Castration

[Sir Alec]

My puppy is now 6 months old and has taken to killing fledgling birds. I'm finding this very distressing as I feed them on a regular basis. His latest conquest is a female blackbird, which I have very few of. Last years brood produced 5 males, so there's a lot of fighting goes on!
Do you think that castrating my puppy will make him less aggressive towards the birds? I wanted to keep him intact unless anything untoward happened. He's escaped the 'undescended testicle' part, but now I'm beginning to wonder if he needs 'doing'.

[ummmm]

Why do you want to keep him intact? Are you planning to breed him?

[sandyRoe]

Could you put a bell on his collar? That might give the birds some warning.

[pastafreak]

See lankeelas thread on chemical castration below. Intersting.

[rsvp]

IMO having him castrated is unlikely to alter his behaviour, is he left alone in the garden much because if he was otherwise engaged he probably wouldn't chase the birds. Also (IMHO) he should be castratd as entire dogs can escape when a *** is in season nearby, get into fights, father unwanted litters (I know, the *** should be spayed too but people don't always do that) and no testicular cancer for castrated dogs.

[Sir Alec]

No ummmm, I wasn't planning to breed him. My last dog sailed through life intact with no problems, no leg humping, not even a cushion was molested by him! It was a needless operation with Hamish, but Rufus appears to be a different kettle of fish - looks like his mother, but is beginning to show traits of his father.
sandRoe, a bell wouldn't work. He's like a speeding bullet and very crafty with it. Norfolk Terriers were bred to flush out foxes that had 'gone to ground'. They are natural tunnellers and hunters.
Hamish must have had more of whatever the other half of him was, than I thought. He just looked like a large Norfolk, so I never found out what made him bigger.

[Sqad]

Castration will be unlikely to have any effect on the predatorial behavior of your puppy.
It is nature at work and yes, i agree it is distressing.

Whey feed the birds in your garden giving your puppy the fun that he has in killing them?

[Sir Alec]

Thanks pasta, I'd already scrolled down and read that. The link no longer works, so I'll have to google the chemical castration thing.
rsvp, he is never alone in the garden as there have been dog-snatchers recently. He can't get out either. I have a large garden, but it is completely sealed off from the neighbours. There are some reports that castrated/spayed dogs can be more prone to bladder cancers. I'm going to have to do more research on this subject. My vet seems a bit over zealous about having him castrated and has been since he was registered there.
Sqad, I've been feeding the birds for 10 years since I moved here. I've only had my puppy since Jan 28th. He has only been behaving like this since the local Sparrowhawk killed a starling fledgling a couple of weeks ago, but got interrupted. I didn't know that the poor headless bird was lying under my laurel until Rufus found it and was hovering over it looking sheepish. He's only able to take fledglings because they can't fly upwards and so can only hide under bushes from him. I can't move quickly enough to grab him due to the nerve damage in my back at the moment, but I've been able to save one from his jaws today and I've managed to keep him in since. I just hope that she doesn't die of shock.

[Sqad]

Yes, it is difficult, something that you will have to live with I'm afraid.

We have the same here with the cats and birds.......upsetting.

[ladybirder]

A bell around his neck will give the birds that split second warning they need to retreat to safety. It won't be enough every time but even if you save a few, then for the price of a bell and no harm to the dog it must be worth trying? Poor birds have a hard enough time with cats killing them without dogs joining in. You are obviously a bird lover so if your dog is killing them then you have to do something about it or stop luring them into your garden with food. And of course you are trying to do something about it so I hope you are successful Sir Alec. Good luck to you.
And for what it's worth I would have my dog castrated. What breed is he?

[lankeela]

Have to admit to slight amusement that castration might stop a dog killing birds! I can categorically state it would have no effect whatsoever, and particularly with a terrier whose raison d'etre is to rid the planet of anything small and either furry or feathered. I am not in favour of early castration either, a dog or its female counterpart (that's fixed the censor!) both need time to mature before being neutered.