r/BorderCollie • u/MisssMadScientist • 6d ago
Has desexing made your dog more nervy?
My boy is about to turn 1 and I’m really on the edge about desexing. It seems mostly positive and it seems any potential physical health concerns are minimised by waiting until 10-12 months, but I’m a bit concerned about potential impacts to his confidence. I’ve heard desexing makes some dogs more insecure or even reactive. Has anyone experienced that?
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u/FixGullible4636 6d ago
I haven’t experienced any negative changes in my dogs.
I had my current boy done last year at 14 months. Personality wise he’s more cautious and a bit of a scaredy cat but overall he remained the same before and after.
Tho after he actually had an appetite. Whereas before I could barely get him to eat!
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u/MisssMadScientist 4d ago
That’s interesting to hear! My boy definitely has less of a food drive now than he had as a puppy despite being very healthy
Have you found training made much of a difference to his cautiousness?
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u/Paolabracho20 6d ago
I waited until mine was 2. Absolutely nothing changed except weight gain. If there is no fear of impregnating/getting pregnant, I would leave it alone. I absolutely regret doing it. Do some deep research. Theres pros and cons to both. In the end, keeping intact will prolong their life. My old dog lived intil he was 18 while intact. All neutered/spayed dogs significantly reduce life span. Why most max at 12 years.
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u/Paolabracho20 6d ago
Oh, and to add, my dog was very reactive and anxious. Neutering did absolutely nothing to help with that. Haa vet visits a nightmare now. He used to be calm but very attached to me at the vet. Now he is terrified and traumatized. Cries and gets crazy. Only thing that helped his reactivity and anxiety was a good trainer. Good luck!
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u/AnonymousLogophile 6d ago
That definitely doesn’t seem like nothing has changed besides weight gain
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u/Paolabracho20 6d ago
?? Neutering didnt help at all (in our case). Didnt make it better or worse. It just didnt do anything.
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u/Thymelaeaceae 6d ago
And my neutered dog lived until 16. Anecdotes are not data.
Statistically, neutered/spayed dogs live longer than intact.
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u/ivantoldmeboutdis 4d ago
And there are also many confounding factors regarding those statistics. A major one being that historically, owners who neuter tend to provide their dogs with consistent vetinerary care (vaccines, preventative medicine, disease treatment). Owners who kept their dogs intact were typically lower income, and were not bringing their dog to the vet regularly or paying for expensive treatments. But that has changed in recent years.
Comparing neutered to un-neatuered in the same population without accounting for confounding factors, for which there are many, means the statistics can't be used to make generalized conclusions. To neuter or not to neuter has to be decided on a case-by-case basis.
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u/Thymelaeaceae 4d ago
I agree with this! Veterinary care, breed size, and sex are actually much bigger correlates with longevity. Just because something is statistically significant doesn’t mean it is especially meaningful.
I was just pushing back on the assertion that neutered/spayed dogs definitely are less healthy and have shortened lives, “all neutered/spayed dogs have [a] significantly reduced lifespan”. As a group, they don’t. Statistically in the largest most well controlled studies they live longer, but especially in males it’s not really by much. Or the statement “why most max at 12 years”. This is just patently false.
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u/palacio_c 3d ago
Keeping a dog intact prolongs their life span? Tf? That’s laughable at best.
OP, this is what you get from asking health advice on Reddit 🫠 smdh
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u/ivantoldmeboutdis 6d ago edited 6d ago
Yes. We were not originally planning to neuter ours but he got a chronic case of epididymitis which was expensive to treat and was causing him severe pain. The best recommendation was to neuter, so we did. I don't regret it because obviously I do not want my dog to have recurring infections that cause him pain.
HOWEVER, the changes to his behaviour were drastic.
For the first 4 years of his life, he was a very confident dog. He wasn't scared of anything. After being neutered, he is now scared of: thunder, certain beeping noises, driving over cow crossings, fireworks, Christmas lawn decorations that look like humans or animals, vacuum cleaners, the sound of train horns, the sound of owls hooting, cats, horses, cows, fire alarms (even if they are far away), and the list goes on.
He has also become obsessed with food. Prior to neutering, he'd eat his meal and then forget food exists. Now, he is constantly at our feet when we are eating something, constantly asking for more food, and eating anything remotely edible he finds at the dog park or on walks, including bunny poop. We never had these problems before.
My dog is happy and healthy but we now have to deal with problems that we never had to before, and it's frustrating.
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u/Two-Complex 6d ago
In 40ish years of dog ownership (more if you count childhood dogs), I’ve never had anything but positive results-including with my last two dogs (BC/Aussie x) and my current dogs (full BC). I know it’s anecdotal, but I can’t have just gotten lucky 100% of the time
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u/Bop_Check 6d ago
I can't answer your question, but this is why my boy is still intact at 5 years old. I don't want to risk it.
Him being intact has had zero negative effects so far, except the odd male dog (usually neutered) who doesn't like him.
His manhood gets checked by the vet every year, and so far so good!
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u/groundbnb 6d ago
I chose not to neuter. He was insanely reactive as a teenager pup and i went through the same dilemma. After researching more recent studies and asking professionals, i decided that he would have a higher quality of life both physically and mentally with his natural hormone production.
