On a lovely sit with an adorable little dog who is perfect in every way except that he is an intact male… This leads him to mark excessively on walks (unable to take him inside stores/cafe’s as his urge to mark is overwhelming), and act aggressive/try to start fights with some other dogs he encounters. The marking wouldn’t be such a problem except that he is a long haired variety so he pees on his own hair when marking which saturates it with VERY musky urine. So, after every walk I’m having to wash his pee-saturated hair in order to be able to be in the same room/car with him. I’m well able to handle dogs who are about to fight, but in the wrong situation this dogs aggressive behavior could end up getting him hurt by a large aggressive dog and I’d hate to see any harm come to the little chap.
I realize that I should have asked prior to the sit, but honestly it hadn’t occurred to me since most people neuter dogs that aren’t used for breeding. I will ALWAYS be asking in the future, but I also think it would be very helpful if THS required owners (when filling out the pet info section) to tick a box on wether the animal is neutered/spayed the same way a Vet intake form requires that information. I think it’s extremely pertinent for prospective sitters to know.
Is this a concern for anyone else? Is it very common to have un-neutered male dogs on sits?
To answer to your last question: It depends on the country. In some countries it is more rare to routinely castrate, or even illeagal (f.ex. in Norway).
That would be a very good idea to include the information about if the animal has been neutered/spayed in the listing (just added this piece of information to my listing) 
I would think it would be valuable information for cat sitters too!
4 Likes
This is absolutely valuable information for sitters to know.
Great suggestion! I have passed this along to our product team.
2 Likes
Hi @DarkAloha I have been in four situations caring for entire male dogs each had it’s challenges as these were all large, young and very strong dogs not that I couldn’t manage them but the reactiveness with and from other male dogs was a concern.
My daughter is an ER & Critical Vet and explained the reasons for this - not her words but the information is the same:
“The scent of an intact male can cause tensions to rise even before the two dogs engage each other because intact males retain the ability to mate and give of the scent of male , which can be considered a threat to neutered males.” Source www.nj.com
I agree PP/Owners should make this is information available to sitters, prior to confirming a sit. Preferably in the listing, the Welcome Guide and for all pets, male and female.
As @Kelly_U said your comment has been passed to the Product Team and just for your information and other members in the conversation this is a subject which Product are already aware of.
Thank you.
2 Likes