Bee Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 (edited) Has anyone had any experience trying chemical castration (suprelorin)? We are trying to treat Rook's aggression towards non-greyhound breeds, but understand from our vets that castration may well make things worse if (as we suspect) his reactions are fear-based. The vets have suggested trying a chemical treatment first and seeing the reaction - does anyone have any experience with this? (For info, Rook is a retired racer, 3.5 years old, and has been with us for about 10 months now. Not sure how he came to us intact but there it is, and he is such a wonderful and brave boy that we are wary of changing him unless it will help. He was initially very friendly towards other dog breeds but after a couple of negative encounters, he has now turned very reactive, and really will want to pin down any dog that he doesn't know that gets within a couple of metres from him. We are working on leave it/ watch me, and of course on trying to educate other dog owners not to let their off lead dogs near ours, but still want to protect him from doing harm if things turn sour - and I am worried that with small dogs, muzzle notwithstanding, his 32kgs can do a lot of damage.) Edited February 7, 2022 by Bee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatterseaBrindl Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 Why don’t you want to surgically castrate him? Quote Nancy...Mom to Sid (Peteles Tiger), Kibo (112 Carlota Galgos) and Joshi. Missing Casey, Gomer, Mona, Penelope, BillieJean, Bandit, Nixon (Starz Sammie), Ruby (Watch Me Dash) Nigel (Nigel), and especially little Mario, waiting at the Bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bee Posted February 7, 2022 Author Share Posted February 7, 2022 1 hour ago, BatterseaBrindl said: Why don’t you want to surgically castrate him? The only concern is how it would affect his behaviour. The vets are saying that castration can make his anxiety worse- so to try chemical and if it works, then make it permanent. But I also wonder if it isn’t just easier to get it done once and for all and hope for the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racindog Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 The vets are correct! Neutered male dogs are more likely to show aggression and fear-related behavior. There have been new studies done that show this. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/canine-corner/201805/neutering-causes-behavior-problems-in-male-dogs No way would I risk doing that to him either surgically or especially not chemically. It is not his fault he is reactive. As you said he was the one victimized. This is what sometimes happens to perfectly social and well adjusted dogs once they are attacked/aggressed on by other aggressive dogs. It is why people that do not control their aggressive dogs and then allow them to aggress on an innocent dog-like your innocent hound was- are my pet peeve. As far as I am concerned it is always tragic but do you know that sometimes it is exacerbated because if this happens to a $10,000 working dog e.g. an independence dog or seeing eye dog or even some search & rescue dogs it will ruin the dog for life. So you have what used to be valuable service dog contributing to society that can no longer do his job, is out of a home, and nobody even wants to home him/her because of the management issues that they now have with them. I wish I had better news for you. Probably your best bet is just be vigilant with his management. He can't help it they did that to him and he certainly can't be blamed for it. I have 3 dogs and 2 of them have to wear muzzles all the time even in my house. I had a very special and supremely empathetic greyhound male named Minny-large like yours- that had to wear a muzzle 24/7 because he had a brain disorder and would just randomly go off and violently attack people or dogs. Fortunately it did not happen often but it had to be prevented at all cost because it was dangerous violent and bloody if it did happen and he wasn't muzzled. But this in no way diminished his relation with me or others. He was such a loving dog. After an episode you could tell he knew something had happened but he didn't know what and sometimes other dogs would look at him kind of weird like they knew something wasn't 100% to. But he did not mind wearing his muzzle at all and was perfectly safe and happy to go to greyhound picnics and thnigs just like any other dog. He even learned to play ball with his muzzle on! I got him a kong biscuit ball- with the holes in it that are supposed to have treats stuffed in- and he would easily pick it up and run and play ball with it WITH his basket muzzle on. So don't worry. It will NOT in any way take away from the great times and relationship he can have with his family-and others- as long as you properly manage him and just give him a little extra attention to meet his needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racindog Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 The vets are correct! Neutered male dogs are more likely to show aggression and fear-related behavior. There have been new studies done that show this. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/canine-corner/201805/neutering-causes-behavior-problems-in-male-dogs No way would I risk doing that to him either surgically or especially not chemically. It is not his fault he is reactive. As you said he was the one victimized. This is what sometimes happens to perfectly social and well adjusted dogs once they are attacked/aggressed on by other aggressive dogs. It is why people that do not control their aggressive dogs and then allow them to aggress on an innocent dog-like your innocent hound was- are my pet peeve. As far as I am concerned it is always tragic but do you know that sometimes it is exacerbated because if this happens to a $10,000 working dog e.g. an independence dog or seeing eye dog or even some search & rescue dogs it will ruin the dog for life. So you have what used to be valuable service dog contributing to society that can no longer do his job, is out of a home, and nobody even wants to home him/her because of the management issues that they now have with them. I wish I had better news for you. Probably your best bet is just be vigilant with his management. He can't help it they did that to him and he certainly can't be blamed for it. I have 3 dogs and 2 of them have to wear muzzles all the time even in my house. I had a very special and supremely empathetic greyhound male named Minny-large like yours- that had to wear a muzzle 24/7 because he had a brain disorder and would just randomly go off and violently attack people or dogs. Fortunately it did not happen often but it had to be prevented at all cost because it was dangerous violent and bloody if it did happen and he wasn't muzzled. But this in no way diminished his relation with me or others. He was such a loving dog. After an episode you could tell he knew something had happened but he didn't know what and sometimes other dogs would look at him kind of weird like they knew something wasn't 100% to. But he did not mind wearing his muzzle at all and was perfectly safe and happy to go to greyhound picnics and thnigs just like any other dog. He even learned to play ball with his muzzle on! I got him a kong biscuit ball- with the holes in it that are supposed to have treats stuffed in- and he would easily pick it up and run and play ball with it WITH his basket muzzle on. So don't worry. It will NOT in any way take away from the great times and relationship he can have with his family-and others- as long as you properly manage him and just give him a little extra attention to meet his needs. This just came in my mail today. I think it is a pretty good article and may help you. https://blog.healthypawspetinsurance.com/leash-reactivity-in-dogs-a-trainer-explains-what-to-do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bee Posted February 7, 2022 Author Share Posted February 7, 2022 Thank you @racindog. The good news is that he is super gentle and friendly with people, with other greyhounds and with the few non-greyhound friends he met before the incident. And he is very treat responsive so as long as he is on a lead, we can train him to leave alone and/or move away as needed MOST OF THE TIME. It just makes me so sad that the way that he is, he can never be allowed off the lead unless it is an enclosed space with only greyhounds around, and that walking on lead is so stressful for him if we go to any parks where off-lead dogs may bound up at him (basically all the parks in London except those where dogs are not allowed!). I also suspect that the fact that he is not neutered makes the other dogs more aggressive towards him also. This is why we want to research all options, but agree with you that the answer may well be accepting the limitations and knowing that this does not stop him being loving or happy in his forever home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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