This a long post (blush). Lockdown-induced wordiness!
My mini schnauzer will be 2 years old in 2 weeks. He comes from an excellent breeder and we waited 1.5 years for him. If you remember us Leigh, thank you
Toro has always been a very friendly, well-adjusted dog. Other than typical adolescent behaviour such as fearlessness, over-excitement and obsessive marking, he's never shown any aggressive behaviour, doesn't bark unnecessarily and hardly ever humped anything.
Had it not been for the fact we live in central London, I would've left him as nature intended. However, city living presents higher frequencies of meeting large, unneutered breeds in local parks. This isn’t a problem unless their owners are unstable people relying on aggressive breeds to bolster their self-esteem. We’ve narrowly avoided a few confrontations with such personalities. When one mini owner told me he finally had his neutered at 5 years old after he was set upon by a pack of outlawed bull terrier breed, I decided it has to be done.
So, I had him on Suprelorin at 13 months old. I have always been very ambivalent about irreversible surgery - ie castration - particularly when more and more studies have shown it doesn’t guarantee behavioural change and can result in other adverse effects. Besides, my breeder has been encouraging me to try him out in shows. I don’t plan on going this route, but it’s nice to know I’ve kept up to her standards!
For the record, chemical implants have helped to calm his raging hormones and also made him less reactive to unneutered males. It has reduced his marking tendencies somewhat - instead of every tree, postbox, bin and street lamp, he’s now able to make it to his favourite park by marking 5 out of 15 spots LOL.
However, since his second implant in Jan, I noticed something really strange. He seems to receive lots of over-zealous attention from male dogs, particularly unneutered ones. They always end up licking his boy-bit. It is definitely an awkward sight for the human eye, but I’ve read/heard that it is male-bonding and Toro seems quite happy as he stands calmly and stoically taking in the attention. Very often though, licking becomes really obsessive and the other dog won’t stop, or it turns to amorous humping with a few encounters reaching full arousal. As soon as humping occurs, Toro will growl and bite back as he hates being humped. He appears to be a little stressed after such encounters, particularly when he's hounded by big, relentless ones who would follow us across the park! I step in each time the situation gets out of control. I am concerned because it's happening too often...
I don’t know if the other dogs are being dominant, or insecure, or lack proper discipline and training to behave this way? Or is mine giving off a certain scent that attracts boy dogs? Am I missing some signs or symptoms of something else? Toro isn’t shy, fearful or passive by nature, doesn’t roll over on his back during play unless he’s been shoved to the ground by bigger, more boisterous dogs.
I've checked him for signs of infections but everything looks fine. Neither does he lick himself there which would indicate something is wrong.
I tried researching online but couldn’t find anything reliable to count on. I’m aware dogs can emit a unique scent when they’ve just been neutered, but it’s been 4 months since. I chanced upon an online article which suggests neutered dogs can sometimes smell like bitches in season; I don’t think this finding is rooted in scientific research. I haven't been able to see his vets since the lockdown. Turning to this forum to see if any other owners have the same experience?
Thank you.
