my dog

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adgetom

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is a year and a half border collie but he is very nervous
he has been wandering when let off the lead recently and just being quite disobediant tbh. this all started after he ran after a bitch in heat and sometimes when i am walking him if another dog appears he will run over to it and just not listen he is also relly distructive.
what would be the pros and cons of getting him castrated
thanks
 
I wouldn't let him off the lead until you have dealth with the recal issues.

Pros of getting him castrated would be he won't be as inclined to wander, won't chase after in season bitches, some people say it can calm them down (others say this is not true) etc You can do a lot of research about the surgery online.

I am have only owned one dog, the rest are always bitches but we kept him entire as he was used for breeding.
 
Unless you are seriously considering breeding him then I would def suggest castration.
Not only does it help with obedience, but it also has health benefits eg less risk of cancer etc.
You say he has never done it before, but it only takes one time to be disobedient and run infront of a car.
I would be better safe than sorry.
 
Agree with the others that you definitely need to make sure your recall is as near 100% as possible before you let him off the lead - take him to some training classes (I thoroughly recommend clicker training) and get him under control as otherwise even if he's castrate he may feel the need to wander off if something more exciting is happening away from you!

Another pros for getting him castrated is that it prevents testicular cancers and other diseases later in life - there's one particular disease (I've forgotten the name) which results in horrible blisters forming around a male dog's anus as a result of hormone inbalance when they get much older. Then the only cure is castration and obviously older dogs are much likely to suffer other medical problems when given anaesthetics when they're older (I had to go through this with my then 13yr old lab and it was such a worry - luckily he bounced back fine).

Unless you're planning to breed from him then it's a very selfish thing not to castrate him. The health risks of being entire far outweigh him being castrated. Not to mention, it's often argued that it's unfair for a dog to be left entire if it's never going to be allowed the chance to mate! One thing to mention though, is that probably at a year and half, castrating him will not change his behaviour. My 14yr old lab (the one I mentioned above) still thinks he's entire and pesters our female (neutered dog) even though he's now castrated!
 
Having owned a rescue Jack, with a number of behaviour problems, I would defiantly recommend castration. For my dog, it increased his attention span by just a few minute but these few minutes enabled me to give him the training he needed to recall, sit etc... one other thing is to make any training a game especially with a young dog as they get so easily side tracked!! 2 years on and he is off the lead all day at the yard and never wanders, if he looses me he'll wait patiently out side my stable for me!!!

Good luck
Bex
 
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