Hyper boxer dog!

[gobblegobb]

Hi, we have a 6 year old male boxer dog, who is still almost as hyper as he was when he was a puppy. My sister keeps telling us to have him castrated to calm him down, but im wondering whether its worth putting him through it. Does that help with calming dogs down? He has also got a bit more aggressive lately, does anyone have any suggestions? Many thanks!

[lankeela]

How much work does he get? Exercise, training, playing, a male boxer needs several hours attention a day. They never really grow up, just get more canny in the way they run rings round you. Try obedience, agility, cross country running.

Castration would not help him calm down in a physical sense, but would stop him getting upset if there are bitches in season, or other males near to him. It might also help with dominant aggression, but if this is learned behaviour it is more difficult to cure.

[doggydays]

Lankeela is right, the castration wouldnt solve his problems. Sounds to me as if he needs managing a bit better, he's ruling the roost! You say a bit more aggressive, does that mean he already was aggressive? And in what sense? Its a bit more complicated that just 'aggressive' If this has started all of a sudden, see a vet to rule out any medical problems, he may be in pain causing him to be short tempered. But dont let them tell you he needs castrating unless it is a problem with his bits!! :-)

[King Normie]

Dogs are Pack animals and males all have the instinct to want to be the Alpha Male. In Nature and. instinctively, as a house pet, if a Male cannot gain Alpha Male Status it will normally leave the pack and look to develop it's own pack.
In this regard, csatration will definitely help. The playful attitude of the dog is more related to it's breed though.

[Mysifier]

With regards to the aggression issue, you need to establish what is causing this, if it is fear then castrating him will make him worse, this is because testosterone is a onfidence giving hormone, if this is taken away through castration, the dog will become more fearful. increased excercise and training is your best bet!

[Stevie_S]

My wife and I have bred boxers for many years and presently have eight of them here, including two males.

I agree with other respondents that your dog should be exercised regularly. In respect of his behaviour, he has to know that aggression is not an acceptable response - so a firm approach and stern commands at the time should help. Find a local traing class (cost is very little) and attend with him to teach him good behaviour and control - a class running the Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme would be ideal. You can find details on the KC web site, or do a search under 'boxer dog training'. There's more details on boxer training and the KC scheme at www.westlancsboxers.co.uk .

As for castration, I have found little effects to behaviour is gained, other than the obvious loss of interest in mating.

Steve