To fix or not to fix...

[CrazyLabs]

I have a 2 1/2 yr old Chocolate Lab. He is obiedient 99% of the time, though a little high strung. The only issue we have is that he barks at people and dogs walking by the house. If we are out in the yard with him, we can ward off his outbursts. He will still take notice, but knows he shouldn't bark. Unfortunately, if he is in the yard alone, his fur goes up from his head down to his tail and he barks his fool head off.

We have tried a bark collar, which works for the most part. We have also started putting his e-collar on him as of late. He will keep barking on the low to medium setting. It's not until we give him a good zap that he stops.

We have left him intact for whatever reason, but are now considering neutering him. I have read about the process curbing this behavior, but does anyone have any experience with this? I'm not expecting his incessant barking at people to stop completely, but I am hoping that it will calm him down a bit.

Any thoughts? I am hoping to hear from someone that neutered their dog at a later age.

[coonchaser]

sounds more behavioral than anything, so fixing probably won't help, but i'd still fix him, i fix everything it does help some problems and makes them hunt better, i can't stand it when a dog stands around and sniffs or pees on everything i want them to go etc...

[crothmeier]

i like when my dog barks a few times at passing people. they might not, but it comes in handy at 3am when the wrong person might be creeping through your yard.she doesnt bark her head off though, just 4-5 barks.

[Todd Caswell]

Sounds more behavioral, It prabably isn't "Fixable" but you can work on controling it. Collar corrections are no good for this either, you all most have to go out there and make him sit and tell him "NO Quiet" if he respondes, great make him sit there and be a good boy, if he doesn't responde give him a cuff under the chin and tell him Quiet again. Through repetition you might get him to stop. Bottom line he has to listen to you and learn that "Quiet" means just that.

I don't believe nueturing him will make any difference either, we had a male nuetured Cocker that did the same thing, just didn't like other dogs in his Yard. If you took him somewhere else he was fine with all dogs just not strange ones in the yard.

And I really don't believe nueturing them makes them hunt any better or harder. If you never plan on breeding him then it makes sence, to get it done.

[zepman]

My buddy has a barker(yellow lab)...non-stop. Can't even talk to the guy on the phone when he's at home because the noise coming thru over the phone.

He had his dog neutered with no luck. He also has tried the collar with no luck. For his, anyway, it's a behavioral problem. I'd shoot the darn thing before it drove me insane.

[OutlawTorn]

sounds more behavioral than anything, so fixing probably won't help, but i'd still fix him, i fix everything it does help some problems and makes them hunt better, i can't stand it when a dog stands around and sniffs or pees on everything i want them to go etc...

Coonchaser is right about it being behavioral. Fixing the dog will not change anything. The dog has already learned to perform the behaviors at this point and the only solution is training, not removing body parts.

The statement that an intact male dog is not going to hunt as well as a neutered one is simply not true. There is plenty more evidence for the other way around, but I wont go that far - Ill only say that his hunting will be un-affected.

You can prevent some "male" behaviors by fixing your dog early in life, but fixing him wont make him stop once he has started. It becomes a training issue when he has started.

[CrazyLabs]

Thanks for the comments.

Because he is so well behaved otherwise, it's a little hard to admit that this might be behavioral. We have been diligent about watching him outside lately and warding off any outbursts. That seems to work. If he thinks we are watching him stays pretty quiet.

As far as getting him fixed goes, we're going to do it no matter what. After his run-in with a barbed wire fence, the less appendages hanging down the better. Put it this way, his nickname when he got back from pheasant hunting in SD was Split Willie. He's all healed now, but he was nursing a good wound for about 2 weeks.

[OutlawTorn]

Thanks for the comments.

Because he is so well behaved otherwise, it's a little hard to admit that this might be behavioral. We have been diligent about watching him outside lately and warding off any outbursts. That seems to work. If he thinks we are watching him stays pretty quiet.

I can assure you it is behavioral. I have a female that does the exact same thing, and only when she can get away with it - aka when we leave her outside alone. She is an otherwise well behaved dog. I should also mention that she is fixed.

There will not be one time in a thousand when neutering an adult male dog will change his behaviors - but there will be very few dogs where diligent training wont change them, neutered or not. If you decide to get your dog fixed for other reasons, then that is your decision and no one can hold it against you. But dont do it expecting undesired behaviors to go away or you will be disappointed.

[BoxMN]

i like when my dog barks a few times at passing people. they might not, but it comes in handy at 3am when the wrong person might be creeping through your yard.she doesnt bark her head off though, just 4-5 barks.

Ditto here. And my neighbors actually like the barks as well, as the dogs don't bark unless there is something wrong or somebody they don't know walks by or through the alley. It is just the 4-5 barks as well, and these are adult spayed females inside an invisible fence.

On another note, I notice that dogs in invisible fences seem ot bark more at people walking by than fenced or even chained dogs. I think tha tthe dogs "think" their barking is what is keeping the people out of the yard, and they seem to be proud of it