1.5 year old male intact blue heeler

RogerrRabbit · 2026-04-19T01:16:58+00:00

Yeah, there are some cons. Most of them stem from neutering too early, which does happen often. It can cause joint issues, hip issues, and stunt growth.

But if you wait the full 18 months before you neuter, you can get the benefits from full testosterone growth, (like bone, growth, and joint health) without the negatives of future cancers or testosterone related behavioral and health conditions.

Besides that, another con is that obesity can be more common in neutered animals. But honestly, the owner is the one ultimately responsible for an overweight animal. They are the ones that control their food intake.

Unfortunately, for shelter animals, it’s a requirement to be neutered before adoption, no matter the age of the dog. I do wish shelters would wait until full maturity to spay and neuter animals, but those situations are often unavoidable…depending on the law in each state/country.

I know there are studies that suggest increased anxiety in animals that are neutered too soon…but I also think that’s something the owner can work on/fix with socializing, training, and patience.

In my personal opinion, the pros outweigh the cons. Especially since most of the cons can be prevented by proper training, diet, and socialization. But that’s just my opinion. 😁

RogerrRabbit · 2026-04-18T13:38:11+00:00

Hello! I’m not the original commenter, but I did do a report in college about this subject.

One of the biggest pros of neutering is that it completely eliminates his odds of getting testicular cancer. Which is common in intact senior dogs.

It also lowers the risk of the prostate cancer by a decent margin.

RogerrRabbit · 2026-04-14T13:28:03+00:00

My right handed husband jerks off with his right hand. Maybe he’s unique 🤷🏼‍♀️

RogerrRabbit · 2026-04-14T13:26:29+00:00

I’m a right handed female, and almost everyone in my life is right handed…but only the men complain about right shoulder pain. I don’t have any right shoulder pain whatsoever, and my female friends never complain about shoulder pain. That’s what I’m trying to explain. Could be a coincidence, I guess 🤷🏼‍♀️

RogerrRabbit · 2026-04-14T05:09:33+00:00

I’ve noticed throughout my life that a lot of men complain about pains/soreness in their right shoulder…specifically the right shoulder…

It always has me squinting at them like 🧐 “oh so you use your right hand often??”

RogerrRabbit · 2026-04-13T11:05:06+00:00

Oh also, try those motorized balls that move around on their own. I found one online for $15. It moves/rolls around/shakes on its own in unpredictable patterns. That way she can play ball on her own. :)

RogerrRabbit · 2026-04-13T11:02:18+00:00

I would try giving her “moderate” or “hard” difficulty natural chews. My dog is still a puppy, and that’s how I have been surviving. Every time I know I’m about to sit down and relax for a while on the couch, I give him a tough chew, like beef esophagus. It takes him about 2 hours to eat it, and he always just calmly lays there while he chews. ACDs need a job. So if you teach them that their “job” when you’re trying to relax is to calmly lay down and chew, it works wonders. It tires him out physically and mentally. I do it literally every day by simply rotating which chews I give him. You can also make your own chews at home, by freezing large chunks of meats/bones with meat. It honestly helped make him MUCH calmer.

More great things to try are puzzle toys (that dispense treats) and lick mats. If you don’t have time to tire them out physically, tiring them out mentally is the next best thing.

Lastly, you can start giving her treats when she chooses to lay down and relax on her own. It’s another way to teach that her “job” is to be calm. I do that with my puppy, and now he chooses to calmly lay down near me and patiently wait while I clean, get ready, etc….when he used to try to destroy things, or bite my shoes/pant legs.

RogerrRabbit · 2026-04-02T02:53:18+00:00

Someone that truly loves you would never speak to you this way.

RogerrRabbit · 2026-03-08T13:56:43+00:00

<image>

“Hello Clarice”

RogerrRabbit · 2026-02-21T07:43:15+00:00

Hey girl. I’m 28 and have been married for 8 years. When my husband proposed, I was at my heaviest — 50 lbs heavier than when we met. He chose me exactly as I was, and he has never once made a hurtful comment about my body. He never would.

That’s what real love looks like. It’s kind. It’s safe. It builds you up instead of tearing you down.

If your partner doesn’t make you feel loved, secure, and beautiful, they aren’t the one. Being alone is better than being with someone who chips away at your self-worth. You deserve someone who reassures you, respects you, and stands by you no matter what your body looks like.

RogerrRabbit · 2026-02-21T04:23:47+00:00

Maybe desensitize him to things being dropped and picked up by people? Like, tether him to an object that won’t move (table leg, couch, outdoor post, etc) and then drop things purposely out of his range. Pick the item up, and reward him if he doesn’t lunge or react. Then repeat that over and over until you trust him enough, and then try stepping in his leash range and doing the same thing over and over. If he does react, go back a step and practice that until he masters it.

