Setting the Stage: We have two male huskies, one is a pure bred sibe, Bear, the other a sibe/wolf mix, Rocky (a rescue). They are both about 1yr 1/2 old. We got Bear from a breeder when he was about 3-4 months old and had him fixed before he was 6mos (per the vet). Let's just say Bear is our princess.... the depth of his bark is that of a chihuahua.... yeah its pretty high pitched to say the least. He wouldnt make it 10 minutes in the tundra... he would rather lay on the couch and his demeanor is definitely on the submissive end of the husky spectrum... and he definitely lacks the intelligence that you find in most Sibes...

So... onto the discussion.... introduce Rocky.... a rescue who is a month younger than Bear.... when we rescued him he had yet to be fixed. He is in every sense of the word, a dominant male husky. He is a bully. He is the biggest sweetheart you will ever meet though, and is always wanting to cuddle with his daddy and crawl in your lap to get attention... Since we have brought him into the home he has completely dominated Bear and is certainly the leader and referee when we are at the dog park. He is extremely headstrong and as a female myself, I am constantly being challenged by him. When my boyfriend gives him commands, he is much quicker to obey than for myself. Walking both boys at the same time, mind you they are the larger huskies at 75lbs a piece.... is a nightmare. He wants to constantly "mark" everything along the way... sometimes twice.

So... we are having the "debate" of neuter vs. neuter. I want Rocky neutered purely from a health standpoint and due to the fact that it could mellow him out a bit, making him want to challenge me less and be less of a jerk. His daddy is fighting for his male rights... saying that he likes the dominant side of him (being that Bear is more of a girl than a boy....) Quite honestly, we are a house divided... Mommy and Bear vs. Daddy and Rocky. So he feels that Rocky should get to keep his manhood.

What are your experiences or advice on this situation? Good and the bad on both... To Neuter or Not to Neuter????

I have 2 males. My Sibe is the alpha male. My wolf dog is the omega. They are both in tact and will remain that way unless it becomes an issue. So far, it hasn't. Paw Paw is 5 years old, and Beowulf is almost 3. They have gotten into 1 or 2 borderline dog fights with each other over the last 3 years. They are with each other 24/7, 365 days a year, so that's not a bad statistic. Beowulf is gaining confidence as he matures and might be challenging Paw Paw, but Paw Paw keeps him in his place every time. I watch them like a hawk, and will not let them fight.

I've done a lot of research on this topic. I've discovered that neutering a male might not mellow him out, might not make him mark less, and doesn't necessarily have any health benefits. We go to the holistic vet here in Portland, and when Paw Paw turned 2, I took him to get neutered (and this was before we got Beowulf, so Paw Paw was the only male in the house). The vet actually talked me out of it, giving me the scientific breakdown as to why it's best to keep a male in tact, unless you have issues like roaming, aggression, unspayed female in the house, etc. We didn't have any of these issues, so instead of taking my hundred$ of dollar$ (in this economy, WOW!), he said to keep Paw Paw in tact. He did say, however, that the health benefits for spaying females outweigh the benefits for keeping them in tact. But it was the other way around for the boys. He mentioned that their hormones/testosterone actually helps them fight sickness and disease, and if you remove it, they are more susceptible to the cancers and other health concerns.

But this has been my experience. I've kept them both in tact and have not had any issues with health or aggression or oops litters or anything else. I'm a very responsible dog owner, and I'd like everything to be 100% natural as much as possible. So far, so good!

Good luck with whatever decision you make.

Neuter!

It's healthier (help's prevent testicular cancer which is second to skin cancer), will prevent unwanted litters (just in case he happened to escape), can possibly calm him down, 60% of the castrated males show a decline in unprovoked aggression toward other dogs, decrease his urge to roam, etc.

You're boyfriend needs to get over the whole man things. A dog doesn't value his testicles like a human would. It will be more beneficial in the long run for you're babies and increase their lifespan too.

Both you and you're dog will be happier with a neuter. You're dog doesn't need his testicles unless you're planning on breeding. Did you go through a rescue? Most rescues I know won't adopt a dog out unless he/she is spayed or neutered prior to placement. Reputable breeders will neuter/spay their dog's after they retire from show and enjoy a pet life. They don't keep the testicles, because it makes the male dog proud, they keep them for breeding and carrying on genes to the next generation.

