Sterilizing your hunting dog: what changes? There are still a lot of erroneous beliefs about the sterilization of your hunting dog: only good information can dispel them.
On the account of sterilized dogs, especially hunting or guard dogs, everything and the opposite of everything has been said. It is true that if castrated they are no longer able to keep watch, that they lose their ease and intelligence, but above all is it true that they are no longer good for hunting?
The confusion that prevails on the subject is substantial and is often attributed to the removal of the male and female genitals, repercussions on the character and behavior of our four-legged friend who are neither in heaven nor on earth.
To begin with, when we talk about sterilization of females we are referring to ovariohysterectomy, while when we talk about castration we are referring exclusively to male specimens. In both cases it is a permanent surgical operation which for bitches causes the removal of the ovaries and uterus, while in the case of dogs it involves the removal of the testicles.
The main reason why millions of owners resort to neutering their dog every year is the inability or inability to manage future litters which is sure to come. It is a shareable and mature decision that prevents unwanted dogs from ending up orphans on the street or in kennels, and limits the onset of dangerous diseases.
Those who choose the path of sterilization also reduce the danger of their dogs escaping, constant and in some cases annoying vocalizations and blood loss during the reproductive period. Generally speaking, we can say that the belief that the hunting dog sterilized more sad and depressed: in reality the animals that have undergone this operation are less aggressive, more predictable, more easily trainable and less distracted, as they are not periodically agitated by the mating phase.
They do not necessarily become fatter, especially if the owner takes into account that the neutered dog needs a lower dose of daily calories and modifies his daily diet.
The effects on behavior immediately after castration are not long in coming, but they are not necessarily as negative as one might expect. In the case of female sterilization, a greater territorial aggression is noted in the dog, probably caused by the lack of inhibitory hormones produced by the ovaries: everything is resolved with greater attention of the dog and with an improved attitude to guard.
Furthermore, the castrated female will no longer know the classic aggression that lives during the heat and during the period following childbirth. From a purely medical point of view, castrating the female before the first heat considerably limits the danger of breast tumors or uterine infections.
Il hunting dog In general, castrated is less competitive both in comparison with men and in comparison with his own peers. Aggression is limited, but all the habits that characterize the four-legged friend will remain so. He will lose vices such as urinary branding and wandering in search of partners, but this will only simplify the life of the owners. Even in the case of castration this brings with it significant benefits for the health of the dog: various prostate problems are prevented and the dangers of testicular infections and tumors are eliminated.
If you have made the decision, for one reason or another, to sterilize your dog, it is good to choose to do it during puberty, around the eighth month of life: it will prevent the dog from adopting all those bad habits related to sexual activity. If, on the other hand, you choose to neuter your dog at an advanced age, it must be borne in mind that many of these behaviors have now evolved and therefore will be difficult to forget. Some dogs neutered in old age, for example, continue to run away because it is understood that outside their garden there is a world that is much more than fun.
In any case, the dog can be neutered at any age: contrary to what some believe there is no danger that the sterilized four-legged friend who has already known mating will suffer from the new situation. The dog does not perceive itself as a neuter, it will simply no longer experience the sexual urge.
What is important to remember is that a dog that has undergone castration does not see limited in any way, as is often believed, its ability to learn and its ability to collaborate with humans: neither the nose nor the aptitude for hunting are modified by sterilization, but you will forever give up the reproductive possibility of your friends.