Will neutering a pit bull calm him down

[Steve S]

HI Folks,

I asked this question regarding my daughter's pit bull several weeks ago and received lots of good input. After reading the comments, she took him to the vet to neuter him. Three weeks ago, she, her husband and baby came over to tell me and my wife that they were going to the Honduras for a vacation and wanted to drop her dog Cassius off with us. We were surprised but Cassius is such a warm, happy dog that we said sure.

We live near a big beach park so I began taking Cassius for walks every day. He's great with people, cats, kids, etc...just loves to nuzzle up to them and give them licks from his big tongue. Until we come across un-neutered male dogs...then he goes berserk! I found myself keeping an eye ahead of me as we walked so that whenever I saw another dog approaching, I would steer in the another direction so that Cassius wouldn't see them. Even if we did, we were farther away so I would tell him to be good and don't growl. Most of the times that worked until we would come across a dog suddenly. With females and most neutered dogs, Cassius was great. With the un-neutered males, watch out!. Cassius weighs 90 pounds and is the thickest pit bull I have ever seen.

I have never had a dog that is so affectionate and protective of our house. However, I wish that I could have walked him around other places instead of the same beach. My daughter returned last week so took Cassius home.

Will he ever get over raging at un-neutered dogs? He's 2 years old.

[lunarpollen]

He may, he may not. If he's only recently been neutered, it might take some time for residual hormone levels to wear off. But it's also possible that this is already a permanently imprinted part of his personality.

[Fretless1!]

I've owned pits for 12 years. Dog aggression is a trait you need to watch closely.

He needs training. If you can afford it and can find a qualified trainer, hire them. How to find a "qualified trainer" is the trick.

This is a trait that can be overcome but will require work. Cesar Millan has some excellent books that will help but I really suggest a professional trainer having a lot of experience with that particular breed.

It's not too late but it won't go away by itself.

[bongomania]

I totally agree that both the dog and his owners need intensive professional training. If they fail to do that, then they are just one hormone whiff away from a lawsuit, a dead child, or the owner of "the other dog" pulling a gun on you.

[Kipaste]

Originally Posted by Fretless1!

I've owned pits for 12 years. Dog aggression is a trait you need to watch closely.

He needs training. If you can afford it and can find a qualified trainer, hire them. How to find a "qualified trainer" is the trick.

This is a trait that can be overcome but will require work. Cesar Millan has some excellent books that will help but I really suggest a professional trainer having a lot of experience with that particular breed.

It's not too late but it won't go away by itself.

+1 To this.

I'd have a couple of questions though. How does your dog react to other dogs before he knows their sex? Does he give the benefit of doubt? Or is it aggression first and then calming down when realizing they're females? I'm mostly interested as I own a pitbull too who doesn't get along with other males. In my case, it's really not a problem though as my dog treats other dogs as possible females instead of possible "enemies." That way, if we pass a male without going too close, there's no aggression. But there are dogs in the neighbourhood he already knows to be males. Luckily, he does stop growling and barking when told to. But when my dog is tired and happy enough, he won't even bother with other males.

Anyhow, I can also recommend Ceasar Millans books. I found not everything to be accurate in the case of my dog, but they're still brilliant books and will help you understand dogs a lot better. And the number one thing he always recommends is exercise and I couldn't agree more. My key to easy living comes with a lot of activity for the dog. One hour walk in the morning, two hours in the evening and at least an hour or two of mental and physical exercise. But I do live in an apartment building. I suggest you think up every way of getting work for the dogs muscles and brains! And hour of tracking smells, solving dog puzzles and such wears my dog down a lot more than same time spent walking. And after all that exercise my dog doesn't usually bother barking at other males. I recommend looking into some dog puzzles to leave with your dog when you're not available.

The thing with neutering is that it's not an instant key to success, especially if the dog is older. Even if the aggression started because of the hormones, it does become a part of the dogs behaviour as it learns to do it. That means that even if the dog is neutered and enough time has passed for all the hormones to leave the dogs system, the aggression can still go on as a learned way of reacting to male dogs and you'll still end up needing to train the dog out of it. That's why it makes sense to try training first. However, neutering is still not necessarily pointless. The dogs urges can cause stress for the dog and all that frustration has to be vented out. But neutering is definately not instant bliss.

