Hi, I know there has been lots of discussion about this on here before but I am still very confused about what to do.
My male doodle is 11 months old and he is showing the following behavior, I take him to training classes weekly and they have said it might be about time to get him castrated. I'm not sure it is and want to do what's best for him.

- Marking up everything (mainly outside)
- Running off to other dogs (no matter how far)
- Not listening paying attention
- Occasional growling / barking mainly territorial in around house and car
- Pulling on his lead, to sniff and pee up everything or get to other dogs
- Dominant behavior with other dogs (head resting, nipping at necks) he never really barks or growls and does back down run off from other dogs if they go for him (which happens far too often with other male dogs)

Any help would be greatly appreciated, it's such a hard decision.

I always try and leave castration for as long as possible to enable my boys to mature physically and mentally ...BUT.... if any of mine were exhibiting as many of the unwanted behaviours as your boy then I wouldn't hesitate to to get him booked in. I think I agree with your training class that it might be time

Thanks for your advice.
Don't get me wrong he is an awesome dog with so many good traits, but I do think (maybe I'm going mad) that his behavior sometimes is driven by hormones.
Especially when I call him to me he turns around starts coming towards me smells something, stops, pees on it then keeps coming.
Feels like to me he is trying, he knows what to do but he just can't help himself.

You are right , he's topped up with testosterone plus he is fast approaching his "terrible teens" where everything in life is much more interesting than what you want him to do. .we all have to go through this stage
Keep on with your training sessions....

Mine is going through exactly the same thing at the moment. I would be interested to hear if anyone has not had their dog done to see if this is just a phase he will grow out of, of if getting him neutered will be the best thing to do. My Mini Aussie doodle is 15 months

Hi
Have you looked into chemical implants? I don't know too much about this myself but it may be worth while a little research \asking vet to see if this helps rather than the final 'snip'.
Good luck

I used Suprelorin, implants for Jethro after he started exhibiting unwanted behaviour before he was a year old
You can choose to implant for six or twelve months so I chose 6 months as I was uncertain of what any side effects might be so didn't want to commit to a longer time frame.
As it turned out the implant remained active for much longer than six months (more like nine months) and he's had a further two implants.
In some dogs the implant can last for a shorter period than six months........It's fairly expensive but does work.

In hindsight it does suppress the sex hormones so it has probably had the same effect as an earlier castration.
My first Doodle Bobby was never castrated because he was never a problem but I was unaware at that time(90's) that castration protects them from testicular and prostate cancer.....
Ambrose was done in his second year and Huggy had been neutered at 5 months and always remained a puppy

The only behaviour likely to be stopped by castration is running off after bitches in season. Most of what you describe are typical teenage things, and as already mentioned, training is the way to go. Lots of it, and over and over again. Stick at it - you will get there!

Amy, I didn't reply earlier onFriday yet I spent most of the weekend thinking:Wow a 11 month old doodle still has a recall working , even if he stopped for a sniff and mark, he still came back! Success!
I think you and he should take a bow!
Keep going with the training. Vaguely recall more like 18 months before they start to settle , I won't say before they calm down!
PS: I was very sure I would have my boy castrated always have.Yet at the time I had element of doubt so decided chem inplant with him and glad a did. He is still entire and see no need to castrate.

Our doodle, Dude is almost 4 and we have not had him castrated.
All of the behaviours you mention strike me as being teenage/ training issues. When Dude was 18months I asked our vet if we needed to go for the op, and he said " No one ever asks that question if they have a dog who needs the snip... they come in here saying YOU HAVE TO CASTRATE HIM!! " Basically, he meant if the dog is humping everything that moves( or doesn't!)If the dog chases bitches. If the dog runs away and escapes. And if the dog pees in the house! Then you really NEED to get it done!
We are now at the stage where Dude is reliable off lead and generally well behaved.Things really clicked into place at around 2years. It takes time, patience and training. I know several dogs around here who were castrated at a year old and they at sort of "stuck" in teenage naughty behaviour!
Anny

Just to add my dood did most of those things at that age and she's a girl!!
I think a lot of the issues you describe are teenaged ones. Xx