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Preparing for an intact male BC?


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Hii!

 

So my lovely Draco is 22 weeks old now, and adolescence is approaching. I have never had a male dog before, and so I'm a bit worried about how to address the typical problems (marking, humping etc) that sometimes approaches during these times with an intact male dog.

 

I'm not sure how this forum feels about neutering, but generally people online seem to recommend it. However, as Draco and I live in Norway, it is not legal to neuter unless it's to counter a health issue.

 

So yeah.. I'd just really like some advice on how to handle problems that could arise, so that I'm not left clueless should he develop some of them. He's being supervised constantly when free in the house and we have lots of small training lessons throughout the day (he's doing really good!)

 

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Dear Dogger,

 

 

I've owned many intact adult males and they've been calmer and easier to deal with than the bitches. Yes, you'll get a little leg lifting when/where it isn't welcome but rarely unless an unfamiliar female appears. (If your house guest brings an intact Border Collie bitch, be prepared to wipe up Draco's doggy "Hello!!"s)

 

My two year old Jake had never been inside a house until he came here. By the end of the first week he was no longer marking in the house - house rules plus verbal corrections plus encouraging outdoor marking changed his habits.

 

Humping, except for procreation, is unacceptable behavior and my dogs were never humpers nor humpees.

 

Don't let him mate without a very good reason. Once he knows what its for, he'll be keen for an encore.

 

Donald McCaig

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As long as Draco has been taught good manners, you shouldn't have any issues keeping him intact. You just have to be responsible not to let him breed. None of my males mark in the house, nor any of the male dogs I've had in for training. As Donald notes, males can certainly be easier to live with than some bitches.

 

He's gorgeous!

 

J.

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Wow! Draco's grown up to be such a handsome man!

 

Definitely what Donald and Julie said.

 

My experience is somewhat limited, but I'd found that border collie males often aren't as obnoxiously "male" as some other kinds of dogs. Once house trained I've never had marking issues indoors, intact or not. None of my males, again, intact or not, has ever been much of a humper. One (neutered) occasionally will hump a house mate in play and is easily called off, but none of my others ever did.

 

The one male who was bred did have a hard time when there were females in season, but was still pretty easy to control with verbal cues.

 

I can't imagine that any country would prohibit neutering if even a high proportion of males were impossible to control and live with. ;)

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I have never had an intact male past 14 months of age. He was quite gentle and responsive to commands before (and after) neutering. No offensive male behavior (marking, humping) - except for smelling where other dogs peed, then stopping and indulging in the lip quivering and phlegmen (sp?) response.

 

Draco is gorgeous!

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Teach him manners and obedience. You often have to remind the intact males a bit more often to remain polite, but this is highly individual. Many intact dogs are far more pleasant than neutered males.

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I met a woman with an intact male GSD that didn't lift his leg but would squat to pee. I thought only males neutered young did this so I asked her and she said she thought leg lifting and marking were bad manners so she trained him not to.

 

Most of the intact dogs I have met were really obnoxious but it was always a lack of training that was to blame (or more like no training).

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Thank you so much guys! I do train him a lot, and really hope that it won't be an issue. The vet I go to is rather liberal (as a lot of people in my country are pro neutering) and will neuter dogs even if not they're not technically supposed to (most vets will in fact). So there would be a possibility to neuter him, but it's not technically legal, hehe.

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.........not to lift his leg on something because it has any vertical surface........

I don't mean to take the thread away from the OP but I thought I'd ask a question. I am now seeing I should have curbed this as soon as it started but at the time I didn't think it was a big deal. Does anyone know how I can stop it now? He's been doing it since he was six months old and that was almost a year ago. Also, for future reference, how do I curb it as a pup? Thanks!

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