other fosters house. It almost escalated to a "pack fight" - dogs who "get along with everyone" growled & got into a barking match with him.
I wonder how he's doing since he's been neutered.
opcorn:
But I also wanted to add - I've met plenty of intact dogs who my dogs are totally fine with, and get along with other dogs. With those dogs, I doubt there'd be a difference whether they were neutered or not. JMHO. I would ask a third party(someone dog savvy) to watch your dog closely to see how he reacts to other dogs. Dogs who have zero self confidence seem to get picked on. Also, at the same time, dogs who are TOO self confident, or are overly (dare I say) dominant cause issues as well.
Good luck with your dog Members here can give great advice if you're willing to try
He had to be separated at the other fosters house. It almost escalated to a "pack fight" - dogs who "get along with everyone" growled & got into a barking match with him.
I wonder how he's doing since he's been neutered.
opcorn:But I also wanted to add - I've met plenty of intact dogs who my dogs are totally fine with, and get along with other dogs. With those dogs, I doubt there'd be a difference whether they were neutered or not. JMHO. I would ask a third party(someone dog savvy) to watch your dog closely to see how he reacts to other dogs. Dogs who have zero self confidence seem to get picked on. Also, at the same time, dogs who are TOO self confident, or are overly (dare I say) dominant cause issues as well.
Good luck with your dog
Members here can give great advice if you're willing to try 
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Not sure if it's his being intact that is specifically causing that problem.
We have an intact male (Riley, a 1 1/2 yr. old West Highland White Terrier); we also have a neutered male (Buddy, a Golden Retriever about 4 yrs. old ... guesstimate as he's a shelter rescue.) They get along fine, no issues. Also, Riley has no problems from other dogs despite his being intact.
We have an intact male (Riley, a 1 1/2 yr. old West Highland White Terrier); we also have a neutered male (Buddy, a Golden Retriever about 4 yrs. old ... guesstimate as he's a shelter rescue.) They get along fine, no issues. Also, Riley has no problems from other dogs despite his being intact.
yes very big dogs often show an unusual/obsessive interest in him. on one particular day an enormous, 140 husky looking dog was all over him, then a mastiff, finally this great pyrenees wouldn't stop following him - wasn't acting aggressively but was soaking him in saliva so i left. yesterday, we were at this park and a slightly smaller, maybe 45 lb mix, would not leave him alone - humping him, snarling. this dog was clearly aggressive and had an incident with another dog leaving the park.
about a month ago my roommate had him at a local/informal park that neighborhood people take their dogs to. a little pit mix puppy, also intact, that jack knows and has had no problems with viciously attacked him and nothing jack did provoked the attack. my roommate thought he was dead.
the thing is, these incidents are rare and jack plays well with 98 of all dogs. i've had him for 8 months and he's always lived with another dog. i'm always looking for opportunities to socialize him - i take him into any store that allows dogs, i take him to a bar, i've started training in a class setting. he's actually an extremely polite, good natured, calm dog who plays really well with other dogs.
about a month ago my roommate had him at a local/informal park that neighborhood people take their dogs to. a little pit mix puppy, also intact, that jack knows and has had no problems with viciously attacked him and nothing jack did provoked the attack. my roommate thought he was dead.
the thing is, these incidents are rare and jack plays well with 98 of all dogs. i've had him for 8 months and he's always lived with another dog. i'm always looking for opportunities to socialize him - i take him into any store that allows dogs, i take him to a bar, i've started training in a class setting. he's actually an extremely polite, good natured, calm dog who plays really well with other dogs.
i'm lucky because one of my roommates is very dog savvy, has always had dogs. she actually got a beagle/dacshund mix puppy about a month after i moved in and these two dogs are best friends - they wrestle all day, play in the yard, etc. even though djole is about 1/4 the size of jack there have never been any problems. also, my roommate is madly in love with jack and we both agree he's basically the perfect dog - loves to play, is very smart, super affectionate, unusually calm for a 1 yr old, not loud, etc, etc.
i don't think jack's intactness has anything to do with these incidents. i think, because i spend so much time with jack and we interact with SO many dogs, many of them probably not getting all of the exercise/attention they need, i'm bound to encounter some aggressive dogs and difficult situations. jack needs to be trained to be less reactive because we'll always meet dogs like this. i need to know when to exit a bad scene. thanks for all the input.
