If your pooch has recently been neutered, you may wonder if their testosterone is still present. Perhaps they still have behaviors you associate with testosterone, or perhaps you are simply curious.
How long after neutering is a dog’s testosterone gone?
It does take time for all the testosterone to leave your dog’s body after being neutered. Generally, you can expect your dog to have no testosterone after six weeks.
The testes are the source of nearly all testosterone produced by your dog’s body. When they are removed, your pooch can no longer produce testosterone. However, the testerone also present doesn’t leave immediately. It breaks down over several weeks, slowly leaving the body.
Aggression After Neutering
Many dog owners get their pooch neutered in an attempt to calm certain behaviors. Unfortunately, this isn’t always effective. In fact, it can even make some behavior issues worse.
If you are expecting your male to “settle down” after being neutered, you may be disappointed.
Testosterone is not the cause of all male dog issues. It’s associated with confidence as well as sexuality and territorial behavior. When a dog loses their testosterone due to neutering, this can make them more aggressive.
The lack of testosterone can cause anxiety. They may feel fearful or insecure. This can lead to fear based aggression.
Behaviors that May Stop After Neutering
Neutering your dog can calm some behaviors. This is because of the testosterone is no longer present. This means that behavioral issues associated with sexual desire or testerone will reduce after neutering.
These include urine marking, territorial aggression, and mounting. Dogs who are neutered are less likely to roam away from home due to a female.
If your pooch urinates in the house, or constantly wants to hump your leg, neutering them may help. However, it doesn’t improve all behaviors, and can increase some others.
Behaviors that Will Not Improve After Neutering
If the behavior is not linked to testerone, then neutering will not help. In fact, it can increase behavioral issues in some instances. For example, if your dog is guarding their food, neutering may not help. If your dog is fearful of people or other dogs, neutering will certainly not help.
If your dog is naturally nervous or high strung, neutering may not be a good idea. They may become much more fearful, neurotic, and aggressive.
Sexual Behavior After Neutering
You get your dog neutered, expecting them to lose interest in sexual behaviors. Why are they still humping other dogs? They may even mate with another dog. Did the surgery go wrong?
Testosterone does fuel sexual interest in dogs, so it stands to reason that removing testosterone would cause your dog to stop sexual behaviors.
However, this may not curb their sexual desire. If your dog is neutered early, you can expect them to never develop sexual behaviors. However, if they are older, the part of their brain that controls sexuality is well formed.
Even when the testerone is gone, these pathways are still there. So, your pooch may still engage in sexual activity. Perhaps they have positive associations with sexual acts, or perhaps they are simply acting out of habit.
It’s possible for a dog to get an erection and mate with a female even after being neutered. However, it’s very rare for a dog to have that much interest in females after the procedure.
Can Males get a Female Pregnant After Neutering?
It’s important to know that your male can impregnate a female after they’ve been neutered. This is because after the procedure, the dog still has sperm.
When the testes are removed, sperm production stops along with testosterone production. However, like testosterone, sperm still remains in the dog’s body.
If they breed in the weeks after the procedure, it’s possible for them to get a female pregnant. This is because dormant sperm is stored in the body.
After six weeks, the sperm has also left their system. At this point, they can no longer get a female pregnant.
Do dogs still have testosterone after being neutered?
Dogs do have testerone immediately after being neutered. When the testicles are removed, the main source of testosterone production is gone. It will be produced in very small amounts in other areas of the body.
Even though testerone production has essentially stopped, it takes time for it to leave the body. Within 6 weeks, the testosterone should be gone.
Hormonal Changes After Neutering
Immediately after being neutered, your dog’s body is going through some changes. Their testes, which produce testerone, are gone. However, your dog’s body isnt’ really aware of this.
Their body knows testerone is dropping, so they release hormones that increase testerone production. The testerone doesn’t increase, and the hormones released build up in the body, because they can’t be used by the testes.
After about a week, your dog’s body stops trying to produce testosterone. However, your pooch may experience aggression or depression within the days after being neutered because of this hormonal imbalance.
In this case, it’s not the testerone that’s the problem, but the hormones that trigger it’s production.
Do dogs calm down after being neutered?
Dogs can calm down after being neutered, but there’s no guarantee. As mentioned previously, neutering can even increase some unwanted behaviors. Let’s take a closer look at what you can expect after your dog is neutered.
Your Dog’s Personality
First, you should know that neutering should not alter your dog’s personality. If they are naturally hyper or easily excited, this is unlikely to change after being neutered.
This is because this is part of their personality, and not something related to testosterone.
Do Energy Levels Change After Neutering?
Energy levels can change after neutering. Some owners report that their dog is less energetic after being neutered. However, this doesn’t occur in all dogs, and many experience no changes in energy levels.
Neutering Alternatives
The truth is, if you want to change your dog’s behavior, neutering is not the best way to go about it. The procedure can create behavioral changes, but these can be either positive or negative changes.
For example, you may trade a dog who marks his territory in your home with one who is easily frightened, or growls at you or other family members.
If you want to be sure your male dog can’t breed, you can ask for a vasectomy instead of neutering. This surgical procedure cuts the vans deferens, which transports sperm from the testes to the penis.
When the vans deferens is severed, the dog can still mate, but will not be able to reproduce. The sperm can’t make its way through the male and into the female.
This procedure leaves the testicles in tact. This means your dog will still produce testosterone, and will undergo no behavioral changes after the surgery.
Neutering surgery should never be the first line of treatment for behavioral issues. If you are concerned about behavioral issues in your unneutered male, it’s best to work with a dog trainer or animal behavioralist.
These professionals will help you address the cause of the behavior, and change it. Testosterone is rarely solely to blame for any serious behavioral issue, so tackling it from a behavioral standpoint is often the wisest course of action.