I'd also say that the best thing you can do is to go see a professional. A pro can tell you million things about your dog that you probably aren't aware of - that was the case with me even though I spent two years reading through every dog book I could find before getting my mutt..

[buzzbass]

Different breeds, but it did calm my male basset down. he was having a serious issues with "obnoxious male behavior". it took awhile to kick in, but it did make a huge difference.

[kesslari]

Originally Posted by Fretless1!

I've owned pits for 12 years. Dog aggression is a trait you need to watch closely.

He needs training. If you can afford it and can find a qualified trainer, hire them. How to find a "qualified trainer" is the trick.

This is a trait that can be overcome but will require work. Cesar Millan has some excellent books that will help but I really suggest a professional trainer having a lot of experience with that particular breed.

It's not too late but it won't go away by itself.

This.

Your daughter already had him neutered. Good job on her part, but clearly not the whole answer.

Dog aggression in Pits is not hormonal - it's part of the genetic package (when it appears), like "obsessive fetch" is part of the Labrador Retriever package. Not all Labs are obsessive fetchers, but the ones who are, are with a vengence.

I found myself keeping an eye ahead of me as we walked so that whenever I saw another dog approaching, I would steer in the another direction so that Cassius wouldn't see them.

That's what you have to do, and that's responsible dog ownership. Getting additional training will help get Cassius better under control, but it's unlikely to make him a dog you can take to the park to frolic with other dogs.

I have never had a dog that is so affectionate and protective of our house. However, I wish that I could have walked him around other places instead of the same beach. My daughter returned last week so took Cassius home.

You've discovered why people DO love pits - they're great dogs in many ways. But they require a huge commitment in terms of responsible ownership. Most of them are not dogs you can take offleash in public places where there are other dogs. That's not part of the package.
Chances are Cassius won't be a dog you can take to parks that have a lot of other dogs. When we had a Pit who had dog aggressive tendencies, we planned our outings to places that were not frequented by other people with dogs, and still kept an eye out in all directions for other dogs.

One other thing - he's 2 years old. That's a teenager, dog-wise, and he'll mellow out some as he gets older (think of what a rowdy jerk *you* were as a teen). He'll mellow out a lot as he gets a lot older. Meanwhile, training, forethought and responsibility are key. Love him for who he is, and accept that he is not who he is not.

[::::BASSIST::::]

If he goes that crazy you might consider a muzzle before walks. A neighbour of mine recently sued (and won) for having their dog attacked by a pit bull. Of course, the dog wasnt on a leash and that was a big part of the problem.

[iammr2]

"Will neutering a pit bull calm him down"

Maybe, but it works really well on IRS agents!

[Phalex]

It wouldn't calm me down.........

[nortonrider]

I know that if I was a pitbull and you tried cutting my nuts off,
I would not be calm!

[CapnSev]

Originally Posted by bongomania

I totally agree that both the dog and his owners need intensive professional training. If they fail to do that, then they are just one hormone whiff away from a lawsuit, a dead child, or the owner of "the other dog" pulling a gun on you.

Totally.

Neutering is not a solution to behavioral problems.

[SSINTENSE]

It's already been said before, but being the "leader of the pack" is really key to solving many behavioral problems. You can't let him think for a second that he is boss.

This will make a happy dog and a happy owner.

[Steve S]

Originally Posted by Kipaste

+1 To this.

I'd have a couple of questions though. How does your dog react to other dogs before he knows their sex? Does he give the benefit of doubt? Or is it aggression first and then calming down when realizing they're females? I'm mostly interested as I own a pitbull too who doesn't get along with other males. In my case, it's really not a problem though as my dog treats other dogs as possible females instead of possible "enemies." That way, if we pass a male without going too close, there's no aggression. But there are dogs in the neighbourhood he already knows to be males. Luckily, he does stop growling and barking when told to. But when my dog is tired and happy enough, he won't even bother with other males.

