My dog is completely not himself - hit puberty?

[suziwong66]

On 11/04/2018 at 7:34 PM, Cuko13 said:

I'm fully aware of the potential risks of my dog roaming. He doesn't roam often anyway so the criticism in that regard is unfounded. 

 

His past the tendency to roam is irrelevant here. Every dog will roam when driven by biology, whether he's been a stray roamer all his life or securely house trained, they'll all most likely roam when the time comes. So the problems with him roaming  now are not due to  negligence or a lack of training, they're due to a sudden and unexpected rise in sexual drive which caught me by surprise, and could've done the same to any elite dog owner passing judgement in this thread.  In the last few months I could freely leave the gate open all day and he would never step outside, even if I wasn't there. Now he's trying to dig his way out and goes running off at every chance. To call that negligence is a slippery slope. It's sexual drive pure and simple. 

 

My only query was wether this increased desire to roam (and lack of sleeping/playing/eating) would cease once neutered. 

Yes every dog may be driven by biology, but the problem of your dog roaming due to his sexual drive (or any other reason eg a habit that he's been allowed to perform and repeat at will) is your negligence of your responsibilities of being a dog owner by not complying with legislation regarding roaming dogs which is put in place to keep ALL dogs safe (both the roamers and the dogs that the roamers come in contact with and people). So yes, by neglecting your responsibilities as a dog owner you are also, by extension, neglecting the care and safety of your dog (and potentially the safety of the entire small breed bitch next door).  An NO, it wouldn't happen to any dog owner passing judgement in this thread if they're being a responsible dog owner and effectively containing their dog before sexual maturity, during sexual maturity and post desexing.

 

The roaming, post desexing, may not abate as you have allowed the behaviour to go on unfettered forming a habit going by the inference outlaid in your original post: "He's always been a roamer...he likes to take a short walk and come back". Some dogs, even post desexing, will continue to roam when nearby bitches are in season if not contained and sometimes they will continue to roam just because they can since they are left with the freedom to do so. If you want to stop your dog from roaming and upsetting your neighbours; the answer is simple - effectively contain it pre and post desexing.