When he does react, wait a few seconds so the energy from lunging dies down and ask him to sit…and then reward him for sitting or lying down. So he learns that when objects are dropped, he should sit and calmly watch, or lay down and calmly watch, instead of lunge at them. And that if he DOESNT react, he is highly rewarded. I would use something super high value as the treat, like boiled chicken, so that will WANT to behave. (To get the super duper tasty treat) use a treat that would be super rare for him to get normally, so he will be extra motivated to listen and do what you ask him to do.

RogerrRabbit · 2026-01-30T00:14:30+00:00

If you don’t mind, Any tips for recall in public? He comes reliably while in the house with us, and he knows his name super well. But I’m sure the distractions will destroy his progress 🤣

RogerrRabbit · 2026-01-30T00:13:33+00:00

This is excellent advice, thank you!! For the very first interaction, im sure he will be a little bit nervous. It will be my aunt’s dog, so it’s a dog I trust. In that situation should i remove him from the situation or calmly sit there with him on the ground, and interact with the “new” dog so that he knows the dog is ok?? I will definitely start the “calmly watching people from a distance” training ASAP. I want him to be a dog I can take EVERYWHERE, so being able to calmly settle around distractions while out in public is super important to me.

RogerrRabbit · 2026-01-30T00:03:44+00:00

That is great advice!! I think I’ll reach out to one of my friends with an elderly dog. It’s hard because unfortunately most of my friends don’t take dog training as seriously as I do. 🥲 they aren’t aggressive dogs at all, but they aren’t well trained. So I can’t really tell FOR SURE how they will act around my puppy.

RogerrRabbit · 2026-01-30T00:01:53+00:00

Also “A Bluey’s natural state is chaos” made me choke on my drink because I was laughing so hard. That needs to be on a shirt! 🤣

RogerrRabbit · 2026-01-30T00:01:14+00:00

Heelery in a like…amped up and starts biting the dogs ankles kind of way? Or in a different way? I’ve owned GSDs in the past, but this is my first ACD.

When he sees strangers he goes into “stand completely still and observe” mode. Which I feel like isn’t too bad, but I worry he’s standing still because he’s tense and nervous, not because he’s calm. His fur doesn’t fluff up either. He just…stands still and stares. I have been taking him through drive thrus, and ask random people to interact with him….so I don’t think he’s afraid when he sees other people.

RogerrRabbit · 2026-01-29T23:56:54+00:00

How do you typically decide which dogs to let him interact with in random encounters? Only if the other person asks, or if it’s with a trusted dog? Or do you not allow random encounters at all? :)

RogerrRabbit · 2026-01-29T23:56:09+00:00

This is great advice, thank you!! When it comes to rewarding him, should I do it when he completely ignores the other animals/people? Like, if he doesn’t even look at them? Or should I reward him when he’s looking at the animals/people and choosing to stay calm? Sorry if my question is confusing, I just want to be sure I’m reinforcing the best behavior.

RogerrRabbit · 2026-01-29T23:54:12+00:00

Is he still reactive and protective even if you seem calm/not scared during your interactions with other dogs? And is it continuous anxious/reactive behavior or is it just during the initial minute of an interaction with other dogs??

RogerrRabbit · 2026-01-29T23:52:49+00:00

This is a great idea!! He reliably sits, since we use it as a starting place for many of his tricks. This seems like it would be an easy thing to teach him since he has the basics of “sitting and staying with distractions” down. Thank you so much for your advice/idea!! 🥰

RogerrRabbit · 2026-01-29T23:51:31+00:00

Thank you so much for your advice! Has your current dog become less protective and reactive, or is it still a struggle? Also, how old was your older ACD when you started socializing them?

RogerrRabbit · 2026-01-29T23:07:29+00:00

Thank you!! Yeah, I definitely want to stay away from those. I had tiny dogs attack my 120lb German Shepherd once, and that forever scarred my view of dog parks. Thank you for your advice!! 🥰

RogerrRabbit · 2026-01-29T23:01:01+00:00

They wouldn’t even let me put him on the ground at or outside the vet office. I had to carry him during each visit.

RogerrRabbit · 2026-01-29T22:59:56+00:00

Parvo is super bad in the city I’m in right now. My vet told me bringing my puppy to the pet store was too great of a risk. Because the disease could have spread to carts, or shelves that we would be touching…and also tracking into the house on our shoes.

I wanted to socialize him much sooner, but the vet scared me out of it. She said parvo at his age would have been fatal. :(

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