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Behavior changes after being spayed

Discussion in 'Behavior' started by Sunflower77, Nov 25, 2019.

  1. Sunflower77

    Sunflower77 Forums Enthusiast

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    My dog was spayed two weeks ago when she was 13 months old.

    Immediately we noticed her behavior changes, unfortunately all negative.

    She used to let all sorts of strangers pet her, groomers, doggie boarding house workers, new neighbors, kids on the street, contractors coming to my home etc. Now, she growls and cowers when strangers come up to pet her. She has become more vocal, barks a lot more, and can be spooked for no obvious reason. She also urinated inside my house out of anxiety three times in the past two weeks. This had never happened in the past.

    I started researching on dog behavior changes after neuter and spay. Initially I found a few websites all touting the positive changes that are supposed to happen, specifically regarding aggression - dogs are supposed to become less aggressive, including females, who will stop fighting over the attention of males. But I didn’t see any research data backing these claims. Then, I saw an article on Psychology Today, which reviewed evidence based research in the literature on dog behavior changes post neuter and spay. The results were shocking and consistent with what I observed on my dog. One of the studies was reported by Deborah Duffy and James Serpell, both at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. It was published in The Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Nonsurgical Contraceptive Methods for Pet Population Control*.

    https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/...vior-changes-when-dogs-are-spayed-or-neutered

    Between the two studies that collected reports on 15,984 dogs in total, research found that “spayed and neutered dogs actually show considerably more aggression. Depending upon the specific form of aggression (owner directed, stranger directed, etc.) the size of these effects is quite large, varying from a low of around a 20 percent increase to more than double the level of aggression in the neutered dogs as measured by the C-BARQ scoring scale.

    A further surprise was that these effects were similar for both males and females. One slight difference between males and females is that for male dogs the age at which they are neutered makes no difference in the increase of aggression relative to intact dogs, however, for females early spaying (before the dog is one year of age) causes a considerably larger increase in aggression relative to later spaying.

    A different worrisome finding is that there was a roughly 31 percent increase in fearfulness for both sexes. This is accompanied by a 33 percent increase in touch sensitivity. The spayed and neutered dogs also showed a roughly 8 percent increase in excitability. About the only positive effect on behavior that seems to result from spaying and neutering is the roughly 68 percent decrease in urine marking.”
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2019
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  2. Sharon7

    Sharon7 Moderator

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    Well I can only contribute anecdotal evidence. Not one of my 5 girls had any behavioral changes. Two were spayed at 6 months (long ago that was what you did) then 1 1/2 years for Ally, 2 years old for Faith, age 8 for Brooke, age 13 months for our only boy Eli.

    It usually takes a few weeks for the hormones to completely leave their system, so to see immediate changes would not be realistic. Maybe the whole vet visit and surgery traumatized her? I'm sorry she is having these issues.....
     
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  3. Sunflower77

    Sunflower77 Forums Enthusiast

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    It may be the whole experience traumatized her. Whatever the reason is, I’m hoping this is transient and she will recover eventually because right now using my husband’s words, she behaves like a completely different dog.

    I took her out for a walk in a national park two days ago. She was actively chasing and barking at people who looked at her on the trail and even growled at them. Two very well behaved kids asked to pet her and I agreed as I had done numerous times in the past. Instead of wagging her tail as she did in the past, she started to back away and growled at the kids, prompting the kids’ father to ask me whether sheltie was a particularly unfriendly breed.
     
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  4. Caro

    Caro Moderator

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    As Sharon said, you wouldn't notice an immediate change as it takes weeks for the hormone levels to drop after a spay. It may be that she's going through another adolescent fear period - they can go through more than one. I would also check if there is something medically wrong as pain can often cause a shift in behaviour. If it is
     
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  5. Ann

    Ann Moderator

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    I don't have any medical knowledge to dispute the article but I can just say I've had numerous dogs spayed over the years and have never seen a behavioral change like that, and I have a group of girls at my house so if there were to be any aggression it would be among five females, some spayed and some intact.

    I agree with Sharon and Caro that it could be the trauma of the surgery or her age or a fear period. I've had worse fear periods at the 14 to 15 month age in my dogs than when they were younger. I hope this is temporary and passes for your girl. I'm sorry it's happening!
     
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  6. TheDailyPainter

    TheDailyPainter Forums Enthusiast

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    I read that same article, but as others have said don't jump to conclusions right away. The red flag for me is that she urinated in the house when she never did this before. I would consult the vet just to be sure it isn't something going on. Also I hate to say but one of my shelties developed spay incontinence soon afterward. Could that be the urine you found? Was it in one of her sleeping spots? Good luck I hope this settles soon.
     
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  7. DianeP

    DianeP Premium Member

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    Ann, how long would you say those fear periods lasted?
     
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  8. DianeP

    DianeP Premium Member

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    After Mindy was spayed she became very sensitive and whiney. She carried a toy around and cried and did lots of nesting. Our vet said the hysterectomy causes a change in progesterone that can make dogs feel that they’re pregnant. Her behavior evened out after about two weeks. Maybe it’s something to do with the hormone change and it will stabilize. I’m sorry you are going through this. It sounds distressing!
     
  9. Ann

    Ann Moderator

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    It depends on the dog. Most outgrow it with patience and training. I’ve had some that never do. But for the most part, if you encourage her with high value treats and praise, her confidence will come back. Since this is completely new behavior for this girl, I think it’s likely that she’ll be fine. Just take it slow. Sending positive thoughts!
     
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  10. Piper's mom

    Piper's mom Moderator

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    If you haven't already, I'd try to get her into an obedience class, perhaps being in a class with other dogs and people will help ease her through whatever is going on. If it is a fear period you of course don't want to push them too much but you also don't want to eliminate all contact. Perhaps even a tricks class...just something to help her through this gently.
    My last female (a cocker spaniel I had put down 4 years ago) was quite aggressive at times with me and had to be muzzled when doing her nails. After she was spayed she became the sweetest girl and I never had to muzzle her when doing nails after...spaying totally changed her behaviour.
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2019
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