# Do neutered male dogs also go through a "Terrible Teenage" period?



## doodler (Sep 18, 2015)

I assumed much of the problems encountered during a male dog's adolescent period is caused by testosterone, and that neutering it should make his unwanted behaviors (aggression, marking, roaming, hyperactive behavior, ignoring the owner, etc) much less pronounced.

Is this true? 

I know continued training is also necessary, but my puppy was actually neutered by the breeder at week 9/10, and am curious what sort of difference in behavior this will result in as he grows up (he is 3.5 months now).

Thanks.


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## Hiraeth (Aug 4, 2015)

First, a question - what type of puppy do you own? 

I guess, without the answer to that question, I'll give you a basic answer to your general questions. "Unwanted male behaviors" associated with an intact dog are mostly based on an individual animal and can be worked on with training. Neutering should never be a go-to for a behavioral correction. There are neutered dogs who mount, mark, roam and are hyperactive. There are intact dogs who don't mark, don't mount, don't roam and listen to the owner very well. Then there are all sorts of dogs in between those two extremes. 

There are many problems with pediatric neutering. Depending on your breed, a neuter at weeks 9-10 could result in some significant long term health issues, including hip dysplasia. Early altering has been directly linked to osteosarcoma in several predominant studies (one done on Rottweilers and one done on Goldens, in particular), as well as CCL tears and a few other significant health issues.

Outside of those problems, because of the early neuter, no matter the breed of dog you have, it means his growth plates will close much more slowly than normal and he won't develop a normal adult male musculature. Because of this, he will probably be taller, and lankier or weedier, than other non-altered or late-altered males of his breed. 

I would highly suggest you do not buy from a breeder who does pediatric neuters on their puppies in the future. I do not know of any reputable breeder who does it, outside of for good reasons like health problems.

ETA: Ah, I see from your other posts that you have a Labradoodle and you've questioned some other things your breeder has done, as well. I'd highly recommend that you get health insurance for your puppy now, while he is problem free. A monthly premium wouldn't be too high for a Labradoodle, I don't think, and may really help to reduce your costs in the future. I think health insurance is a good idea for *everyone*, but especially considering it looks like you bought from a byb who doesn't health test and who neutered your dog when he was just a puppy, I think it's a safe backup plan.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

To answer your question, yes, even pediatric altered dogs can go through teenage phases. It's not all hormones, some of it is simply stages of brain development.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

Nah. Neutering guarantees nothing. Except he will never be able to breed.
It may happen, it may not. Be prepared for it either way.


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## coz (Sep 29, 2015)

Since being neutered, Cosmo hasn't humped one single time.

That's the only thing that has changed since he's been neutered, and for some dogs that never changes.

Neutering only guarantees you won't have any litters from him. Behavioral issues like aggression, not listening to you, etc - are all to be addressed with training.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

You thought the pediatric neuter would shortcut teenager stuff? Oh, I have such terrible, terrible news for you ...


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Adolescent behavior is related to age as much as hormones. Spayed and neutered dogs go through obnoxious teenage periods as well as intact dogs. Intact dogs may develop other issues, or this period may last longer, but there's no real proof of that. I know plenty of intact males and none of them are aggressive or hyperactive or roamers just because they're intact. And I know plenty of neutered dogs who do mark things, run away from home, are aggressive, etc.

It's really hard to predict what will happen. Most dogs go through a period where they become more independent and ignore commands they previous listened to (usually 6-12 months). Some become more selective about other dogs (this seems to be around 1.5 to 2 years). Some dogs sail through with very few changes.


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## griffinflames (Sep 19, 2015)

There are probably certain cases where neutering alleviated some behavior problems, but echoing what everyone else has stated, the only guarantee you're going to get from pediatric neutering is population control. I personally think the widely cited neutering effects on behavior is probably way overstated and more used as a tool to motivate the typical owner to commit to population control -- it's probably something like 98% population control and 2% behavior modification (not that I have real studies to back up those numbers, just a personal feeling).

