Castration??

Hi All,

I would just like advice and views on my problem.... Hopefully to get a result...

I have 2 staffies who are brothers called Blue and Diesel, They turned 1 year old in October 2011. Recently though, they have become more aggressive to one another and have fought something severe. We ended taking both to the vet but Diesel was a lot more worse off. And everytime they fight Diesel always comes off worst. It ends in my partner and I getting stressed out about the situation, and falling out. My partner wants to get rid of Blue, but I feel the situation could be resolved with other measures... I feel like we could at least try castration, but again my partner says it's a waste of money as it won't work or change how they act with one another. They don't fight all the time, but when they do I can't stop them myself without a lot of damage being caused.

I don't want to get rid of my dogs because of how the behave, there has got to be another way to get around this. Please give me your thoughts.

Amanda

you should of stop it before it happen it very likey you going have to rehome one now,

also you should never have brothers or sisters

We didn't intend to buy 2 staffies, We only bought one originally but Diesel was bought by my partners friend and he was about to be rehomed, but due to the kind of dog they are, and the kind of people that have them, I didn't want any harm to come to Diesel, even though I didn't know him or seen him. It's just the kinda person I am, but it's kinda ironic, because he is coming to harm now.

I've never had 2 together so not gonna be much help.

I would be inclined to have both neutered, although this isn't 'proven' to stop aggresion it may help.

You and OH need to support each other right now as conflicting views will affect the dogs, there at the age where they are going to push boundries and if you keep on top of it then if they have already lived together over a year happily then I hope its just a phase.

Hiya and welcome to the forum btw

when you have a 2 dogs that are the same sex you have stop any trouble before it happens becasue the fight lead to bad blood between the two

i'm not sure what to say really, if you decide to keep them both never leave them alone in the same room becasue my mate had 2 brother and they nearly killed each in 20mins when he nip out to the shop so need 2 crates,

get rid of all toy that could end up fighting over, look for body signs put a stop to anything that could get out of hand

Hi & welcome to the forum.

Not good news, I'm afraid. It's often a problem having two siblings together, especially two males or two females. Although it's possible to work with the dogs to get them living together nicely, it would take the help of a professional behaviourist to get you going in the right direction.

Castration may or may not help. It certainly isn't guaranteed to work, and you could be spending a couple of hundred pounds to no effect.

I think you may have to seriously consider rehoming one of the dogs before things get out of hand and one of them gets badly injured. That's obviously something you will need to discuss together.

In the meantime I wouldn't leave them alone together at any time.

I was kinda hoping you'd tell me - Castration is wonderful - It'll work for sure!! It's never going to happen, I don't want my dog or dogs rehomed, I'm terrified who'd get them and what would happen to them. I know there are nice people out there who would look after them but it's risky. They are my babies at the end of the day and I just want to look after their best interests.
I may just chance castration, at least then I can say, 'Well I tried my best' We keep the dogs crated at night and when we're out of the house during the day at work, so it's not really too bad because they are always supervised when they are together.
It's been supervised that they've fought, over stupid things too. There is no toys to play with nowadays, they tear everything to bits, so we've got footballs they play with in the garden. One doesn't take any interest in the football though.

Spikster wrote:I was kinda hoping you'd tell me - Castration is wonderful - It'll work for sure!! It's never going to happen, I don't want my dog or dogs rehomed, I'm terrified who'd get them and what would happen to them. I know there are nice people out there who would look after them but it's risky. They are my babies at the end of the day and I just want to look after their best interests.

By all means try it. All I'm saying is that it may not be the cure you want. And whatever you do, you should keep them seperated when you are not there to supervise. Would there be any chance that you could get a respectable behaviourist to help? The good ones are expensive, but are often a lot of help.

As to the rehoming, if you went through a bona fide rescue centre then they would check out prospective owners to make sure that he would be going to a good, forever home. If the worst came to the worst, though, ask yourself which is better...a rescue centre or a seriously injured staff?

In situations like this I'd love to be able to wave a magic wand & make everything ok, but I can't.

I have brother and sister and seem to be doing fine but there is a lot online about litter mates, sibling rivalry etc. Quite a few say that if you have two males fighting then you castrate the less dominant dog.There is some sensible sounding advice on here http://www.doglistener.co.uk/choosing/siblings.shtml

although mine are not sibblings i have 2 and they can argue and carry on the trick is to nip in the bud before it escelates. i don't leave my 2 on their own for a second. i learnt the hard way but i must admit not to the extent of injuries we caught it as it started and my son seperated them. i won't ever forget it and it has never happened since because we can spot the signs now of when one is getting fed up of the other and we step in to stop it at the beginning fnot when its already started. our youngest we had castrated a few months ago for the same reason he was getting aggressive with other dogs. he was such a lovely sociable wee man and then turned into some little monster on teh park one day so we had him done and to tell you the truth it hasnt made a bit of defference. it works for some and not for others. its the not the be all and end all but if you wnat to try it before you take the drastic action of rehoming one of your dogs then its your choice

Hola!!! brothers or sisters together is leading to one big barrel of fun. usually its because they bond so close together that they dont accept other dogs.
on the other hand I take marley to see his brother as much as possible and they fight like hell hounds but when it comes down to it they stand side by side against other dogs.
Do not give up, they will learn to get along it just seems like hell while they at it hammer an tongues. castration is not always the answer rather than educating yourself on dog pschology. understanding them rather than waiting for them to understand you is often the easiest way.
castration isnt the easy fix most people are led to believe cant stress that enough.

My bitch settled after being spayed but not by a whole lot. For dogs i suppose it could be different.

If you castrate though you will have to do them both as the entire male will bully the castrated one, so even if you castrate the bully male now the other one might turn into the bully.

