Will Neutering My Dog Change Him?

Aug 23, 2019

Many dog owners struggle with the idea that neutering their male dog may change his personality. It’s a scary thing to learn that a dog may change a bit if altered. However, most changes that come with neutering are actually very beneficial, both medically and behaviorally. Not to mention that neutering your dog can help keep down the overwhelming population of strays roaming the streets, many of which end up euthanized. Male dogs are usually neutered at a very minimum of 6 months of age; however, even this is seen as too young sometimes. Older dogs can also be neutered, but keep in mind that older male dogs that are over or underweight might have a higher risk of complications after the operation is complete.  

 

Neutering can be extremely medically beneficial for your male dog. Neutering your male dog can remove the threat of testicular cancer. Testicular cancer is a very common killer in older male dogs and removing the testes at a younger age completely removes the risk of a dog ever developing the cancer. It can also help guard against prostate cancer and other prostate-related issues. Neutering doesn’t completely protect a dog from getting prostate cancer, but it does provide a reduction in the threat of it appearing.  

 

Your male dog may also benefit from behavioral changes, but it is important to understand that these “changes” don’t usually affect an adult dog in the same way as they do a pup. Since this is true, your pup won’t change much from how it already is, and usually their overall personality isn’t affected at all. Males that are neutered at a young age tend to not: urine mark near as frequently (inside or outside the home), roam around and/or try to escape, resort to aggression to get what they want, develop socialization issues, or inappropriately mount other dogs, people, or objects. Keep in mind that a male adult dog that has not been altered may slow down or stop in some of these departments after being neutered, but a dog that has been doing these things for years is less likely to stop completely once neutered.  

 

It is worth saying again that neutering your male dog will only change or influence behaviors that are related to the male sex hormones and testosterone. Neutering your male dog should not affect the way your dog works, how much he trains, his playfulness level, or his general personality. These are generally traits and characteristics that stay intact, even when your boy is not.