My dog was a pediatric neuter, as I got him from a shelter at 10 weeks, and he still went through the rebellious teenage phase, behavior wise -- humping, challenging my authority, seeing how much he could get away with. Besides just allowing for sufficient time for their brains to fully mature, establishing a routine, consistency in training, building trust, and engaging in rewarding play/exercise that builds communication are key factors that has enabled him to settle down a little bit behavior wise. For me, I guess the only perk to him being a pediatric neuter is that I don't haven't had to deal with any marking behavior, especially in the house! 

Somewhat unrelated side note: Because of the growth plate issue that Hiraeth mentioned, I did wait a little extra longer than typical for a dog his size before allowing my dog to start any kind of higher impact activity, such as running, so as to minimize the stress on his growth plates.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

griffinflames said:


> For me, I guess the only perk to him being a pediatric neuter is that I don't haven't had to deal with any marking behavior, especially in the house!


My friends have two males, both pediatric neuters, and they have both marked in the house on more than one occasion. So it doesn't necessarily help with that either!


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## sclevenger (Nov 11, 2012)

elrohwen said:


> My friends have two males, both pediatric neuters, and they have both marked in the house on more than one occasion. So it doesn't necessarily help with that either!


My male was neutered a 1.5. He never marked, lifted his leg to pee, or humped anything up until that point. 

At 2 years old.... he randomly tried to hump my head one day while playing in the floor. 

My conclusion.... dogs are weird, neutering or not neutering or when it's done doesn't change that lol.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

sclevenger said:


> My conclusion.... dogs are weird, neutering or not neutering or when it's done doesn't change that lol.


Yep! Basically. My intact male has never marked in my house, but has marked in training facilities (which I assume other dogs have already peed in). He did mark one time in a house, a few weeks ago while we were visiting a friend. I was shocked! He's never done anything like that before. Maybe one of her dogs had peed there before and he could still smell it? No idea. Dogs are weird.


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## Jen2010 (Feb 12, 2013)

If your puppy is only 3.5 months old he's just going through his puppy phase. His teenage phase is still yet to come...


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## CrzyGIRL (Oct 12, 2015)

We have 3 neutered males and they all went through the bratty teenage stage, one is actually still in it now, at around 1.5 yrs. He was neutered later than the others, around 9 months we're guessing. Not sure, because he was a stray at one point. Our other 2 were done when they were close to 6 months. The oldest is a pit bull, the other 2 are Blue Heelers. They all have tried humping, dominating the other dogs, being stubborn, just a little bit of marking, etc. The newest one is constantly challenging for position in the pack.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

elrohwen said:


> My friends have two males, both pediatric neuters, and they have both marked in the house on more than one occasion. So it doesn't necessarily help with that either!


IMO, marking indoors is less about marking behavior and more about house training. 

Chester was neutered at an unknown age, probably prior to 6 months and he marks outdoors every chance he can. Never indoors though.

Eva was spayed as an adult, probably 2 years old. SHE learned to mark outside by watching Chester (doh!) and she also humps him during play.

I agree with the others that the majority of behaviors have nothing to do with reproductive status. I do think there can be some issues between intact males and neutered males but that's not really anything about their day to day behavior at home. The vast majority of "teenage" issues are common to dogs in general, not male vs females or intact vs fixed, like mouthing, selective hearing, some regression in recall and attentiveness and similar.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

elrohwen said:


> My friends have two males, both pediatric neuters, and they have both marked in the house on more than one occasion. So it doesn't necessarily help with that either!


I have a 3 year old intact dog, a nearly 9 year old who was neutered at 8, and then 1.5, 3.5, and 8 year old spayed females. 

Who marks? The 8 year old spayed female. Who was spayed at 6 months old. She doesn't anymore but she *DID*

The dog that humps. The also pre-heat spayed 3.5 year old. I think she was 4 months old? Could be 5, I don't remember clearly.


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Yes, yes they do.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

My dog was neutered at 6mos, went through terrible teens, learned to mark at 3yo, and tied with a female at 8yo ! 

@Laurelin ;-) !!!

@Hiraeth: I'm familiar with the Rott study ... with a suggested neuter at 2yo? But, I didn't know about the Golden study! Do they also recommend 2yo? Goldens are VERY cancer-prone, and it'd be nice if a later neuter [or even no neuter] helped. If there an online reference? Thx.


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