My Dog's Personality Has Changed! HelP!

[CrisRose]

Last September, we brought home a wonderful puppy. A boxer/sheppard mix. He was the dog we dreamed of having. A good running partner for me, a great source of protection for the kids. He potty trained in less than a month. Once trained, he was perfect. My kids would sleep with him, he would travel with us, he was gentle enough as a pet, yet aggressive enough towards strangers that gave us a sense of protection. He grew and grew and we were very pleased with him as a good household pet. He was the perfect family dog.

Until he was neutered this month. I've always been one to support dog population, but now I believe we made a dreadful mistake.

Immediately, we saw the changes that we expected to happen. He's become docile. He's lost that spunk and sparkle in his eye. Sure, we did our part in becoming responsible dog owners. Winston cannot father offspring to add to the already large dog population. I understand all this.

But now, he is not the same dog. I almost would say neutering is cruel in some ways to the actual animal. It's really sad to witness this. Sure, he is healthy, but he went from a happy, active, protective dog, to somewhat of a more submissive and whimpering weakish animal.

I could live with this. It's a bummer. I kind of expected this to some degree.

But now he's doing something else. He pees, marks his territory all through out the house. Why now? Why suddenly? I've tried to work with him, but he just continues. He's not the same dog. This is so strange. All the training, suddenly, as if he were never trained. He pees on the furniture, on the beds, floor, etc. He's a different dog.

Now he cannot sleep in the house anymore. He's an "outdoor" dog. This behavior is disgusting and I'm worn out washing bedspreads and furniture. All because he was neutered. Neutering changed him, and I'm angry about this. I lost my dog. He's here, but the original Winston is gone.
I should have kept him the way God created him.

If there were an alternative keep him from getting other female dogs pregnant, without taking away his hormones, stripping him of all his natural being, I would have chosen it. Even if it were a hefty price. We do it for humans. Why not dogs? Tubular litigation would let the dog keep the hormones he needs, yet prevent pregnancy.

Has anyone else experienced this?

[Peng1zrule]

have you taken him to the vet to rule out a health reason, like a uti?

[gwengirl]

Hi,

I have been working with dogs everyday for the last two years. Dogs don't change because they get neutered. The only thing that changes when a dog gets neutered is the dogs scent. We don't smell it but other dogs do. When puppies get to a certain age, their scent changes. Puppies and Adult dogs smell completely different to other dogs. That is the reason why dogs that are not neutered seem more aggressive or seem to attract more aggression because of the way that they smell. Dogs show aggression towards adult dogs (unaltered) to prove themselves or because they are scared. When a dog gets neutered, they go back to smelling like a puppy. Now you say that your dog is behaving differently, it might just be anxiety which you should consult a professional trainer for or it could be a health issue which should be taken care of.

Hope that helps anyone that is reading this thread with that same problem.

[mylittlehoneybear]

I'll bet it will get better, but perhaps your vet will have some suggestions. I would definately keep up the distractions more by walking and playing.

When I first moved, my little girl had that blank stare for awhile. It took about a month and now she's happy again.

Did you recently move or any other drastic change?

Hang in there!