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In my opinion, yes.
Maybe it's just where I live, but it seems to be common knowledge that intact (particularly male) dogs get a lot more negative attention than their neutered counterparts. It often has nothing to do with their own behaviour - my theory is that unneutered male dogs feel intimidated by the other dog's high levels of testosterone.
My normally very happy go-lucky retriever mix gets incredibly snarky around intact dogs, to the point where he has the potential to start a fight. Interestingly enough, the only two intact male dogs he gets along with are the two he has known since they were puppies (Spy and a neighbour dog). I believe it is because he is comfortable around them and doesn't feel threatened by their testosterone levels.
My trainer, who I respect very highly, is choosing to neuter her new male BC relatively early (18 months) because he will be around other dogs so much and she doesn't want to have to worry about him being picked on.
In my opinion, and having lived with an intact dog, your best bet is to avoid strange dogs and stick with dogs you KNOW tolerate and play well with your own. This will help prevent your dog from getting bullied and developing a fear of other dogs, which is hard to fix.
Maybe it's just where I live, but it seems to be common knowledge that intact (particularly male) dogs get a lot more negative attention than their neutered counterparts. It often has nothing to do with their own behaviour - my theory is that unneutered male dogs feel intimidated by the other dog's high levels of testosterone.
My normally very happy go-lucky retriever mix gets incredibly snarky around intact dogs, to the point where he has the potential to start a fight. Interestingly enough, the only two intact male dogs he gets along with are the two he has known since they were puppies (Spy and a neighbour dog). I believe it is because he is comfortable around them and doesn't feel threatened by their testosterone levels.
My trainer, who I respect very highly, is choosing to neuter her new male BC relatively early (18 months) because he will be around other dogs so much and she doesn't want to have to worry about him being picked on.
In my opinion, and having lived with an intact dog, your best bet is to avoid strange dogs and stick with dogs you KNOW tolerate and play well with your own. This will help prevent your dog from getting bullied and developing a fear of other dogs, which is hard to fix.
Same here. I see a very high number of dogs come and go through my connection to a rescue and boarding operation, and agility, and it is fairly regular to see intact males as targets. My friend had a wonderful Bernese (late neuter) who was a fantastic alpha male in their home - very much the calming presence in a group of very dominant females, and used to dogs coming and going through a home boarding operation. They could not board intact males, as this dog would tolerate them only briefly. He was far from the only dog I've met with the same issues.
It doesn't mean it is always the wrong choice to keep a dog intact, but I think if you see the issue coming up over and over, you need to take steps to make sure your dog isn't constantly being put in environments where a lot of dogs see him with a big red target on his back.
It doesn't mean it is always the wrong choice to keep a dog intact, but I think if you see the issue coming up over and over, you need to take steps to make sure your dog isn't constantly being put in environments where a lot of dogs see him with a big red target on his back.
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Totally unhelpful, but... as I've never really had issues with my intact girls being picked on (well, except for Eerie, and she's just a jackass with horrible social skills around dogs she doesn't know well...), you guys have really turned me off from having intact males
You just take the same precautions as you would with an intact female, basically. IMO, there is no reason why a dog should be picked on in the first place unless he's going around a place with loose dogs (like a dog park, day care, etc) - even then if the dog is loose they need to be under voice control, IMO, for example in training classes, agility trials, shows, hunting, herding trials, etc where dogs are off leash. If you choose to put your intact male in a doggie day care situation, then I see how that would be asking for trouble, same as a dog park. (neither of which I recommend you doing with an intact male) But it's a totally avoidable situation. It's just part of having an intact animal, it's not a bad thing.
It's the owners responsiblity to keep their dog away from mine, if mine is with me and not bothering the another dog. My dog doesn't need to meet your dog. You need to keep your dog under control and/or with you. I have no desire to meet your dog. (general "you" there, that's not directed at anyone. lol)