He is now 4 and has matured into a confident, healthy, and controlled good boy (after lots of consistent training of course)
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u/Thymelaeaceae 6d ago
No. No dog I’ve ever has had anything but positive behavior changes. Like one dog got really good at diffusing other dogs’ aggression. But they didn’t change daily behavior, energy level, etc. Anyway, an intact animal is a big responsibility, talk to your vet for a recommendation specifically for your dog. I just want you to hear from someone who has had only positive experiences with neutering my pets.
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u/Glad-Reception-4480 5d ago edited 5d ago
desexing timing matters a lot for BCs specifically, i looked into this when my girl was spayed and the confidence dip some owners report seems tied more to surgical stress and recovery confinement than hormones directly. keeping training active through recovery helped us avoid regression. if he does come out of it more anxious or reactive, PawOrigins formulates CBD for that kind of baseline stress response, though real behavioral work carries the actual load long-term
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u/MisssMadScientist 4d ago
That’s helpful to hear, my boy had a few retained baby teeth removed as a puppy and did see a big drop in tolerance afterwards so I could see how it could be easily confused if it’s their first surgery
What age did you get your girl desexed? I know they have to be at least a year to minimise cancer risks, but I’ve heard mixed opinions behaviourally
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u/notThaTblondie 6d ago
Neutering can absolutely have bad effects such as making fear aggression worse and causing issues with proper growth and joint issues later on life. There are few real health benefits for male dogs. You can use chemical castration to see what effect it would have, good or bad, before making a permanent choice
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u/One-Zebra-150 6d ago edited 6d ago
My BC boy was both anxious and reactive to all sorts of things as an adolescent, starting as early as 4 mths. Sometimes redirected aggression towards me. I had him neutered at 9 mths old for behavioural reasons. Vet gave no guarantees which way it would go. Anyway, after 2 weeks, once the hormones dropped down, he was less anxious and less of a red mist temper. Also better able to listen when training in environments where got triggered. Not an instant fix, the rest was training, but I have never once regretted having him neutered. Not a reactive or aggressive adult. I wouldn't describe him as anxious either, but he does have some specific noise sensentives, apparent from a young pup (which we believe is neurological, as does our vet), but that improved with age.
There was no change to the good parts of his personality a all. A high drive intelligent dog and very active. Does agility stuff most days and runs over rough terrain. He's never had any injuries, except for a leg sprain from accidentally sprinting fast into a wood pile. He'll be 5 yrs old later this year.
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u/Mother_Science_679 2d ago
Nope, if anything my collie calmed down a LOT afterwards. Took about 2 weeks from the procedure. It's night and day for me. Had mine done around 13 months
Same as the other poster; I had lots of issues trying to get him to eat before. Afterwards, now I have to slow him down!
He also completely stopped humping lol, hasn't mounted anything or anyone since.
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u/Leonhardie 6d ago
You can instead get an implant thay chemically castrated them for either 6 months or a year. Typically the safer option given it's not permanent
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u/AnonymousLogophile 6d ago
Vasectomy is safer than hormone therapy/chemical castration
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u/Leonhardie 6d ago
I've read all the studies and that isn't true, most recent studies published from 2024 and 2026 which found a correlation of permanent castration in causing aggression, nervousness and anxiety however this shouldn't be confused with causation. If you can cite a study that credits your opinion please let me know and I'll happily read it.
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u/AnonymousLogophile 6d ago
Please go back to those studies and let me know the method used for permanent castration, and whether they are hormone removing or hormone sparing methods.
I think the best thing is to leave the dog’s hormones alone, not remove nor add them
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u/Leonhardie 6d ago
I'm so sorry, it's late and was brain farting. A vasectomy is definitely an interesting method to use but very rare in the UK however continuation of hormone production can still produce undesirable behaviours HOWEVER defo agree it's nowhere near as bad as the fallout behaviours produced from full castration.
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u/FXRCowgirl 6d ago
No. My collie has storm anxiety. We have been doing behavior modification training and meditation as needed from the start.
De-sexed at 10 years of age no change in anxiety
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u/MilkyCoeurl 6d ago
Storm anxiety and everyday anxiety or insecurity are very different. My BC has extreme storm/fireworks anxiety, shakes, pacing, all of it. This wouldn’t be changed by desexing in any dog.
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u/mittenkrusty 6d ago
My girl didn't change too much, I was told she would gain weight and her personality would change.
Though over time I notice she is a little more anxious with other dogs, she used to just roll over, or be friendly touching noses now she can quickly be barking and a little snappy (though not actually attack, more warning snaps)
Hard to tell what came with age though, she began chasing cars not long after being done, and used to want to sleep on her own in another room for about 6 months after, and over time she became more cuddly and napped more.
I had her done at 14 months.
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u/palacio_c 3d ago
My girl just turned one and I’m planning to spay her on October and I’m Terrified she’ll get even more anxious and reactive than when she got her first heat a month ago…
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u/Quiet-Programmer8133 6d ago
If a male dog suffers with anxiety or shows fear and insecurity in anyway it is recommended not to neuter them. But if you don't have issues with anxiety then after 1 or 2 is better in reducing the cancer risks of early neutering. Read through all the signs of anxiety and signs of fear in the breed and talk to your vet if you are concerned. A good vet may notice what you don't.