There are many reasons why pet owners neuter their male dogs. It can curb undesirable behavior and even help your dog live a longer life. However, many dog owners have questions about neutering their pet, including if they can still tie with a female.
Can neutered dogs still tie?
For some dog owners, the thought of neutering their dog is traumatic. Some owners feel guilty imagining that their male dog will never have sex. However, this is a misconception. Neutered dogs can still tie with a female.
How Do Dogs Tie?
It’s a scene we’ve all seen at some point in our lives. We may avert our eyes or even giggle shyly when we see a male dog mount a female in heat. The situation then takes a decidedly awkward turn.
The dogs are stuck together, and neither of them appear very happy about it. The male dismounts, leaving the two stuck, their butts facing each other and close together.
In many cases, the dogs pull to try to untangle themselves and even bark or yelp. Unfortunately, the more agitated the male becomes, the longer the tie will last.
Dogs tie because the male has a bulbus glandis. This is a bulb shaped structure at the base of the penis. During sex, the bulb swells and essentially locks the dogs together.
This occurs so that the sperm will have a longer time inside the female, which increases her chances of pregnancy. Tieing isn’t necessary for pregnancy, however. It’s possible for dogs to procreate without tieing.
When a human woman wants to get pregnant, she may try different sexual positions to give the sperm the best chance of successfully fertilizing the egg. It’s not required for pregnancy, it just increases the odds. Tieing serves the same function for dogs.
What is Neutering?
Neutering is a method of sterilization. This means that a neutered dog can not get a female pregnant. Sperm is produced by the testes. During ejaculation, the vas deferens tube carries sperm through the urethra from the testicles. It goes out the urethra and into the female during mating.
Nuetering removes the testicles, so the dog can no longer produce sperm. If they can’t produce sperm, they can’t impregnate a female.
The Role of Testosterone
The testes also make testosterone. This male hormone has been the subject of lots of debate in recent years. It promotes male behavior, including sexual interest, dominance, and urine marking.
However, neutering doesn’t completely eliminate these behaviors, because the dog’s brain is affected by testerone during early development. There is also recent research to suggest that early neutering carries some health and behavioral risks.
Vasectomy and Neuticles
Neutering isn’t the only option when it comes to dog sterilization. A vasectomy can also be performed. Instead of removing the testicles, a vasectomy severs the pipeline that allows sperm to travel to the urethra.
This leaves the dog’s testerone production in tact. More research is needed into the pros and cons of a vasectomy vs. neutering. Neutering is known to reduce the risk of prostate cancer and eliminates the risk of testicular cancer. It can also make a male dog more docile and calm.
However, reserach is revealing that neutering before one year of age can actually speed the onset of aggressive behavior in some dogs. It can also increase the risk of incontinence and orthopedic diseases.
Neuticles are another option pet owners may consider. If you want your dog to appear in tact after neutering, Neuticles is the answer. It’s essentially an implant to replace the testicles.
Your dog has their testicles removed and the neuticles are used to replace them. This is purely cosmetic. The neuticles have no effect on the way the dog’s body functions. However, some owners feel their dogs are more comfortable or confident because they feel they are in tact.
Why Can a Neutered Dog Still Tie?
A neutered dog can still tie because the penis is still functional. Lower testerone levels can reduce the sex drive, but it doesn’t prevent the dog from having an erection or penetrating a female dog.
Will a neutered dog still try to mate?
The short answer is, sometimes. It depends on the sex drive of the individual dog, which is affected by their personality and when they were neutered.
Residual Hormones
Neutering your dog doesn’t remove all the testerone, but it greatly reduces it. Small amounts of testerone are produced by the addrenal glands. This residual testosterone may play a role if your neutered dog is still attempting to mate with females.
Hormones don’t leave the body immediately after being neutered, either. It can take a few weeks for the testerone levels to drop and level off after neutering, because it takes time for the body to process and remove them.
Pregnancy After Neutering
You may think you are safe from an unwanted pregnancy as soon as your dog is neutered, but this isn’t the case. Sperm can remain in the body for up to 30 days, and your neutered dog can impregnate a female during this time. Some experts believe the window might be even larger, with a full 8 weeks before the dog is guaranteed to be unable to procreate.
This is also the time when testerone remains high, so it’s vital to monitor your dog as you did before they were neutered, to prevent pregnancy.
