Will my Australian shepherd calm down after being neutered?

The Australian Shepherd is known to be a very active breed. Assume that neutering your dog will solve those energetical behaviors is just not a realistic expectation. The male dogs can behave better after being sterilized, but only in situations like urinating everywhere, being aggressive towards other dogs, etc. One good way to calm down an Aussies is by exercising him to consume some of his energy, and training is indispensable.

Dr. Karen Becker, while researching symptoms in hundreds of dogs that she sterilized she found that the operation expands the risks of dogs contracting diseases. Even Though stylization doesn't fix behavior problems, there are some cons and pros for you as a pet owner. Here are a few of them:

The pros of sterilization

• You do not need to worry about unwanted mating.
• You will not be able to take your Australian Sheperd everywhere, but neutered dogs are allowed in more places.
• The Atlantic Coast Veterinary Conference showed in their study that benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) was in dogs over seven years old. The BPH does not have clinical signs but can bring to some male dogs pain and blood while ejaculating, blood in the urethra, tenesmus, or hematuria. Physically occur enlarged prostate gland, which could be irregular and slightly disturbing. Once desexed, dogs will not have BPH.
• An adenoma is a non-cancer tumor common in intact males, also found in spayed female dogs. It can be slightly disturbing and have aesthetic issues.
• Commonly, 23-24% of intact female dogs will have experienced Pyometra by ten years of age.

The cons of sterilization

• After the sterilization, dogs tend to gain a little weight because they do not have so much testosterone to burn calories. It usually will happen in 6 to 8 months because it is the time for the testosterone to leave the dog system.
• Sterilization will not solve all the behavior problems.
• It is more common to find tumors in male dogs than in females.

If you decide to sterilize, there are some alternatives that can be more beneficial to your Aussie health. We will see these options later in the article.

Desexing or sterilization

• Spaying is for female dogs
• Neutering or castration is for males

What is normal to expect from an Australian Shepherd?

The breed is intelligent, performs his job with a lot of passion. The Australian Sheperd is primarily a working dog of strong herding. This hard work dog was chosen to work in Western states California, Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho, where the breed herded larges flocks of sheep there. They are also known to work closely with the cowboys. So far, you can have some idea of how much stamina this dog must have to work all they long around cowboys and herding large flocks of sheep. This breed is very active, and if he doesn't spend his accumulated energy, he will not calm down for sure. Aussies are not the best option for sedentary pet owners. If you are an active pet owner, it is not a problem. If you don't, you need to create a routine with your dog in which he will run, jump over and over again so he can calm down, and this is even better if your Aussie is still a puppy. We will talk more about it later.

Note:

Although the name Australian Shepherd this breed is not from Australia, he is actually from the United States. The Australian Shepherd got its name because of the association with Basque Sheepherders, who came to the United States from Australia in the years 1800s.

(Source F.C.I.)

Scientific research that shows the cons of sterilization

Dr. Karen Becker discusses scientific evidence related to the health risks of spaying and neutering dogs. She sterilized thousands of pets when they were still very young. Five years later, many dogs started developing endocrine issues.

During her research was discovered that up to 90% of ferret death occurred because they were desexed very young, at three weeks of age. In 2006 was at all-time high dogs diagnosed by her with hypothyroidism. Even after treating the disease, they still did not seem to be completely healthy.

After discovering the health issues, she said:

The suggestions I did, were not based on what was physiologically best for my patients but what I felt was morally best for the owners.

Dr. Karen Becker

Dogs neutered at a very young age have bigger chances of creating health and behavior problems. A good example is a large breed, when neutered before one year and a half, has a higher tendency to acquire different types of cancer.

It is relevant to mention. In cases where it is a medical necessity, it is indispensable to perform the surgery.

A study by Gerald P. Murphy Cancer Foundation discovered a connection between how long female rottweilers live when desexed. The research compared long live rottweilers, with thirteen years or more, with others who lived about nine years old. They discovered that females live longer than males when removing the ovaries before five years of age. The females were four times more likely to reach a longer life when they kept the ovaries for at least six years when compared to rottweilers desexed younger.

AKC Canine Health Foundation reported that neutering or spaying dogs cause problems to health, increasing the risk of certain joint disorders and cancer.

Studies going back decades mentioned by Dr. Danny Cox show that dogs not sterilized at an early age lived several years longer. With fewer problems that we see from the ones neutered at an early age.

According to theNational Center for Biotechnology Information, prostate cancer was found often in neutered dogs whether than intact dogs on many occasions.

How to actually calm down your Australian Shepherd down?

Having a proper routine with exercises that burn a lot of energy is the first thing to go after. Prepare an exercise routine that can be efficient. It is not just practice any random exercise. So look for those activities that can actually make the dog uses the energy he has. Here in this video is an efficient and easy exercise to help you create the proper routine.

If your Australian is still a puppy, the routine is even more required. And yeah, this is not an easy breed to take care of, but it can be worth the hard work.  

I highly recommend you to watch this video. In the video are a few simple tactics that can really help you.

After you have those activities in place, the next important step is training. There are two ways to train, hire a professional trainer. Also, you can do it by yourself, but only if you have a clear vision that you are doing it correctly.

Today are many courses that can help you for a small price. It can be the difference between a well-behaved dog or a badly behaved dog. Also, those courses can bring the result you want way faster.

The best way to get your Aussie to calm down is by training. Many times trainers have proved that bad behavior dogs can be well trained. You can develop your dog's hidden intelligence" to eliminate bad behavior and Create the obedient, well-behaved pet of your dreams… Here is a link for a Free Ebook so you can start training your dog right away. It is called "The Airplane Game" and will dramatically improve your husky ability to pay attention to you.

There are unique training systems for dogs. I recommend you to check braintraining4dogs and start to enjoy even more the companion of your best friend. The process can be easier than you think.

If you choose not to desex, keep in mind a few things

• When people see that your Husky is an intact male, they will judge you as irresponsible. And they will ask when you are going to desex him.
• You will not be able to take your husky everywhere.
• Always supervise, and keep the Husky on a leash. Irresponsible dog owners cause the current overpopulation of dogs in the US.

What are the desex alternatives available?

Zinc Neutering

This option is non-surgical neutering for male dogs. They work via intratesticular injection. It was approved by the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and released in 2003.

When first released, zinc neutering was used only in male dogs between 3 and 10 months old. Now is also approved for dogs of 3 to 4 years. Better results of zinc neutering compared to traditional neutering have already been confirmed.

Vasectomy

It is a surgical option different from zinc because this one involves cuts. Dogs under nine months of age (particularly giant breeds) cold be underdeveloped and require more time to develop and be ready for the surgery.

In this surgery, the dog keeps the testicular tissue intact and retains all his sex hormones. Those sex hormones are essential for his growth.

Ovary sparing (OSS)

Ovary sparing spay OSS has already been confirmed in research to be superior to the traditional spay. The OSS preserves the disposition of sex hormones, so the hormones are maintained.

In this situation, the female will be able to heat cycle. Attract the male dogs but will not be fertile. Intact dogs usually have a 23-24% chance of acquiring Pyometra. The OSS will solve the problem.

Tubal ligation (TL)

The tubal ligation maintains the organs, preserving the ovaries and uterus. The sex hormones remain undisturbed, but the dog can get Pyometra. Scientist research of 2017 supposes that the ovaries are influenced not only in reproduction, are also in the proper cognitive functioning of female dogs' brains. Another study by Arizona State in 2012 found the same results. That's why tubal ligation is a more attractive option for your friend.

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