This post is part of the McGreevy seminar series. Click here for the index.
McGreevy believes that more vets should be savvy regarding dog behaviour, and how diseases can affect behaviour. Vets need to be more educated regarding dog behaviour. Unknowledgeable vets risk giving harmful advice, which potentially could lead to dog bites. McGreevy believes that dog behaviour is important, especially considering many dogs surrendered to shelters are done so due to their behaviour.
Desexing
Photos © Ruthless Photos
Male and female dogs act differently even before puberty. (In my last litter, the boy puppy never squatted, but peed from a standing position as soon as he was capable of standing.) Desexing does not nullify these behavioural differences, as some of them become habit before desexing.
Do dogs know when another dog is desexed? According to Paul McGreevy, no. Dogs cannot smell or sense that another animal is desexed. They may be able to smell that the other animal has less hormones, but they would not know the reason. A desexed male would smell like a juvenile male. A desexed female would smell like any other female that is not in season.
It is unknown if behaviours change due to desexing. No evidence exists that proves that ‘too much testosterone’ is the cause of problematic behaviours to begin with.
Obesity
Desexing leads to increase risk of obesity. Almost ½ of domesticated dogs are obese or chubby. This leads to disease and shorter lives.
(On the other hand, McGreevy noted that having a dog reduces childhood obesity, and said, “We could get good funding for that!”)
Aging
The likelihood of dementia in dogs occurs on a similar age curve as in humans. There are over 30 different behavioural changes that occur when a dog ages.
He mentioned some of the research being undertaken by Golden Oldies. One of the more valuable bits of their website is a senior dog scoring system, which may help dog owners identify signs of dementia earlier.
We are nearing the end of our McGreevy series, with only a couple more posts to go. Stay tuned!
This post is part of the McGreevy seminar series. Click here for the index.
Very interesting, and I agree 100% that vets need to be educated on dog behavior.
I think desexing does change behavior, if the male or female is desexed after puberty .
Obesity in dogs is a massive issue for me
Dachshund Nola’s Mommy
Thanks for your comment, Nola’s Mommy. Glad you agree about vet education… I know vets have a LOT to learn in their study time, but behaviour should be more of a priority.
I’ve only ever owned one desexed dog, and didn’t find his behaviour changed after being desexed – but his coat did get soft, which is unfortunate because I like wirey coats. 🙁
Hey Tegan!
I was pretty surprised when I read in a book that dogs could also get senile dementia. It was pretty sad. And most dogs who do are the ones not normally given mental stimulation. So in actuality, training your dog is not just something for humans, but it also keeps your pet’s mind healthy.
My dog isn’t desexed and the smell of his urine is strong- pretty meant for marking territory.
Huggies and Cheese,
Haopee
My childhood family dog, a chow chow, got senile dementia. 🙁 It was really sad to see such a clean and regal dog diminish to a ‘shell’ of a dog. I very much hope none of my guys go down that path, but I think it’s probably very likely considering the number of dogs in my life.