I really hope you decide to neuter. It's so much better in the long run. There are so many great articles online and you should also have you're boyfriend talk to you're vet and perhaps they can explain to him why it's better and he may feel differently.

Good luck!

If there are issues now- it may certainly get worse. I would personally step up the exercise a considerable amount and then neuter him after about a month or so after... That can help to even out the testosterone level and make neutering "more effective" in the behavior department. Personally I wouldn't own an intact animal and if he's being so pushy and a bully now- not neutering isn't going to help matters. I think your husband needs to see the issue for what it is- an issue and not confuse it with being a "macho man!" Lol

I've seen males get neutered where it completely stopped their desire to mark and hump other dogs and others where you'd think they're still intacted. So it may or may not help with the dominance thing. But I say get him neutered. If he's acting that bad, why not at least try and see if it helps. As for your first dog acting like a "girl," I HIGHLY doubt that was because he got neutered. I haven't seen any dog change that much! lol. He'd probably act the same neutered or not. For one thing, siberians don't really bark, so their barks do sound funny. And my intact female is 80% more lazy than my spayed female. I think that really comes from genetics.

To me there is not choice, I will always spay or neuter it is the healthier option.

I will always neuter, too - it's the responsible thing to do from an overpopulation point of view and also from a health point of view.

That said, our Chili had been neutered long before he was found as a stray and is the most dominant (yet not aggressive), macho male dog I have ever met. He alerts to an intact male a mile away! Neutering DEFINITELY doesn't turn a dog into a "sissy"! If we were in Florida, I'd love to have your BF meet him.

In general, I agree with everyone about getting your dog neutered/spayed. It's healthy and helps with some compulsive behaviors that are driven by hormones. It can also help prevent unwanted pregnancies/impregnations. The only thing 'manly' you might take away from him is the lifting of his leg if you fix him before he starts marking. He may 'pee like a girl' for the rest of his life.

My husky 'pee like a girl' before he was neutered at 9 months old. My mal is not neutered yet, but he 'pee like a girl' in the house backyard and only lift his leg outside. Why is this??

Titus&Lycan wrote:

My husky 'pee like a girl' before he was neutered at 9 months old. My mal is not neutered yet, but he 'pee like a girl' in the house backyard and only lift his leg outside. Why is this??

All puppies squat when they pee. Lifting their leg is a learned behavior and is meant for marking. Some argue it's instinct since marking only starts when a dog begins to sexually mature. An altered male that didn't start marking before being fixed is probably less likely to do so after being fixed since they won't feel the urge to mark. Marking is a dominance issue, for establishing territory or claiming something as theirs, or to simply say they were there. The last is probably true for why he marks in places other than your backyard. It doesn't matter if they never lift their leg, it doesn't make them any less 'dog manly'. I was just poking fun.

Hayden_69 wrote:

Neuter!

You're boyfriend needs to get over the whole man things. A dog doesn't value his testicles like a human would. It will be more beneficial in the long run for you're babies and increase their lifespan too.

How do you know? Did you ask your dogs?

Frebu wrote:

Hayden_69 wrote:

Neuter!

You're boyfriend needs to get over the whole man things. A dog doesn't value his testicles like a human would. It will be more beneficial in the long run for you're babies and increase their lifespan too.

How do you know? Did you ask your dogs?

Are you being serious right now??

I definitely would neuter. I did, and it's the best thing for my male!

Frebu wrote:

Hayden_69 wrote:

Neuter!

You're boyfriend needs to get over the whole man things. A dog doesn't value his testicles like a human would. It will be more beneficial in the long run for you're babies and increase their lifespan too.

How do you know? Did you ask your dogs?

This made me laugh so hard. Dogs don't reason like humans do. I hope that you were kidding when asking those questions...

I'm not for Neutering personally. I think it takes away part of the dog.

Any bad/unwanted behavior can be trained out of him/her.

Personally I think any unexpereinced dog owner should be getting their dogs neutered, and to tell them not to for these ridiculous reasons if just going to increase your dog roaming away, getting another dog pregnant, becoming agressive, marking among many other issues intact males have.

Jennet&Embry wrote:

Personally I think any unexpereinced dog owner should be getting their dogs neutered, and to tell them not to for these ridiculous reasons if just going to increase your dog roaming away, getting another dog pregnant, becoming agressive, marking among many other issues intact males have.

Agree.