Thank you Andrew your site is the best! Could you write up an article about this? Of the many problem of male dogs? What are some facts you can tell them if they keep telling you the female dog is on heat and male dog have no responsibility. So you got to keep the dog away?! If the male dog mate the female then its your fault not the male dog owner. 🙁

Hi Ryan. The reasons for desexing are much more complex and nuanced than just about stopping unwanted pregnancies. Even for this alone, the responsibility clearly lies with both dog owners. However, from a societal perspective, many more problems are caused by entire male dogs than entire female dogs, for whom the reason is mainly about their own long-term health.

Hi Daniel. If he’s young, the undesired behaviour should reduce, it’s just that it’s unlikely to go to zero without other training being applied.

Hi Muriel. There’s a lot to unpack here. Firstly, the idea that testosterone might increase confidence or reduce anxiety doesn’t seem especially relevant to reactivity to humans. It could in fact be argued that increasing confidence is part of the problem. I would encourage you to read my article on the evidence linking male dogs and aggression.
As for prostate cancer, what’s missing from the conversation is the extreme rarity of the condition. It is virtually irrelevant to the health of dogs that this particular condition is more common with neutering as it is always extremely uncommon. For example as a busy vet for nearly 30 years, I have seen it once only.

I have an 8yo golden retriever who, after lengthy discussion with my vet & lots of reading by me, I have kept intact. My original intention was to neuter him once he was physically mature, in order for him to have the full benefits of his hormones while he was growing. However, at around 12 – 18mo he started to develop reactivity to humans, particularly children. My vet feels that this human reactivity would likely become worse if he was neutered, since testosterone can help with feelings of confidence & a lessening of anxiety. My boy is excellent with dogs, attends daycare weekly, has never marked inside the house & does not have any opportunities to breed. I am aware of the increased risk of testicular cancer but check him regularly for any changes to his testes. I am also aware of the increased risk of prostate enlargement but understood that if this were to occur then neutering would then fix this. However, my understanding was that neutering increased the risk of prostate cancer, which was much harder to treat. So based on all of this & as I say with my vet’s support, I have made the decision to only neuter if medically required.

I am interested in your comments regarding all of this. Since I am considering getting a show puppy in a year or so, possibly female, this will become even more important for me as I will consider neutering for my male since he is not being shown & that would be the easiest way to ensure that no puppies occur.

Thank you for your excellent articles. I have bookmarked your website & will be coming back to read more! It’s good to see detailed articles that are easy for us laypeople to understand!

Hi Jasmine. You found the right page- I discuss the ‘cancer risk’ above. Trust me: anyone who uses cancer as a reason not to neuter a dog is misreading the science, either wilfully or not. Some cancers go up, yes, but so does lifespan (ever so slightly) and other cancers go down. Focusing only on certain cancers (as the one-eyed tend to do) is what we call cherrypicking. Nothing significant should change for your dog other than possibly being a little less ‘hyper’ and needing less food to avoid weight gain. His personality and wellbeing should not change, and his health only improve given what he’s up against. If you want to dive deeper, read my page on the marketing of a male dog contraceptive in Australia.