Neuter? or not to neuter

[redbone1]

I have an eight month old Redbone male that seems to be more interested in the females than on working a track. I am wondering if I were to neuter him, if he would focus better on his job. I have heard from a few other houndsmen that they don't like to neuter their males. Anyone have any comments?

[1bludawg]

Think about it this way. If you neuter him and then he makes the best hound you've ever owned, you won't be getting any pups from him.If that doesn't bother you,it won't hurt to have him cut and it will solve your problem.

[Houndswoman]

We have had a lot of luck putting a male that is acting like that in with a dominant female that will not tolerate males smelling her when she is not in season and receptive. A female like this will break that young male of that bad behavior in most cases. That male would live with that female and be hauled with her until the bad behavior ends.

good luck

[Kempy]

Good advice to put him with a dominadnt gyp! All of the studs I have used, cattle dogs, hounds, does not matter, would rather hunt or work than eat. If he is that easy sidetracted at this young age, I would not want a pup out of him. I never have seen one not improve after the knife unless they were older.

[Old dog]

use the tone button but first teach him what happens after the tone. if that don't fix it then either live with it or cut him.

[Emily]

I don't really like to neuter them, but the best hound I have is cut. We did it because he only had one nut descend, and I knew I was going to be tempted to breed him if I left him intact, but I didn't want to pass that trait on. Unfortunately, I waited until he was 2 1/2 to do the deed because I kept hoping the other would drop. Once they are that old, neutering doesn't help them forget about females. If you're going to do it, sooner rather than later is better for helping to keep him focused on hunting.
I have shocked my intact male into behaving himself around females that were just coming in, and that was adequate to keep him hunting. I didn't have to fry him, either, just a gentle reminder on 3 out of 10. But he is mature, and readily focuses on the scent trail.
Obviously some males have stronger sex drives than others, and at eight months, the hunting switch for yours' might not be fully engaged. If it were my dog, I'd keep trying some of the suggestions above (dominant female, shocking) for another couple of months, then cutting him if he's still more interested in females than hunting at 12-14 months, but that's just my reasoning. It depends on how much you like that particular dog otherwise. There's plenty of decent studs out there, so you don't have to perpetuate a mediocre line. No reason to have more than one intact dog in your pack, if that.

[redbone1]

All good advise. Thanks y'all!

[slobberdoc]

Since I am a hunter only and not a breeder, I spay all my females but leave the males intact. There are both advantages and disadvantages to fixing a dog. Your dog is only 8 months and his sex drives are just kicking in and probably doesn't have a lot of control over it--think of a preteen kid. I would wait a while until he gets his hunting drive in full gear, and hopefully will be thinking less about the ladies.

[1bigbear]

Neutering usually solves a few unpleasant traits, The one your referring to, aggressiveness at the tree. And pissing on your coat or backpack at the tree. It's a win win.

[Old dog]

ibigear any dog that pisses on you or anything that you wear, he is saying that he is the alpha not you. all my dogs have a firm understanding that I am the alpha in the pack. jmo

[1bigbear]

Who's the Alpha now?? I still have my nuts..LOL.. I had a lot less trouble with them neutered is all I'm saying.

[TomJr]

ibigear any dog that pisses on you or anything that you wear, he is saying that he is the alpha not you. all my dogs have a firm understanding that I am the alpha in the pack. jmo

I have a dog that has pissed on people in uniform. He has gotten some forest service personal, border patrol officers and one sheriffs deputy. He has not gotten civilians just folks in Uniform... What does this mean

If you wait too long to neuter you will not fix the problem by neutering alone... A neutered dog can still tie.

[Old dog]

I would say that the dog has a good judge of character and you should line breed on him lol and yea cutting his nuts off would sure make a strong statement on the alpha lmao

[houndsnhorses]

IMO a dog is like a horse in that a decent stud a lot of times will make an exceptional gelding. Some claim that it makes them have less drive but I have never seen that happen and have seen the exact opposite many times. Most males are a least somewhat distracted from hunting by sniffing, peeing, humping, growling, etc. Neuter the dog and all of the sudden they have nothing left to distract them from their true job. The only problem I've found is that a lot of the dogs I neuter suddenly become so good I start wishing I had a way to breed to them but the truth of the matter is that they would have never been that good if they were still intact. I also think that if only the very best dogs are kept intact, then the entire hunting hound world will improve. If I have a male that shows any traits at all that I don't want passed down they get neutered immediately, even if they are decent dogs as a whole. And I have seen it improve the dog every single time, even when the dog was pretty darn good to start with. Once again this is just my opinion, but if he's not one of the best, most promising dogs you've ever hunted behind then I'd do it.

[Jeff Eberle]

I'm not big on males period. My thought is why not spend the money and have the dog collected if it turns out to be some great dog you can still breed to him by AI the female. Been checking in to it myself cause I've got a nice young male I'd like to keep. I've got a older male that has been breed a couple of times now. And if there is a female in heat with in 5 miles he know it, and is on the hunt just the wrong hunt.