Max is now 18 months old. He was neutered at 5 months old. It was not an easy decision to make at that time, because I had to weigh the benefits of preventing him from engaging in "territory marking" behaviours, and the cons of him not fully maturing mentally. The outcome from that decision is that now he does not lift his leg at all when peeing; and that he still behaves like a puppy. Even physically, he is small by mongrel standards.
From the first day Max entered into our lives, Max had not learnt to lift his legs even though he sees Jon do it every day. Twice a day. Every time Jon tells his competitors of his existence in an area, I had hoped that Max has not begun to see the reasons behind this behaviour. Luckily he did not pick up this habit before he was neutered. However, this morning I was taken aback of what Max did after he pooed. He scratched the floor. It was as vigorous as any performed by a dog. I actually talked to him by asking " You have learnt this from Jon, didn't you?"
This is a interesting behavioural development I want to monitor. One year after having been neutered, he has learnt - albeit slow - the language of territory marking. But the one question I want to know is: "Is it possible to learn these behaviors after a male dog has been neutered?"
Scratch and Mark
Tuesday 16 August 2011
Categories:
Alpha Male,
Doggish Behaviour,
eliminating,
Ground Scratching,
Instinctive Behaviour,
Jon,
Learnt Behaviour,
Leg Lifting,
Max,
Neuter,
Pee,
poo,
Territory marking
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- Edward
- highonanimals.blogspot.com is about my encounter and experience with anything about animals. It could be my own pets, or that of any animals I happen to come across. I will be sharing personal stories; offering opinions to both animal and non-animal lovers about the nature of animals; and with your comments and input, I will also get to learn more. There will be many fun stories, cause-related stories and animal pictures about my day-to-day life as a pet sitter, animal rescuer and pet owner.
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1 comment:
I have a male dog, Brut who is the father and is intact. His son, Zappa was neutered at 4 months old. Zappa NEVER lifted his leg. I was concerned as I thought this was a learned behavior. Someone told me that since Brut was the dominate one, Zappa wouldn't participate in the "pissing contest." Zappa is now grown and I have witnessed him lifting his leg in certain areas of the yard that he claims as his own, while in other spots still won't do it. Zappa will mark on walks by himself, but does not do often, nor with the vigor of his father.
I'm not sure if it is a learned behavior, or just part of being a male dog. My females operate the same way. The mother dog was spayed after her puppies and is still a strong marker. While her daughter, spayed at 4 months, was not, until she became an adult and then she began marking, but with less intensity and frequency than her mother, as I find with all of my neutered/spayed animals.
It makes you wonder how much is by following patterns and how much is instinctual. All of my dogs are rather dominant by nature, and 4 out of 6 are neutered/spayed. Makes you wonder how much is taught and how much is part of their nature.
Good question.
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