Hi,

Sorry for this long post but I really like the clarity and insight of these forums and I thought maybe someone could give me some encouraging words. I'm going to start by making it clear that I am the owner of a PET dog, we don't do any kind of sport, and the dog described below is my first large breed dog (grew up with a toy breed and a beagle). I've done my best to educate myself on behavior and solid training, but my boy is, at the end of the day, a sole companion and I can't help but just love him all the time. That's probably most of my problem...

I'm the owner of a young male Rhodesian Ridgeback. He's an awesome dog, very athletic and a great companion. He is ridgeless, so he came with a contract to neuter by 8 months. After reading up on the subject, we decided to leave him intact until he was older, so that he obtained his adult build with the assistance of all his natural hormones. I'm glad we waited, he filled out nicely, but as he grew up physically, he also matured into quite a hard headed and dominant young man. In the house he was a super calm boy - alert to warn of people at the door, and sometimes a bit reserved about guests, but overall a quiet dog. Outside, he could be a bit crazy. He was quite good with most all dogs, even some other intact males, only getting aroused if challenged. He would back down from a seriously dominant dog, but if he knew he could overpower one, he'd drive home the point.

We do take regular, long off-leash walks in our local wooded park where he encounters lots of dogs - with only a few incidents where we had to separate him from another dog for minor aggression. Though at about 1.5 years his normally friendly, or at worst aloof, personality started to change into one that regarded people with more caution - he started growling for no reason at people who might be gently giving him affection, also had some incidents where he lunged and barked at strangers on a leash, not taking quickly to our correction and remaining very 'on guard'. Children he especially started to get nervous about, backing away, sometimes growling or letting out a big bark, sometimes even clicking into some sort of prey drive (you could see him perk up in the same way he would if he were about to pounce on a squirrel). He has been well socialized with all types of people, though we don't have kids, so they aren't a solid part of his routine. He also has gotten very short tempered with puppies and will want to dominate them after only a few minutes of exposure - pinning them down, growling & mouthing in an angry way (not tear-apart violent). Sometimes while at play with other male dogs, the play would escalate to where he was charging and growling, bowling over the other dog at a run and not letting up, even with a dog that clearly was not trying to be dominant. Most times he was fine, but in those instances where he was not fine, it always made me very nervous, and he's 95 lbs of muscle, to my 120 lbs, so he's a pain in the butt to control when he wants to be doing something else.

Last December I wrote in about him attacking the family Pomeranian... We all lived through that holiday, but those incidents, combined with his increasing wariness of children and really young dogs (puppies), intensity with some adult dogs (male - neutered and non), and general dominant change in attitude, made me decide that it was time to neuter him. I think I always thought we'd do it eventually, but we were going along fine for so long that the idea that we might never do it did present itself.

I know neutering isn't a 'fix-all', and he needs some serious training in some areas - which we're working on, but I thought it might overall make him less reactive and tone down whatever attitude he occasionally escalated into. We had the procedure done in January, he was 21 months old. Now I wonder if I did the right thing for him, and for us. He's a bit of a different dog. Encounters with other dogs might be a little easier - he's definitely easier to recall, not so intense, and quicker to respond to me, the wariness around strangers seems to have subsided, but the thing that I notice most, and that bugs me, is that he's slowed down. We run together and he was always blasting around the woods, just tearing around for the fun of it. He doesn't do so much of that anymore. It used to be really easy to engage him, get him dancing around and alert and feisty, but not so much anymore. When he's just lazing around the house he seems a little sad. I guess this is what I was hoping for, I just wanted it only to apply to negative situations, and not the positive ones. Maybe he's also just getting that much more mature, as a 2 year old. It's also been dreadfully cold and snowy where we are and going outside isn't the same as it is in the summer. Maybe I haven't given things enough time. And maybe I'm obsessing over this and should just leave what's been done done. As my first serious canine responsibility, I always want to do right by him, but I feel like I blew this one and may have ruined a really spirited guy.

I've read so many opinions on this subject, and I know it essentially comes down to personal choice, responsibility and ability as a dog owner, but in retrospect I feel like a bad one (dog owner) right now. Anyone have any thoughts? Been in a similar situation? I respect all of your opinions so highly...

Thanks,
natalya

You didn't wreck your dog. Your dog was beginning to have some very serious aggression problems so you neutered him. Good choice. Now you are worried that he's slowing down and it's your fault? Wrong. I have known a number of RRs and once they finally start to mature, they tend to become very alert couch potatoes. It sounds like this is what your dog is doing and he is the right age for it. Besides, who wants to live with a puppy forever? It's great when they finally settle down and begin to develop into their full potential.

All I can tell you at this point is to get your dog into dog school as fast as possible so you can finish dealing with the aggression problem. You have a great big, powerful dog, and dog school will help you channel his energy a bit better.

 Quote: Natalya Zahn

Encounters with other dogs might be a little easier - he's definitely easier to recall

Not an answer to your question, but if your dog shows aggression to other dogs (especially puppies) and children/people, should you not discontinue the off leash walking?

