Neutering your dog is recommended mainly because it can help your animal companion live longer. That’s because male dogs are less likely to suffer from testicular cancer and other health issues after they are neutered.
Beyond the health benefits, neutering can also change how your dog behaves. It can affect their desire to roam and their level of aggression. Neutering may even curb undesirable habits such as spraying.
But what about mating? Will your male dog be less likely to engage in mating after they are neutered? The answer may surprise you.
Learn how neutering affects your dog in terms of their sexual activity by continuing with the rest of this article.
Do Neutered Dogs Still Mate?
As lovable as dogs are, let’s be honest and say that some of the habits they develop can be pretty annoying. One troublesome habit is humping frequently.
Some dogs have a tendency to hump just about anything. Even inanimate objects are not spared from their habits. The humping may happen so often that even guests may be bothered at times.
No one likes a dog that humps everything in sight. There are pet owners out there who neuter their dogs because they just want them to stop that kind of behavior.
But will neutering actually put an end to it? Well, that’s not exactly the case.
The amount of hormones in a male dog’s body decreases after he is neutered. That can have a major impact on their behavior. It’s possible, and even likely, that the drop in hormones will cause a decrease in your dog’s sex drive.
Crucially, not all of those hormones disappear. A male dog may still feel the urge to mate. You may still see them humping from time to time.
The difference is that they will engage in that activity less frequently moving forward. If your dog humped everything before, that will no longer happen after they are neutered.
Puppies are notable outliers because they may have no desire to mate at all post-neutering. Dogs that are neutered at such a young age may not develop sexual urges of any kind. In their case, neutering really does put an end to their mating days.
Can a Neutered Dog Produce Sperm?
Hormones are not the only substances in your dog’s body that are impacted by neutering. The amount of sperm their body produces will also change. To be more specific, neutered dogs will stop producing sperm altogether.
Many pet owners get their dogs neutered mainly because they want them to stop being fertile. They don’t want to deal with any surprise puppies. Neutering should provide a permanent solution for that problem.
However, all the sperm in your dog’s body does not disappear after they are neutered. A neutered dog can still release sperm while engaging in sexual activity.
To reiterate, a neutered dog can only release sperm. They can no longer produce it.
If you’re wondering how that works, it has something to do with how sperm is stored in a dog’s body.
Different parts of a dog’s body are tasked with storing sperm. The sperm stored in those areas do not disappear after neutering. Or at least they don’t disappear right away.
Most of the time, sperm will still be present in your dog’s body up to a month after they are neutered. During that time, you should keep them away from any female dogs if you don’t want any puppies.
You can stop worrying about your pet releasing sperm and potentially impregnating a dog a month after he underwent the procedure.
How Do Neutered Dogs React to Females in Heat?
What will happen if a neutered male dog sees a female in heat? You can expect to see one of three reactions and they are detailed below.
The Early Reaction
You must realize that neutering your dog is not like turning off a switch. A neutered dog will not change completely the moment the procedure is completed. Those changes can take some time to take effect.
Do not be surprised if your newly neutered dog still presents a reaction to the female dog in heat. He could still get excited and worked up by the sight of the other dog because hormones are still raging inside his body. You may want to keep your dog on a leash during this time to prevent anything from happening.
The Altered Reaction
Neutered dogs will still be excited around dogs in heat early on. That will only change after some time has passed.
Your dog’s behavior will start to change six to eight weeks after the procedure.
Try to bring them around a female dog in heat after those six to eight weeks have passed. They should be calmer. They may not even react at all to the other dog.
The altered behavior will be the new norm for your pet moving forward.
The Unaltered Reaction
There is one more reaction that a neutered dog might display. It’s possible that your neutered dog will not change his behavior around female dogs in heat in any way. You may notice no change in behavior even after eight weeks have passed.
The lack of change can be attributed to your pet’s age. The effects of neutering can be less impactful on older dogs. Their habits have become so entrenched in their personality that they will continue to carry them out even if the hormones are no longer driving them.
Can Neutered Dogs Still Get Stuck?
“Getting stuck” is something that happens after two dogs engage in sexual intercourse. You may know it better as the time when two dogs are locked together butt to butt. It’s a phenomenon known as a copulatory tie, but many dog owners just know it as getting stuck.
Two dogs get stuck to one another because the male’s penis stiffens and grows during intercourse. Meanwhile, the female dog’s vagina will tighten around the male’s penis. They will stay connected until the male’s penis gets softer and the female’s vagina relaxes.
Note that dogs may get stuck for a while. Some copulatory ties can last for as long as 40 minutes.
By the way, a neutered dog can still get stuck after intercourse. They may not be able to impregnate the female, but their penis can still stiffen up thus leading to the copulatory tie.