As Steve has already said you will just have to be extra careful with them and not leave them alone, however if they get to the point where you can't let them in the same room without a fight then you will have to bite the bullet and rehome one before they kill eachother. Not all people are thugs and i'm sure you could find a wonderful home for one of them.

stiofan wrote:I have brother and sister and seem to be doing fine but there is a lot online about litter mates, sibling rivalry etc. Quite a few say that if you have two males fighting then you castrate the less dominant dog.There is some sensible sounding advice on here http://www.doglistener.co.uk/choosing/siblings.shtml

i would have thought it would be the more dominant dog that would be better getting castrated ?

Thanks for all your replies, it's all been very much appreciated. I will now need to go and do some hard thinking

Good advice from Caryll and others. Do you walk them together? For me, a structured walk as a pack works. I personally do believe that having them both done may prevent some Testosterone related dominance however besides always supervising, perhaps a professional consultation will help you with assessing body language and posturing so that you can redirect any aggressive behaviour before it starts.

I agree with the advice given by Caryll and what Ty suggested with walking is an excellent idea as well. Here is a link to help you understand body language and since they have already fought I would err on the side of caution and seperate them if in doubt.

http://staffy-bull-terrier.co.uk/dogbodylanguage.html

xTitans-mummyx wrote:

stiofan wrote:I have brother and sister and seem to be doing fine but there is a lot online about litter mates, sibling rivalry etc. Quite a few say that if you have two males fighting then you castrate the less dominant dog.There is some sensible sounding advice on here http://www.doglistener.co.uk/choosing/siblings.shtml

i would have thought it would be the more dominant dog that would be better getting castrated ?

Dominance isn't always about hormones - it's just the dog's character! So if you castrate the dominant one, you may still have the same amount of dominance.

I'm sorry for the problems you're going through. Unfortunately its a very bad idea to keep two male staffies together and also a bad idea to keep litter mates-so you have double trouble. The two boys have been in competition with each other since birth and will continue to be.
If you do decide to castrate them please do both and not just one, although I don't think it will work miracles. Unfortunately staffies can and will fight to the death. If your not already doing so I suggest you seperate them behind baby gates when you are out. It could work out but your dogs might be happier if one of them is rehomed.
I don't suggest rehoming lightly, I know how hard it must be to find a safe loving home for one of your boys. I don't know if you work full time or from home but they will both need to be supervised constantly and at any hints of a scrap brewing you must stop them. Make sure they have loads and loads of exercise, the more the better.

Hi Amanda, The best advice I can give you is speak to a vet about the castration, they will have a better idea if you should have both done or start with the less dominant one. A good canine behaviorist will help you become more assertive and to recognize the signs of any brewing trouble so that you can act before it escalates. It's normally the case that when there are 2 one will be more dominant over the other... that's pack life, and you have to support that which is why they normally say castrate the less dominant one... but ultimately you still have to have full command of both and be top. Increase their walks too... it sounds silly but if they're tired and worn out they're less likely to fight (does not mean that they won't though!!) Local rescue centers quite often have a good behavioural expert that they recommend, some even run classes at a reasonable price it's worth looking into. Until then keep them in seperate crates in the same room when you are not around, don't risk leaving them together. Good luck and I hope you find some help closer to home

xTitans-mummyx wrote:

stiofan wrote:I have brother and sister and seem to be doing fine but there is a lot online about litter mates, sibling rivalry etc. Quite a few say that if you have two males fighting then you castrate the less dominant dog.There is some sensible sounding advice on here http://www.doglistener.co.uk/choosing/siblings.shtml

i would have thought it would be the more dominant dog that would be better getting castrated ?

I think the idea is that castrating the less dominant one opens up the gap between the dominant and less dominant dogs and they settle in to a relationship where they are not arguing over who is in charge . Castrating the dominant one just leaves them both competing.But obviously it will depend on the dogs involved, can't work in every case and i don't know anyone who's tried it,ask on a general dog forum?

shakespearesdog wrote:I'm sorry for the problems you're going through. Unfortunately its a very bad idea to keep two male staffies together and also a bad idea to keep litter mates-so you have double trouble. The two boys have been in competition with each other since birth and will continue to be.

I am sorry to contradict you but there are many people who have more than one Staffy including some with litter mates that live very harmoniously together. It just may taken a bit more of a committment. If the humans in the home behave as leaders/resource owner than the two males will know their position (no point arguing over a lower place now is there). That being said, it is never a good idea to leave these dogs unsupervised simply because of their nature of never giving up should a fight arise.

shakespearesdog wrote:Unfortunately staffies can and will fight to the death. If your not already doing so I suggest you seperate them behind baby gates when you are out. It could work out but your dogs might be happier if one of them is rehomed.

Rehoming should be a last resort. Once again a professional annimal behavioursist may provide valuable information. It may cost but is well worth it.

I am sorry to contradict you but there are many people who have more than one Staffy including some with litter mates that live very harmoniously together

Of course there is and it's lovely to see but it was always drummed into me that on no account should litter mates or two male staffies live together. I was very surprised upon joining this forum to see several harmonious pairs of dogs living together. I know my male wouldn't stand for it and hes very laid back.

Ty was around 1 when we rescued 12 weeks old kaos. He wasnt quite as funny with other dogs at the time but still hard work highly strung a bit unpredicable. Kaos was only ever supposed to me fostered by me till a good home came along beacuse of Ty but they really suprised me and hit it off. Although i do think if kaos was much older than 12 weeks it would of been a different story. I got lucky as kaos is really layed back and chilled with no "issues" which is completley the opposite of Ty so they get along pretty well. Even when Ty attempts to hump kaos (domanance) kaos just loks at me as if 2 say"what the hell does he think hes doing....idiot!" they are soooo different which is why it works but that was luck.