The Teens

Arrrroooo to you.

I am now 8 months old, and I am becoming quite a handsome boy so I am told.

If it wasn't for my eye problem (entropion - see previous blog), I am told I would have made a lovely show dog, and perhaps gone on to father some puppies of my own. However, because of this hereditary problem, mum says I cannot have any babies, in case I pass on my faulty genes.

Anyway, mum didn't bring me into the family to become a show dog, she wants to train me to do agility, and now I am 8 months, I am starting to do a few agility games and control exercises. Mum has even been teaching me to walk backwards, so that I become more aware of where my feet are. She is very pleased with my progress, because she says I am moving very well.

I am feeling quite sad that I won't be allowed to have any fur babies of my own. Mum is also a little concerned that I am becoming a bit territorial around our paddock. I have had a couple of scraps with other entire male dogs recently. I don't do this anywhere else, because I don't see the need to protect other areas, but our paddock is very special to me, because it is where so much fun happens. I love having the neutered boys come to play, and of course I love having the girls come along too. Some of the girls even tell me off, and it doesn't bother me, but you see - I do have to protect these girlfriends of mine from those prying eyes who might just fancy them. They had better think again.

I am also starting to cock my leg quite a bit. Mum is now watching my behaviour very carefully, as I am now having a large shot of testosterone which will prime me for adulthood. In other words, I am a teenager, and I have discovered who and what I am.

Mum tells me that if I start loosing my obedience, and become too stroppy around other entire male dogs, I am going to the vet for an operation!!!!! Mum is really hoping it won't come to that, as she wants to keep my hormones where they belong.

Apparently some dogs change dramatically when the secondary testosterone surge hits. They become very disobedient, run off to sniff, find it difficult to recall away from interesting smells, have to cock their leg every few yards. Some males start to run off and go in search of a girlfriend. This can put them in grave danger of being run over. Some even become victims to other male dogs, who find them a threat and then attack, whilst others go on the offensive, as I have in our paddock, deliberately picking fights with others. These are the kind of things neutering works on. Neutering does not calm dogs down who are generally disobedient around their home environment, that really comes down to owners teaching their dogs how to behave.
Some people believe that neutering can turn their male dog into a sissy. It doesn't. It cannot, because mum tells me that my brain chemistry was made boy - just before I was born, when I received my first shot of testosterone. What neutering does is remove the excess, and then dampens down any behaviours which may be associated with the excess I may, or may not develop. At the moment, it is a waiting game.

The main fear mum has with regards to neutering, is that I will loose my lovely shiny coat which everyone comments on. Coat shine in Setters is very much under hormonal control. I might even end up with a coat like Lotte's:

Poor Lotte has a 'blown' coat, and she has to see the groomer on a regular basis to try and keep it under control.

It will soon be Tallulah's 4th birthday. I am quite excited because mum has been inviting dogs to her birthday party which has become an annual event. Here you can see a wet Nalle and Tallulah who had been splashing in the ponds near our paddock.