Neutering older dog, behavior?

Hi,
we have a beautiful chocolate lab and are expecting our first child, a girl, soon!
Our lab is not used to children around and are concerned about how he will behave. We never got him neutered, sad to say, and was thinking maybe we should do it now?? Should we do this at 4yrs old? I have read that is won't change his general behavior. He tends to be a little agressive and loves to stand at the kitchen slider and bark whenever he sees another dog or a person walking, etc.. Lucky for us, we have a walking path behind our house! He is a strong dog, weighing in at approx. 90lbs. I have trouble walking him, but my husband has a better grip on him. I am afraid at this point to let him near our infant when she arrives, but I would hate to give him away and would feel terrible about it. Any advice or ideas?? Thanks

 

The first thing I'd do is get him neutered ASAP. It takes some time for all that testosterone to be eliminated from their system, and that can make a big difference in their attitude. Just remember to keep an eye on his weight and adjust his calorie intake accordingly. Neutered dogs usually don't require as many calories as intact dogs, and that's why people think neutering makes them get fat.

Now, about introducing him to your new daughter; be matter of fact about it. Give him some attention, then sit in a chair, daughter in your arms, and let him sniff if he wants to. When I introduced my daughter to my old dachshund years ago, I sat on the sofa with her on one arm, dog on the other and simply said "Ralph, this is Erin. Erin, this is Ralph. You WILL get along". I think Ralph took his cue from my attitude. This is no threat to you. You are still expected to behave in a civilized manner. End of discussion.

Ralph, who, by the way, could not abide children, ended up being Erin's best buddy. When I gave her a bath, they both howled. She learned to walk by grabbing his collar and he'd walk her all over the house. Most baby's first word is either DaDa or MaMa. Erin's first word was Ralph. He still didn't like anyone elses kids, but this kid belonged to him, and he was her self appointed protector.

One word of caution though; Never, ever leave a baby or small child and a dog unsupervised. As much as we like to think of our dogs as little people in dog suits, they're still dogs. They still have doggy instincts. Small children can do things that hurt dogs, and dogs might react with a warning nip, or worse. New born infants can look and sound a lot like a small wounded animal and trigger deeply buried but still active preditory instincts. So don't take any chances. If you can't be in the room, either the dog or the baby has to go with you.

 

I am curious about this as well.
Both my Rott/Chow dogs are male and after a fight last week I had Duncan (3.5 years) the father fixed while he was getting his ears repaired. I am hoping that in doing this he will become less agressive. I will be getting the son Dowser (2.5) years altered as well since he is the more dominent of the 2 I am still very concerned about behavior problems.

 

As far as neutering an older dog, from my personal experience, it doesn't change their behavior much. You should definately still get it done, but I wouldn't look for some miraculous behavior shift. I got a dog of mine neutered at around 3, when he was fully grown. It didn't help much. HE was fine as a puppy, but when he reached fully grown (180 lbs of solid muscle), he had started to become slightly aggressive and a bully - that is when we decided to neuter him. The neutering did keep him around the house more, and maybe calmed him a little, but he was still very aware of how big he was and still was a bully with other animals.

 

I have heard things similar to what Eliza said. where it changes alittle, but not much. But I still say go for it. It is better out of the way and could change him.
But my friend had a 14-15 yr old little mut dog, maybe 15 lbs or so.. The dog ws pretty bad off by the time the baby was born, no teeth could barely walk liver problems. But this little dog, who couldn't jump on the couch or the bed, somehow could get into the babies bassinet and later his crib. The dog never would do anything but just curl up at the othert end of the bed. My friends really worried though, bc in the dogs older years it became a bit snippy to almost everyone, but was always very gentle with the baby. But the still decided it was best to put the dog down on account of her being so sick.

 

Sebastian was neutered at 5yrs of age. I think it did help his behavior...especially his marking. He seemed to be alot less moody afterwards. Maybe it just varies depending on the individual dog.