Lachlan has always been awesome at the dog parks. Even when/if another dog would be aggressive, he'd avoid or submit. And on the few occasions when another dog did act aggressive or territorial with him he never seemed phased or scared like he thought it was play.

Since the testosterone started kicking in we notice changes...hyper active smelling, lots of peeing/marking, maybe a bit more chewy/destructive when he gets bored/lonely at home. My goal was to hold out at least months before neutering him and he's now scheduled to go in in 2 week when he'll be 8.5 months.

2 days ago he got in his first dog park fight. A 6 month old male lab type who seemed to take an aggressive interest in Lachlan as soon as we got there. They were OK for a bit then suddenly things escalated where Lachlan had his ear in a death clench and the other dog had his neck. Took forever for me and other owner to pry them apart and I was trying to pry jaws apart and got both hands bit by both dogs. Lesson learned, now he's going to wear his harness around other dogs so I have a handle on top to pull him off with. The other dogs ear seemed to be fine which tells me Lachlan wasn't really out for blood.

Hoping it was a fluke, I went back today. There were a ton of dogs including other huskies and husky-types which he usually gravitates to. But today he seemed to zero in on dogs that were about his size or slightly smaller. He would try to hump them and when they'd protest the fighting would start. (no #metoo jokes please ) Within 10 minutes I had to pull him off 2 dogs and we left.

I've heard it takes a month or 2 for the crazy hormones to drain out after the neuter. What are the chances he'll return to his old self? No way we're going back to the dog park for now which makes getting him enough exercise much harder. Plus if he goes 2+ months with little or no other dog contact I'm worried his good socialization will devolve.

Applaud your no dog parks til after he's neutered. Just an fyi, a safer easy.to break up dog fight is to grab the jobs legs and pull. I've also found with my two - the peanut liked to go after the gentle giant, inevitably gets himself smacked down and a good shaking with virtually no injury. But even though the little one starts it, the big one ends up on top...I just stand behind and grab huge hunks of hair and pull back. But...someone has to be ready to intercept the little one as he has more balls then sense (he wears a muzzle, for pete,'s sake!) Note..he really had NO balls, he's neutered and, knock on wood, this seems to be a thing of the past.

Thanks Amy, another question. Do adolescent pups in Lach's "condition" harass other dogs that have been fixed? Or do they smell that there's no breeding happening there and move on?

Ummm .... to answer your question. Maybe. Maybe not. Not only is he in a storm of hormones, he's also a teenager. AKA, an a** hole. He's gonna need lots of correction for a while, watching him and ending interactions that are high excitement.

Update: Since getting neutered on 2/13, I waited 3 weeks before trying the dog park. So far we've had about 3 out of 4 visits go well. On one he got too aggressive with some of the smaller dogs that were there, but otherwise he's back and not humping.

Windfishin wrote:

Thanks Amy, another question.  Do adolescent pups in Lach's "condition" harass other dogs that have been fixed?  Or do they smell that there's no breeding happening there and move on?  

I doubt this is due to him not being fixed. I see these issues as training issues with both fixed and intact dogs. Are there some intact dogs that will harass dogs more since they are having an adolescent testosterone surge? Probably, but this issue is usually blown out of proportion just as much how some people blame the reactivity of fixed dogs towards intact dogs on the intact dog being in the dog park. The majority of dogfights I have seen are between fixed males.

People need to train their dogs instead of looking for quick fixes like neutering that will likely not resolve the underlying issue.

Well, I think every dog is different for sure.  Now a month after the neuter our dog park visits are getting better and better and he's generally less aggro and more mindful.  One of his new best buddies at the dog park is this big guy (I forget the breed) who's 10 months and not neutered.  He's very gentle and calm for the most part and gets along great with Lach.