Anyhow, I can also recommend Ceasar Millans books. I found not everything to be accurate in the case of my dog, but they're still brilliant books and will help you understand dogs a lot better. And the number one thing he always recommends is exercise and I couldn't agree more. My key to easy living comes with a lot of activity for the dog. One hour walk in the morning, two hours in the evening and at least an hour or two of mental and physical exercise. But I do live in an apartment building. I suggest you think up every way of getting work for the dogs muscles and brains! And hour of tracking smells, solving dog puzzles and such wears my dog down a lot more than same time spent walking. And after all that exercise my dog doesn't usually bother barking at other males. I recommend looking into some dog puzzles to leave with your dog when you're not available.

The thing with neutering is that it's not an instant key to success, especially if the dog is older. Even if the aggression started because of the hormones, it does become a part of the dogs behaviour as it learns to do it. That means that even if the dog is neutered and enough time has passed for all the hormones to leave the dogs system, the aggression can still go on as a learned way of reacting to male dogs and you'll still end up needing to train the dog out of it. That's why it makes sense to try training first. However, neutering is still not necessarily pointless. The dogs urges can cause stress for the dog and all that frustration has to be vented out. But neutering is definately not instant bliss.

I'd also say that the best thing you can do is to go see a professional. .

When my dog sees other dogs, he immediately stops and watches. The growls and barking don't happen until he realizes that the dog is male and unneutered.

When we'd go for walks, I usually tried to keep him moving for several hours which included running. Needless to say, I was worn out by the end of our time.

I will look into training the dog..thank you.

[Steve S]

Originally Posted by kesslari

This.

Your daughter already had him neutered. Good job on her part, but clearly not the whole answer.

The recommendations from this site is what convinced her to have it done.

Getting additional training will help get Cassius better under control, but it's unlikely to make him a dog you can take to the park to frolic with other dogs.

That's too bad. I watch other dogs run and frolic all the time and wish that Cassius would do that. My daughter took him to dog parks when he was very very young but realizes that she cannot do that anymore.


You've discovered why people DO love pits - they're great dogs in many ways. But they require a huge commitment in terms of responsible ownership. Most of them are not dogs you can take offleash in public places where there are other dogs. That's not part of the package.
Chances are Cassius won't be a dog you can take to parks that have a lot of other dogs. When we had a Pit who had dog aggressive tendencies, we planned our outings to places that were not frequented by other people with dogs, and still kept an eye out in all directions for other dogs.

Yup, I'm starting to realize that.

One other thing - he's 2 years old. That's a teenager, dog-wise, and he'll mellow out some as he gets older (think of what a rowdy jerk *you* were as a teen). He'll mellow out a lot as he gets a lot older. Meanwhile, training, forethought and responsibility are key. Love him for who he is, and accept that he is not who he is not.

Thank you everyone for your comments!

[Steve S]

That's what you have to do, and that's responsible dog ownership. Getting additional training will help get Cassius better under control, but it's unlikely to make him a dog you can take to the park to frolic with other dogs.


Chances are Cassius won't be a dog you can take to parks that have a lot of other dogs. When we had a Pit who had dog aggressive tendencies, we planned our outings to places that were not frequented by other people with dogs, and still kept an eye out in all directions for other dogs. QUOTE

We're starting to realize this and feel sad that we cannot do some of the things with Cassius that we'd like to do like playing in parks.

[Kink Rimson]

My drummer had his Staffordshire Bull Terrier's nuts off, he's still completely loopy. Don't know what he's like with other dogs but he still humps my leg like crazy whenever I'm round there, but apparently I'm the only thing he does it to.

[sloasdaylight]

My dog (a mutt, don't ask me what, but looks like some doberman) will occasionally stop and growl @ other dogs he sees approaching, but that's about it, and he doesn't do it anywhere near as often as he used to. He used to do it a lot more when he was younger, but to combat it I would "bite" him on the shoulder with my hand, after a technique I saw Caesar Millan do to some dogs that were misbehaving while he had them on a leash. Basically what it does is it makes the dog aware you're the alpha in charge of the situation and that whatever they just did was unacceptable behavior.