Why is my male Dachshund HOWLING at the door?

Okay...I was trying to be serious and post, but this thread just got funnier and funnier!!! I can't even be serious now.

On another note, I think it's kind of cruel to keep males who aren't in a breeding program intact. They get to spend their whole life wanting "it" a never getting it. That spells torture don't you think? Neutering does really make them happier pets and if you are that attached to his "boys" then just buy him some neuticles...:yikes: :lol-sign:

I just read the first post and then I read all the responses.......
I agree, just get him neutered...
This was a fun read. Lol

But in reality, after reading your first post...... I also thought a female in heat is causing your problems. Even though your dog is a year, neutering might not stop "marking" if it is already a habit. But I bet you have an excellent chance of the surgery working for your situation. Especially if the dog has never "had any" before...

It also seems that neutering hurts the owner more than the dog. I have taken care of a couple dogs that were neutered and the most noticable thing I witnessed.......... After leaving the vets office (with a housebroken dog) they have to pee like 10 minutes.... and if you don't give them that chance it just "rains" where ever they are standing. So give plenty of opportunity to pee as soon as you leave the office.

Best wishes, and I hope you decide to get him neutered. I bet it will help with your current problem and avoid lots of other potential problems to come. Problems you will never have to deal with.... and you will never even have to know about them.

Julie.

Neuter

I neutered Wrigley at 4 months and don't regret it for a second--he has never marked, acted agressive or acted crazy because of a female. I think sooner the better for your 1 yr old guy.

Another vote for neutering here.

I was a vet tech for years and helped with probably thousands of castrations (sorry, I call it as I see it .. *L*). It's a very external operation compared to a spay on a female. The anesthetic doesn't have to be very deep so it's safer too. All you have to do is take him home, keep him quiet for a bit and don't let him lick the surgical site until it heals.

One of the things we used to see a lot in intact males is prostate enlargement. This was usually first noticed because the dogs started urinating blood. On exam, the prostate was found to be enlarged and it was pretty much always because there were females in heat somewhere and the dog was in a state of arousal without any way of dealing with it.

You can avoid that, too, by neutering him now. And once he's neutered and no longer has hormones as an excuse, you can work on his behavioral problems. There's no reason he should still be peeing indoors!

In the meantime, you may try a tiny bit of Vick's or vanilla beneath his nose to mask any smells that he may be picking up that is encouraging this howling behavior. I don't guarantee it will work, but it may be worth a try for now.

Melanie and the gang in Alaska

I want to thank everyone who took time to reply to this thread... While it may be funny in the beginning, its serious in the end. Honestly I still don't want to neuter him.... but I don't want him to go through that again.

I have a question for those of you "in the know" - how long does a female stay in heat? I've heard they go in heat twice a year???


Now to go back to the funny for a second... Someone mentioned that the poor dog has no thumbs While that might be true... He sure can do more than most of us can!!! :yikes: Every body has made the joke, if we could do it, we'd never leave the house!!! Well ---- :lol-sign:
we all know what we're talking about!!!

OK: And I couldn't resist: C'MON ASK ME ABOUT MY WEINER!

Remember folks, while it might still be funny................

I honestly do to!!!

So what did you decide to do with his weiner :yikes: OMG! I mean his situation. Are you going to do the kinder thing for him and neuter him? The reason you don't want to fix him is because you are a male yourself Do you really think that is fair to compare considering he is a dog? I have known many dogs who ended up getting neutered later in life and the older they get the harder it gets on them, the slower the recovery. A friend of mine had a Fila who at the age of 5 was just standing still out in the yard one day shaking and trembling. He was in pain from an enlarged prostrate and had to neutered ASAP! You think you are doing him a favor by leaving his nuts but you are doing more harm than good for him and it will drive him more nuts in the end!

Every dog is different, but a females heat lasts up to a month.....
A good way to remember it is...... A week coming in, A week in, and a week going out...... Although in certain dogs it can last a good bit longer than that.
The first week or more is bleeding.....Males are not usually interested at this time.....the discharge starts turning clearish and eventually stops...

Somewhere generally around the second week or longer the Males get really interested and it literally drives them crazy when they smell her and can't get to her. You can easily tell when this point is. This is also when the female is very receptive... (This is the time your male dog is going crazy over some female.)

The third week or longer..... is coming out of heat... The swelling starts decreasing.. The males are slowly loosing interest and so is she. Eventually everything will be back to normal....... unless of course she got pregnant then there will be many things changing in the next couple months.

A female does go into heat approx twice a year. Every 6 months seems to be an average. But some dogs go 5 mths, some go 8mths, it still can be considered normal.

I had heard 3 weeks... but wanted to confirm that.

Well, what I can tell you all is Stogie went banana's for about 5 days or so... AND I DO MEAN BANANAS! It rained one day, and he never howled again. The day it rained, he didn't go nearly as berzerk as he had been ... he wanted to go outside, but he wanted to play and be around us to, so that was an improvement.

Now he's pretty much back to "normal" so I guess the "intense" stage of her 'period' is over (YUK! BTW! bleeding, swelling, discharge!!! YUk!)

To answer the question about what I've decided to do.... Well here's what I know... I love this stupid little dog, and I really don't want to castrate him - and you're right, its because I am a male also. Absolutely thats why I don't want to. I will say this, for those of us who are "on the fence" about it... Depending on who you ask, you'll get a completely different response.

I've heard YES! Do it, its better for him in every way possible... He'll be a better dog and love you for it.
I've heard NO! It's un-natural... makes them recent you, can make them angry, will not change the dog in anyway - he'll still mark, hump, go nutz for the bitch in heat around the corner. Its will not effect him in anyway possible.
I've heard Yes! do it - because you should but he wont be any different after.


Seriously, I've heard almost every possibly combination of why NOT to do it, and why TO do it.. Pro's and Con's.

Here's what I know... I can't watch him go through that again in 6 months... It was truly heart wrenching. I almost wanted to go get him a female... And I'm absolutely serious about that! I've never seen a dog do what he was trying to do. NEVER. And I don't want him to have to go through that again, but I don't want to neuter him either.

I'm still on the fence

He is smelling something outside that has his attention such as a female in heat or some other oder. Have you taken a look around the neiborhood for other female dogs. I would say just take him in and get him fixed and that should calm him down.

Well, the decision is yours. I'm glad your at least open to the ideas / suggestions posted.
Here's what I'm guessing. If you don't neuter him he probably will go through it again in six months... and then again next year... and possibly again...

Maybe you should do one of those vin diagrams like we had to do in grade school or something. List the benefits of neutering on one side, and on the other side reasons you've found to keep him intact.

Neuter him! Save him the suffering. Seriously--he won't resent you at all.