Intact Male Tips and Advice

[Traz, Karen & Dale]

Traz is an 8 1/2 month old, intact male ALD.  He is part of a service dog breeding program.  Traz is now lifting his leg to mark quite of few things.  Luckily, he isn't doing this inside the house.  We are still able to go to the dog park without incident from other dogs.  He is not mounting other dogs, but has a couple that he pays a little too much attention to...licking, mainly...1 female and an older male dog.  I discourage this behavior because I don't want him to think it's ok.  Our trainer said that focusing that much attention is showing dominance and that can't happen in the park.  I've heard that intact and neutered dogs can get into it with each other because of the testosterone.  I hope, hope, we don't have to deal with that because Traz really enjoys his dog park outings.

Recently, Traz is doing more humping in the house; my husband's leg and my husband's coat hanging on the chair.  I'm guess he's trying to take the Alpha male role in the house.  The latter one was quite interesting because I thought he was sniffing out his dog treats in the pocket.  Nope!  He was finding pleasure in the humping way.

So, what else can we expect from our intact male?  What do you give them so they can release their hormonal/sexual tension?  Beside his puppy/teenage mischief from time to time due to boredom, he is a very sweet boy.  I hope he doesn't do a Jekyl & Hyde personality change on us.  Whatever we have in store, I hope all his training will help keep things under control.

All comments and suggestions are appreciated so we can deal with this new doodle stage.

[Adina P]

I dont think he needs to express his sexual energy. I think being very strict with training, expectations, and behavior is the way to go. He will just need to learn self control. I know several trainers to keep their dogs intact. These dogs are able to be in the company of other females and males without a single problem. This is all going to their training. Of course they are very strict and would never let their dogs run around the dog park. Not saying that you should not use the dog park but it may not be the best place for an intact dog.

[Traz, Karen & Dale]

Thank you for your response, Adina.  Our breeder said that we needed to watch Traz more closely, especially at the dog park since he could jump a female and/or have encounters with neutered males.  We definitely don't want anything to happen to Traz.  The dog parks have just been a great way for him to socialize and get some exercise. There are days that he has so much energy that his walks aren't enough to satisfy him.  We have found a dog park that isn't used much so we've taken him there to practice our recall command.  Plus, we found one dog mate that is currently intact, that plays extremely well with him.  I guess I should look for more intact playmates for the socialization aspect.  All these new things to consider with our precious boy.  I appreciate your words of encouragement.

[Adina P]

Not everyone agrees on this, but if I had an intact male I would hesitate to take him to the dog park.  As intact males get closer to a year old sometimes they can start to cause trouble in a group setting.  It doesn't mean that they are bad dogs.  It does mean that unless they are very well trained and reliable on and off leash, they will likely be more difficult to control and their hormones will win out. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that when breeders and trainers emphasize 'socializing' one's dog what they mean is taking them out into the world and teaching them to be comfortable in the company of things of the world.  It is exposing them to animals, people, places, sights, and sounds.  It does NOT mean they have to interact with all those things.  A well socialized dog does not mean a dog that has played with 100 dogs.  It just means a dog that can peacefully coexist with other dogs around because they aren't new to seeing other dogs.  But Traz does not necessarily need a weekly play date  or anything.  I want my dog to be chill and okay around other dogs, I don't want him to believe that he needs to play with every single dog he sees.  If you find a dog he gets along well with and you want to set up a play date, fine. 

Also if he is supposed to be a sire for service dogs, it seems he should go through very strict training at advanced levels to prove himself a good sire of service dogs.  If Traz is able to be well trained, reliable, obedient, and is able to develop self-control that says good things about his genetics and the characteristics he will pass on to puppies. 

Just my two cents.  I have very strong opinions on training and dog parks as you can see.  Yes, watch him closely, but also believe he should be trained almost as strictly as a service dog as it is the only way to show his character and test his ability in this area (which gets passed to puppies).  Oh and serious training really wears a dog out, mentally...sometimes more than playing!  A well trained dog can be well behaved even if he has some pent up energy.

[Traz, Karen & Dale]

Yes, Adina, the breeder has selected him as a sire for service dogs.  The breeder is a personal friend and when I mentioned that we were looking for a dog, she told me about her guardian program.  You know the rest of the story.  We, personally, don't need him as a service dog, but we would like him to be a therapy dog some day because it is in his genes.  Traz is currently in the Advanced Puppy Classes and hopefully will receive his CGC certificate.  I send regular updates and pictures to the breeder so she is aware of what is happening in his life.  If we lived closer, we could have attended the training that her organization provides.  Unfortunately, it would be a round trip of 4+ hours to accomplish this task.  So, we've opted for local training.  Traz has definitely come a long way since we received him 4 1/2 month ago.  He is a smart boy and we are confident that he will do wonderful things.  Do I sound a little bias?  Ok, I am...but he's a doodle and we are very proud of it.  His current trainer is confident that Traz will achieve the therapy dog status too.  Patience and training are our driving force right now.  I know all this hard work will pay off as he moves through puppy/teenage hood.  Thanks again for your comments.  They are definitely appreciated