Effects of Neutering Age
There are two schools of thought when it comes to the age dogs should be neutered. Proponents of neutering after adolescence cite new studies that indicate behavior and health issues that can arise from early neutering.
Others say that neutering your dog before they reach sexual maturity can prevent undesired behaviors.
One thing is certain. If you neuter your dog after they reach sexual maturity, they will retain more sexual behaviors. They are more likely to be attracted to female dogs, and they are more likely to have sex after being neutered. They are also more likely to urine mark more frequently.
Some owners want to avoid these behaviors, so neutering early is the best option.
There are a few reasons why neutering early has a big impact on your dog’s sexual appetite. The first has to do with brain development. When a dog reaches sexual maturity, brain patterns related to sexual desire emerge. They undergo changes in the brain that cause them to be more masculine as well. After neutering, testosterone is removed, but these pathways and changes are still present.
The other reason is simply conditioned behavior. Dogs tend to do what they’ve always done, just like people do. We’ve all tried to change a bad habit or adopt a good one at some point in our lives.
You likely found it difficult to change your behavior to stick with the habit or discontinue the bad habit. You may have also noticed that the older you are, the more difficult it is to change your habits or behavior.
Dogs have a similar experience. However, they lack the self awareness that causes us to believe we need to change our behavior. They see no reason to change their behavior, so it continues because it’s what they’ve always done.
Will a neutered male dog still be attracted to a female in heat?
Yes, some neutered dogs are still attracted to females in heat. Again, the dog’s personality and the age they were neutered plays a major role.
Biological Drive to Mate
Evolution has endowed males and females with a very strong urge to breed. After all, breeding is what insures the continuation of the species. In the wild, dogs are constantly at risk of death. Predators, the elements, and limited food sources mean that the animal must breed to keep population levels stable.
Domesticated dogs live a very different life. They typically live longer. Puppies that would stand a low chance of surviving to adolescence in the wild are cared for and thrive. The numbers needed to continue the species are much lower, because the death rate is much lower.
However, dogs don’t understand this. They are simply acting on their natural instinct, which tells them that breeding is directly related to survival. Dogs will jump fences and even go days without food to mate or attempt to mate. The urge overrides everything else when a female is in standing heat.
Why Are Females in Heat So Attractive?
Pheremones are the culprit. Females release pheremones when they are in heat. Males smell these pheremones, and it triggers their drive to mate. The pheremones are so potent they can be smelled by a dog up to 3 miles away. Once a dog smells them, they will seek the female in heat enthusiastically.
Does Being Neutered Affect the Males Interest?
In most dogs, neutering will reduce their interest in a female in heat. However, this doesn’t mean it will have no effect at all. Your neutered dog may attempt to mount the female or simply follow her around. He may try to hump the couch and everything else in sight. Or he may take no visible notice at all.
Neutering should at least reduce the intensity of interest, if it doesn’t stop it completely. Dogs who have reached sexual maturity before being neutered will be more affected by a female in heat than those neutered earlier.
This is because the instinct is well ingrained in them, particularly if they encounter females in heat while they were intact. They may do what they did when encountering it before, even though they are no longer in tact.
Can a Neutered Dog Still Ejaculate?
Yes, a neutered dog can still ejaculate. They should have a reduced sex drive as the testerone levels fall. They will no longer be able to produce sperm, but they can still ejaculate. This is because ejaculate is composed of sperm and prostatic fluid.
How effective is neutering?
How effective neutering in will depend on your goal. If your goal is to prevent unwanted pregnancy, it is 100% effective when performed properly. When the testes are removed, your dog can’t produce sperm. If they can’t produce sperm, they can’t impregnate a female.
It is important to remember that neutering your dog won’t immediately sterilize them. You should keep them away from females in heat for at least one month, and preferably six weeks to two months. This gives any sperm left in the tube time to clear out or die.
When it comes to the behavioral effects of neutering, the results are less clear. Neutering before puberty can cause the dog to be shy and insecure. Neutering after puberty allows the dog to reach maturity. Testerone plays a key role in physical growth and personality development, so waiting might be a good option for some pet owners.
Neutering will reduce sexual behaviors, but how much it reduces them depends on the dog and when they are neutered. Neutered dogs are less likely to roam, fight with other dogs over territory, and urine mark. The greatest reduction in these behaviors occurs when the dog is neutered early, but neutering later in life will still bring a reduction.