Castration

[margaret partridge]

we have a 16 month old westie who we have had since he was a pup.we have just bought a 14 month old westie but the older one wants to fight the younger one.would casteration help us? or could any one offer any other advice

thanks gavin and marge

[nancy]

I think castration would be your best bet. I have heard this calms them down a lot but ofcourse there could be a bit of jelousey there to and I'm not sure this would sort that.

[MrsRottie]

If you have just got this pup then I would strongly advise you let things settle down and see what happens...

With 2 boys of the same size and similar age, leaping in and castrating one of them IMO is the wrong thing to do. You would have to ensure that whichever one you do castrate is not the alpha - and in that circumstance I wouldn't like to choose either.

How long have you had this pup? Please before you take action get the advice of a behaviourist (get a referral through your vet) and see what they say.

It is perfectly normal for dogs - particularly when the relationship is new - to scrap, squabble and hump each other. It's what they do and each thing that they do has great meaning and significance to them too. Difficult as it seems I would personally stay out of that as much as possible - I only intervene with mine if one is getting hurt (badly). They are sorting out amongst themselves who is the boss, and we as two-legs are not qualified to decide who the 4 legs will be friends with.

Good Luck, please let us know how you get on!

[murphydog]

i agree with mrs rottie you need to study these dogs b4 castration if you castrate your older dog and the younger one is the dominant one you will cause more problems if you are not sure seek help from a qualified behaviorist to asses the situation

[zoe08]

The older one is probably just showing the younger one that its his house and he is boss right now. Im not saying this to fix your problems, but if you are not planning to use your dog for breeding, then I highly suggest getting them both fixed anyways. It will prevent any accidental pregnancies from happening and also can reduce the ricks of cancer.

[margaret partridge]

thank you all for your advise we have only had the second dog since saturday.we have had a better day with them today,the pair of them are listening to "NO"almost immediately when they start to growel.we are going to give the situation a little time before we make any quick decisions

thanks again gavin and marge

[Becky]

Why not have them both neutered?

[Cheetah]

Yes if you're not breeding or showing, I would neuter them. Besides, in the long run, it can prevent testicular cancer. And it can help some behavioral problems but it's not guaranteed.

[MrsRottie]

If you're having a dominance problem and want to use castration as a tool to help that, then don't castrate them both! They will both be in exactly the same situation, both 'demoted' the same amount.

I agree that they both should be castrated, but in the light of the problems you're having, get a vets advice and possibly a behaviourist referral first to determine who gets it first :eek:

[lassie]

How's things going then?

[opokki]

Were these dogs introduced on neutral territory before introducing them at home?

[margaret partridge]

hi its now coming up for three weeks.the dogs will play for hours now sometimes a little rough.we dont keep them seperated now except for mealtimes.we have put casteration off for a while just to see how things go.

[lassie]

Hi well its does sound promising , so fingers crossed;)