Do male dogs listen to men more when their testosterone is raging?

Our little staffy Zion is now 8 months old, but he started humping when he was 8 weeks old! His breeder, vet & anyone with dogs, that I spoke to about this, said that it probably was just “excited behavior” but really I just think he is a super horny dog. We had him scheduled to get fixed May 20th, but due to him having a 105.7 fever, and him having to spend a few nights in the doggy ER, we were suggest to wait a month for his immune system to strength again prior to his neutering. (Ps. After x-rays, ultrasounds & infectious disease testing, there was nothing found that cause his increase in WBC & fever) We had to schedule him on June 10th for blood work, to check his immune system & make sure he is go to go, and rescheduled his snip snip day on June 15th.

What has been clear and evident in this month of waiting hell, is that he goes into moment of, what I like to call, “testosterone rage”. His honey brown eyes, turn almost completely black, his red rocket shoots out, and the craziness starts. Typically constant barking, complete dismissal of commands (that he followed to a T for months), running away instead of coming when called, nipping & some method of trying to either hump me, or bunching up blankets to up, is happening multiple times a day.

I am the one home with him, feeds him, trained him, & walks him. Prior to this last month, he listened to me more than my fiancée, but now it seems like his little bouts of testosterone rage lessen when my fiancée is around & he listens when my fiancée says to stop if he’s starting up. This is also the case when my fiancées brother is around. It’s like Zion waits to watch when the men leave & starts his testosterone antics when the males are gone. Is this a thing? I know dogs sniffers pick up on an insane amount of things, but do women’s pheromones or scent cause increased/more frequent testosterone release in male dogs? Does this also have any effect on male dogs not listening to commands from women? I am a great “googler” but can’t seem to find anything regarding this topic, so I figured I would ask on here! Hopefully someone has some insight, and some suggestions to help me get through these next two weeks because he is driving me bananas!!

I don't think it's a male/female thing as such - I think it depends on who has the attitude he responds to. So if you're a quiet-ish person he'll respond differently than if you're a bolshy guy!

Don't forget that castration will not usually affect 'learnt' behaviour, only sex related behaviour. So if a dog has learnt to act in a certain way, in response to certain situations (even humping) then neutering won't make much of a difference.

So he previously listened to me very well. Just over the past couple of weeks has the change between him listening to me, going to listening to my boyfriend & his brother. He is like a sex crazed animal. So I was curious to see if a correlation of female pheromones & male pheromones could have anything to do with it.

"I'm off to bed now, but I'll have a look in the morning.

Supralorin is basically a temporary testosterone block. It lasts about 6 months usually. I'm sure your vets would know of it."

I am just posting this on this topic instead of the other because the other is about toys...

I will definitely ask my vet about this!

As far as I'm aware there are no scientific papers regarding neutering/mental growth (Perpetual Puppy Syndrome). However, there are a couple of useful articles about early neutering and problems/benefits in general...

https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/three-reasons-to-reconsider-spayneuter/

https://www.doglistener.co.uk/neutering_definitive

I do understand your reasons for wanting to neuter, but be aware that it may not give you the outcome you want! We had our last boy castrated at about 18 months (earlier than I would have liked - I would have preferred at least two years), but he had neurological problems that made his behaviour impossible to deal with (Sudden Onset Aggression Syndrome), and was given rest at just two years old. He did improve slightly after the castration & mainly stopped humping & scent marking, but not entirely.

All I would say is read up on ALL of the pros & cons and have a good long talk with your partner about where to go from here. This should include training - you both have to agree on exactly what commands you give, and how you give them. Consistency is the key.

Staffords are highly intelligent, so not only will they learn what you want them to, they will also learn what you don't want them to! And once learnt, it's hard to correct.

Oh my goodness, that is so sad about your dog! I was completely unaware and uneducated at the possible cons of doing this at an early age. That is really scary. I really appreciate you sharing this information with me and will do some research over the weekend. What was the medication or whatever it was, that you suggested that lowers their testosterone? I want to have a list to discuss with my vet.

Well, over here it's called Supralorin. I've no idea if it's called the same thing in the US.

It's generally used for two reasons.
1. By breeders if they don't want to mate a dog at their bitch's next season and
2. To see what effect castration will give it you want to go that way.

I'm certainly not saying don't neuter! Just consider the pros & cons of EARLY neutering versus your own personal situation.

Sometimes you just have no choice.

zionthehappystaffy wrote:Oh my goodness, that is so sad about your dog!

Yes, it was so sad - he was destined for a show career & could possibly have made it (with his breeder showing him) to champion, but his problems meant that he could never have stood quietly in a show ring without freaking out. It's a known condition with not only Bull Terriers, but also Spaniels. One day, perhaps, they'll find some sort of genetic link.

I appreciate you letting me know about everything. I am going to look further into it & speak with our vet. That is the last thing that I would want & my heart goes out to you for having to go through that. That is interesting that it happens with those two breeds, I wonder if they have done any scientific studies to find the link.