The final instalment.
Moving into the 10th month of the 6 month implant and Otto's testicles are re-inflating beautifully. I am absolutely over the moon with Otto's progress.
If I go back to the original list I put together:
Incessant marking/cocking leg. .................. he marks outside but not inside unknown houses but normally first wee is a very big one
Obsessive sniffing ........................... not as obsessive as it was but still loves a sniff
Licking pee .......................I thought this was starting again but simply put my foot over the smell and he doesn't do it now at all
Thrusting rear legs (kicking stones and grit all over me in the process) and grunting after toileting ................. still enjoys doing this
Pulling towards dogs that have just pee'd .................... still likes to do it and will wait until the dog has moved away
Pulling towards dogs generally ................ will walk past dogs as long as not too close, getting better and better at doing this. He will also make choices to cross the road if he sees more than 1 large dog coming towards him
Zoning out when spotting another dog ................much easier to get his attention and walks on with the command "keep going"
Adopting a prowling type stance when walking towards dogs ..................... rare unless too close
Territorial barking (own home and garden) ..................no change and still does not bark outside of the home territory
Behaviour with strangers ..................no problem outside, inside he is cautious and will bark but usually calmed with a snuffle mat
Behaviour with dogs ..................... most dogs of similar size he is ok with now and ignores after a a minute or so, unknown large dogs can still be scary and we don't allow greetings with unknown large dogs unless Otto's body language suggests that he is ok and he is calm. Some breeds he just doesn't like and we are narrowing them down to spaniels, cockerpoos, black labs and dogs that crouch like border collies.
Behaviour with children ...................ignores children now and walks past unless screaming and running in which case we "keep going" to get out of their way
Also added, behaviour with cats ...... can walk past any cat now without reacting
Body shaking .... far less now meaning he doesn't need to calm himself so much
Additionally, Otto is much calmer, more confident and actually surprises me every day where other dogs are concerned. The goal I set us was to be able to calmly walk past any dog. I think we are going to be able to achieve this now. I know that he will never be comfortable up and close to all dogs and that's fine, we just need to walk past them. From where we were in April which frankly was in quite a bit of despair and at times since thinking I am never going to be able to have normal walks we have come a long way. Now I love every walk, it's opportunity for more coaching more reinforcement.
To summarise, the implant has worked for us together with a significant amount of positive training and learning. Building Otto's confidence and making him feel invincible has been key. Could I have done this without the implant is a question I ask myself now that I know what sort of training is required. There are some things the implant have given me that I might not have got for a few years... there is no doubt that castration gives you a more loving/cuddly dog and that hasn't changed now the implant is wearing off but the negatives are not to be underestimated.
I now know first hand the results of castrating a fearful dog and I wouldn't ever recommend permanent castration in these circumstances. I am now delighted with the results of the temporary castration to aid the rehabilitation of a fearful dog but if I was put in the same position again I would exhaust proper training and behavioural change methods first.
Photo here of Otto and two of his friends.