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  1. #1
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    Should I neuter my almost three year old male?

    Hi! I have a three year old male lab that has begun to hump males and females, and tries to assert his dominance with his voice when he meets new dogs. I had my female lab spayed early on, but am not sure if having my male neutered at this age will help with the humping and slight bit of aggressiveness? I'm hoping someone can give me some first hand opinions! I saw someone posted that they had their male neutered at three, but the post is so old that I cannot reply to ask about it! Any help would be great!

  2. #2
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    It could, but all dogs are different. I've done a couple of dogs at 4, one at 8. Nothing really changed with them. I was having a slight problem with peeing (too many intact boys in the house claiming stuff out of my sight). The 2 I fixed never marked in the house again. The one I left intact marks more, but that could have to do with having 2 intact girls in the house now. It is NICE not having to worry about their testicles anymore. We can go to parks, stores etc.

  3. #3
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    My boy was neutered at 3 years of age. He wasn't especially aggressive or dominant acting before so there wasn't much to extinguish. He was usually on the receiving end of humping when he was young. We got a female puppy when he was 6 and once he stopped being afraid of her, he would/will occasionally try to hump her. They're both neutered and she doesn't like it so it's not like he accomplishes anything. If anything, he seems a bit more inclined to humping other dogs than I remember him being pre-neutering. He'll get a little humpy if small children crawl around on the floor near him also. Naturally he isn't unsupervised with the grandbaby.

  4. #4
    Senior Dog
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    My first Lab was a three year old when we got him. Brutus didn't hump but he had severe male dog aggression. I found out about this in the vet waiting room on our first visit...he became unraveled over a male puppy being carried into the waiting room...out if his line of sight. The vet told me that, yes, Brutus (already a patient there) had male aggression but his previous owner (who didn't clue me in on this) didn't want to neuter him.

    We had him neutered and his best friend became an unneutered male German Shepherd...and he never gave males another thought for the rest of his life. (when his friend Dandy tried to hump him...which we and his owner squelched when we saw it...Brutus just sat down)

  5. #5
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    personally I think the average pet should be fixed but that's a personal opinion.

    It's probably toss up if it will help your actual issues. I'd probably lean towards no. some of the worst humpers I had were neutered

    ETA: Personal opinion is a tad redundant!
    Last edited by Tanya; 04-07-2017 at 08:01 AM.

  6. #6
    Senior Dog MightyThor's Avatar
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    We just neutered Thor at 3 years old. He was a little humpy with other dogs since he was about 6 months old, but we didn't see any escalating behavior on his part as he got older. What I was noticing was how neutered males were reacting to him as an intact male. He's been neutered about 2 months now and I haven't seen him hump since then, and other dogs seem to be less reactive to him.

  7. #7
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    I would vote to neuter him. I agree that the majority of pet dogs should be neutered once their growth plates are closed. And your dog's should be due to his age. Your dog may not be dominant. He may be lacking in confidence or perhaps he learned that he can get what he wants by humping (a reaction or attention from the other dog). Or maybe it's an over-arousal (non-sexual) issue. Hard to say without a trainer or behaviorist seeing it in person.

    The barking is probably leash reactivity and/or frustration at not being able to get to the other dog to say hi. However, only a trainer or behaviorist who can see your dog in person can speak to that point. It may or may not change once the dog is neutered. Plenty of neutered and spayed dogs are leash reactive for one reason or another.

  8. #8
    Senior Dog Berna's Avatar
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    Neutering won't necessarily stop the humping. Training is the key. Stop the behaviour and redirect his attention.
    Cookie Black Snowflake
    July 12th, 2006. - May 25th, 2023.

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  10. #9
    Senior Dog
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    just wondering why you wouldn't neuter him?
    and if his humping is not related to neutering, it needs training.
    I'm of the belief, that if you dont have a show quality dog, and are not a breeder, the dog needs to be neutered and spayed . makes life a lot easier.

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    windycanyon (04-07-2017)

  12. #10
    Senior Dog windycanyon's Avatar
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    I'd second the above responses suggesting neutering and more training/ redirection of energies.
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