I realize it's very hard to get an accurate picture of any person or animal from just a few paragraphs of history - I explained the worst cases above because the worst ones stick in my mind and motivate me to be a better owner/trainer, but in truth, he's very good most of the time, and concerning people, he is almost better when running with me off lead. I think he feels a little cornered sometimes on the leash when people come up to say hello, whereas in the park, he will approach people with tail wagging, say hello, then trot off. He steers more clear of the kids on his own. The few nervous encounters we had with kids were in our home, there were lots of people around and the children were toddlers, at eye level to him, younger than those we usually meet out in public (I think the whole environment was just too stimulating, and maybe lots of testosterone helped, but he just got amped up and I saw his eyes light up and his muscles tense, like he was about to chase). He is ALWAYS on lead when we are downtown and in populated areas. These are the times he had growled at people stopping to say hello.

Playing in the park we have had to leash him a few times to pass a dog we KNOW doesn't get along with him, but it's a large, quiet park and he gets on just fine with most other dogs. I consider it my responsibility to keep an eye out for iffy situations and prevent conflict before it starts. We now know to keep a VERY close eye on him with puppies and are right there to correct him if he gets out of line. I would rather be able to teach him better behavior, rather than not let him meet and play. The dog culture in our town is very friendly and there are few dogs that have issues with each other. I do think my dog's being intact made him a target for some other animals and he would get growled at by dogs that were "normally so friendly". While forums like this, and my own experience have made me leery of dog parks in general, I do believe in good neighborhood parks where the animals are regulars and know each other and can burn off some steam running and playing (nicely). That's just my preference.

I know what you're saying about some dogs feeling more "trapped" on leash versus on. I also have a dog that gets growled at by dogs who's owners tell me that they "normally act so friendly."

BUT, while it sounds like you keep an eagle eye out for problems, sometimes they happen faster than you can deal with. Most dog owners have had their dogs do something that they were completely surprised by, and if your dog already has some issues with other dogs, and especially children, I would strongly suggest that you at least keep a long line on him.

That way he can still romp and feel less "tethered" but at the same time you have a better means to control an unexpected situation. Consider it a "safety line." I know that's not what you posted for, but I just had to throw my pennies in.

As to your original concern, I think Elaine is probably right...it sounds like your dog is maturing and what you're seeing is him growing up, not necessarily a result of the neutering. Has anything changed in his diet (or does he need a change) that could have added to his slowing down?

Good luck!

I mentioned one things at the end of the original post that might be a serious factor - unpleasant weather - and I'm sure part of it is me over-reacting, but I feel pretty in tune with him and this change in behavior just seemed too closely tied to the surgery. He eats a pretty varied raw diet, so conceivably he could have gotten a week or two of something that didn't sit right, but I can't say for sure, and his stomach is so tough he could eat a moldy boot without feeling ill effects.

Amber, is your dog that frequently gets growled at intact? I think it makes a huge difference in the way other perceive them...

My dog has gotten growled at for 2 years. I just neutered him at 23 months 3 weeks ago today. He and I would be walking minding our own business and some dog would growl, lunge, bark aggressively at him. And there was always someone at the other end of the leash going, "But my dog never does that".

At first I thought, what a bunch of crap that is. But it happened to my dog so often that I really had no choice but to decide it was Gunnar giving off some sort of vibe. Which now instead of a vibe I assume it was testosterone .

He is outrageously friendly to other dogs and there was no reason in my eyes for their aggressive behavior. Gunnar never did anything but exist! Yet they growled at him . All the time.

Anyway, he was neutered 3 weeks ago today and I still get the problem of barking at him, etc. but his contact w/other dogs in the last 3 weeks has been quite limited so not a real good testing ground. I'll be curious to see what happens around intact males on hiking trails. That's where we had the most problems.

 Quote: Natalya Zahn

Amber, is your dog that frequently gets growled at intact? I think it makes a huge difference in the way other perceive them...

He is intact (he's only 5 months). He was giving off these vibes at 10 weeks old! I assume that the only scent he was giving off was puppy scent at that age, but his posture was clearly tough-guy. Major sustained eye-contact, etc. I could just picture these older dogs wanting to put the full-of-himself pup in his place! Who knows for sure what it was, but I will say that my Corgi never ruffled any feathers...even with the same dogs.

Judy, if that's a picture of Gunnar, he's really gorgeous. Sounds like the same issue my boy had (and still has sometimes) - all he had to do was look at another dog and he would more often then not get growls. Even after a giant play bow and whine (that usually made things worse). Probably a combination of hormones AND dominant personality, but I've never seen another dog elicit the same regularly negative responses until we got our boy. He used to be a lot more carefree about it all, but I think as he grew up it all started to look like more of a challenge.

Here's a few pics of my big jerk:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33795483@N00/

May I ask why you decided to have Gunnar neutered?

Your "big jerk" is beautiful!

I neutered Gunnar I guess due to health reasons...isn't cancer something that dogs get more often if not neutered? That's really the only reason. And I waited until 23 months due to me wanting him access to his hormones, etc.

I'm really happy I waited but I'm also satisfied I neutered him. The only thing that did seem to change in the last 3 weeks was that he seems to have a bigger appetite. No change anywhere else. I thought the increased appetite could be age related?? I almost posted the question on a new thread but haven't really bothered yet.

Natalya, I would also second the comments made by someone, Amber maybe, about keeping your dog on a leash, even if he is better behaved without one. I personally wouldn't want to take any chances if my dog was even remotely a concern with children.