Intact male vs Neutered male

[modocgsp]

Has anyone noted a significant difference in neutered males vs males that are still intact, such as prey drive and overall energy?

[orhunter]

There is no practical reason to snip a male dog. Can't change behavioral issues with the knife.

[Dakotazeb]

There is no practical reason to snip a male dog. Can't change behavioral issues with the knife.

I would agree. But to answer your question. I don't think prey drive and overall energy are effected one way or the other. A dog either has prey drive or it doesn't. And energy is the result of diet and conditioning.

[mtlhdr]

From my sample size of 1, the only thing I noticed was that I had to cut his food a bit after a few months because he seemed to be getting a little heavier. I neutered at about 3, so I don't know if that was related to the neutering or maturing. Also, honestly I don't think he seems as muscular as before. But I can't really tie that to an observable change in performance in the field. Other than that, nothing else, behaviorally or otherwise, stands out.

[JONOV]

There is no practical reason to snip a male dog. Can't change behavioral issues with the knife.

Mostly, I agree...It's oversold in its benefits
But, a dog that can't leave females alone whatsoever (there is a poster here that saw great improvement in that regard) can be improved...

[orhunter]

Good point JONOV.... There are good reasons to go ahead with it but it should never be done automatically or just because you can.

[ryanr]

There is no practical reason to snip a male dog. Can't change behavioral issues with the knife.

There are several practical reasons to do so. And to answer the OP, for more than 3years I had an intact male DD, very high prey drive and energy. Finally got him snipped and his prey drive & energy is still high almost 2 years later. I have NOT noticed any significant changes in those areas. His muscle tone has not diminished either (I also run my dogs 365). However he is much less interested in humping every female that walks by and he does seem just a tad more cooperative to me.

For me, in general I'll neuter any male dog at 2-3yrs old that I don't plan to breed. That's just my choice.

[jfwhit]

My male was three. No difference in him other than weight gain. I had to cut back on his portion a little.

[modocgsp]

Thanks for the input. My only experience around male dogs was on the ranch involving cow dogs. The only difference I could see was if there was a bitch in heat, there was generally a male(intact) dog from the neighboring ranches that would come visit. Never did see any neutered males do that.

With that being said, I just had a litter of pups. Unfortunately there was twice as much interest in females than there were females born. I had one person who wanted a female ask about neutering males and their behavior.

[Expert]

It doesn't matter either way. My male has never humped a female dog, seems to have no interest in other female dogs, however he has been humped by the male dog next door that may be a bit light in the loafers (not that there is anything wrong with that) and several female dogs. Me thinks my dog only has eyes for me!