Okay a little while ago i asked about neutering at 6 months and got some very good and helpful responses and the article that was forwarded was very very helpful. So i want to put off Ruger getting neutered for a few more months to allow him to develop properly. Well at the dog day care they are pushing me to get him fixed and the reason they want it done is what i have a question about. I said i would get my dog a vasectomy if they felt it was important (i can see their point about neutering that is not my issue it is when to do it) and they said that the problem is not the reproductive issues but they feel that the neutered male dogs show aggression toward an intact dog out of jealousy!! They said the problem they have is the way the fixed dogs treat the intact dogs and went on to say they are aggressive to them out of jealousy and they prefer all the males to be fixed to prevent the jealous attacks on the intact dog.                                                                                                                                                                          

My theory is (and of course i could be wrong) that it has nothing to do with "testicle jealousy" but it is just normal behavior as the dogs are constantly trying to establish the alpha and this always goes on even once the alpha is established there will always be a continuation of this contest as the other dogs will always keep competeing for this spot at the top of the pack. So if a young male comes into the picture the older dogs (fixed or not) will contiually be trying to establish who is alpha as he is trying to find his rank in the pack and there is a good chance he will want to be alpha as well. So i think that the other dogs would be aggressive to a young growing male just to keep him in check and it has nothing to do with them being jealous because he still is intact. I don't know but the whole idea that they are jealous cause he still has his testicles seems a little unbased. it may be a theory they have based on their experience of watching groups of dogs but i still think it is just the normal behavior for dogs trying to establish the alpha and has nothing to do with "testicle jealousy" any thoughts on this?

thanks in advance for those who take the time to reply

I don't have males, but I do have one older (4 YO) female who is spayed and one (3 YO) female who is intact.  My younger female every once in a while will test the older one on that alpha position.  It is not agression and never escalates into agression. The end result is always the same and the younger backs down.  I don' t think it has anything to do with whether they are spayed or not.  When my oldest, Belle, gets with other dog packs she is alpha there too.  She walks in and the others just seem to know and back down.  It is fascinating to watch as she is very quiet and not pushy or agressive at all.  If another dog challenges her she just quietly handles the situation (usually by flipping them onto the ground and holding them down until they quiet down).  It is not agressive or violent in any way.  She just takes command.  The people that run the day care love Belle, because she can go into any play group and handle the various dogs and personalities.  Halo the younger one is also very good with other dogs, but she is more submissive than Belle (except when she decides she will test Belle, which these days is not very often).  It will be interesting to see whay happens when we introduce Ringo, the male we are getting the end of July.  He will not be neutered, at least for a while, as I plan to show him in conformation.  My breeder thinks the two females will rule his life.

One thing that I believe makes a huge difference is the owner and how they handle their dogs.  I have seen too many owners that are clueless and well meaning, but have let their dog or dogs get the upper hand.  Seems when that happens there is allot more trouble with agressive behaviour.

Wow. "Canine testicle jealousy". Ya hear a new one every day, lol.... For fun you can ask them what impact they think a dog with neuticles would have in the mix.

FWIW I *have* seen some really stupid young male dogs that have a habit of irritating older dogs, and then wondering what the heck happened and go all innocent-sad-sack when they finally get trounced for it... until the next time... but this is just a strange twist in canine social life and is certainly NOT gonad related. The pattern that emerges is that a single dog often gets 'picked on' by a rotating set of very unlikely pick-ees. Once things are watched more closely, one can often pick up where the youngster is actually instigating things by annoying their elders and not heeding clear signals to back off. Fortunately this type often seems to outgrow the worst of it eventually.