Expert: Lee Charles Kelley - 4/17/2008

Question
QUESTION: We have a two 5 year old black lab brothers that have not been neutered.  They have been under supervision constantly and mostly were inside dogs. Because of our jobs and relocating, we are having to leave them for a year.  We have a wonderful friend who has volunteered to keep them albeit, in his backyard.  These dogs were inside at night; outside during the day.  In their temporary living condition; they are strictly outside with a nice dog house and good warm shelter if needed.  On their first day of being there, one of the "boys" killed their cat while being taken for a romp in the woods.  It was the family's outdoor cat.  I'm very concerned that this aggressive behavior is because he has not been neutered but his brother is very laid back and didn't go after the animal at all.  These people have a chain link fence but I'm worried about his aggressive behavior.  Question:  Should we have him neutered?  When he's in the house, he's laid back and wonderful and obeys very well.  When he's outside, he's a completely different dog.  Problem is, he's going to be an "outside" dog for the next year until we can get the "boys" back.  Please help.  We love animals and feel horrible that he killed our friends' cat.

ANSWER: Hi, Mary Ann,

Thanks for the question. I'm so sorry to hear about the cat.

The answer to your question is, in my opinion, no. You should not have the dog neutered. The surgery will actually (well, probably) make him less calm overall. Also, I know it's a tragedy that he killed the cat, but I wouldn't classify it as aggressive behavior. To me aggression means that you're using violence against other dogs, people, or pets. I'm sure your dog didn't realize the cat was a pet and treated him as if he were a big squirrel. I don't mean to downplay the severity of what happened, or make light of the situation. And I don't think the cat was "asking" for it. But talking about harmonic social behaviors and predatory impulses, we're talking about two different sets of instincts. If your dog had had a chance to meet the cat in a way that let him know that the poor animal was a member of the larger group (meaning your family, your friends' family, etc.) this probably wouldn't have happened.

Has he ever shown any aggression toward another dog? I don't just mean posturing, but an actual unwarranted attack? Meanwhile, here's a link on the drawbacks of neutering that you might find helpful:

http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2006/05/its_just_that_t.html

I'll be wishing for the best outcome for you and the boys.

LCK

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for this advice.  He has never acted aggressively toward any other dog.  He truly thought it was a big squirrel; he's killed some chip monks and a rabbit once but that's all.  I feel so much better because we really didn't want to do this to him.  He's so docile and well behaved and obeys commands when he's indoors.  He just goes a little nuts outside.  Anyway, thanks so much. I feel tons better.  I just hope he doesn't try to jump the fence or do something crazy if he has a "scent" of another dog in heat.  Again, they have been indoors most of their lives and now they are outdoors but fenced.  Thanks again.

Answer
Hi again.

It sounds like he needs to be taught to obey his commands outdoors as well as in. This is pretty simple; you just use his favorite game as the focal point for re-training all his commands. Since he has a strong prey drive it's very important for him to know that you (or his temporary guardians) are the gateway to his predatory instincts. That will give them more control in a critical situation like the one with the poor cat.

With that in mind I recommend the following exercises:

http://www.tiny.cc/SwimUpstream (hand feeding him outdoors using a pushing exercise)

http://www.tiny.cc/tug (how to play tug-of-war)

http://www.tiny.cc/walkingonleash (playing games to increase his social attraction)

http://www.tiny.cc/TrickorTreat (learning impulse control at the impulse level)

http://www.tiny.cc/RecallAtDogRun (getting him to run back to you whenever he's called)

Best of luck!

LCK