I have a 6 month old lab boy that I don't plan on neutering until he is at least 1 year old. We just got a shelter dog that is a 4 year old Flat coat retriever. He is wonderful with humans and our neutered beagle, however he is very aggressive with the lab puppy. Shadow(flat coat) was just just neutered about 7-8 days ago. We are doing everything, breaking eye contact, correcting him as soon as his ears perk up, etc, but the aggression is still there. The lab puppy has no idea of even the concept of fighting and flops to his back around Shadow. It is much worse in the house than outside. Do you think the aggression will go down in a couple of weeks, because of the neuter?

Neutering has NOTHING to do with temperament.
If it's bad, it's bad. If it's good, it just is, regardless of intact or not.
Breeders never neuter their boys in general and most I know let their boys live together and also act as puppy babysitters.
A good temperament male Labrador should LOVE puppies. I would hope the same for a Flat Coat.

If you allow this aggressive shelter dog to terrorize your sweet 6 month old Lab pup, you are going to RUIN your puppy forever!!
Take the flat coat BACK, and NOW!!!

Better yet, turn him over to Flat Coat Rescue. He does need to go before your puppy gets hurt.

See that temperament that you dislike so much in that flat coat? Well, that is the temperament the lab pup will have if you allow this to continue. Keep them apart, and kiss the flattie goodbye.

That is what is so puzzling to me, he is fine with the beagle and we read the owner surrender papers and they stated that he chased cats but played well with their male lab. (Altouth the surrender papers said they had him only a month because the previous owner dumped him on them) I thought it would be a perfect fit. He has been at the shelter for a month, i was also thinking that freaked him out because of the amount of pit bulls there. He is so sweet with humans, I will give this a little more time and take him back if he doesnt simmer down.

what exactly is the FC doing to the puppy?

what did the puppy do to elicit the FC behavior?

does the puppy seem frightened of the FC?

It remains for at least 90 days in answer to your subject line question.

What qualifications do you have to say that it remains for 90 days?

Regardless of that, like I said before, neutered or not, a bad temperament is a bad temperament IMO.

If you want to ruin your sweet baby, keep letting him get bullied by this FC. That will do him in for sure.

My suggestion is NOT to take the FC back to the shelter but to find an FC rescue or a single dog home to take him. It's probably not a coincidence that this dog has been given up so many times.

I know if I was the breeder of your Lab pup and I found out you were allowing him to get bullied by an aggressive dog, I would hit the ceiling! I would demand you get rid of the FC or give my puppy back so I could find a home where he was SAFE!
That is part of most contracts anyway. A clause about keeping the puppy safe from harm, which you are not doing by keeping the FC.

I hope you have the dog separated while he is living in your house. I feel terribly thinking about that poor Lab baby. They are so helpless and gentle.
What a shame if he learned he had to defend himself against other dogs. It will change his whole life and who he is, and who he should have become.

You should see a big difference on sexual behavior 15 days after the surgery, but if he doesn't like puppies, he will never do.

quote=behaviorist]what exactly is the FC doing to the puppy?

what did the puppy do to elicit the FC behavior?

does the puppy seem frightened of the FC?[/quote]



The pup goes up to him submissively and tries to play, licks his face or bring him a toy. The FC has no interest in toys so i don't think its a possessive thing. We keep no food down so its not a food thing. The pup doesn't seem afraid of him, just wants to play. The FC growls when he is too close and will try and bite him. He hasn't bitten him, we have been on top of that but he has certainly tried. We walked them on leashes together and there is no problem. They are in the yard together and its not really a problem. All of the aggression is in the house. We have not had them together at all since the last attempt to bite him. I thought if I keep them separated for a week or so to let him settle into his new home and we would try again in a week but if this behavior isn't going to go away, we have to give him up. My pup comes first.

I am sure if you thought your puppy was in danger, you would take appropriate action. How long has the flat coat been with you? He may feel cornered when he is in the house. You need to be a very good observer to know exactly what is going on. If the puppy is the instigator, hopefully he will learn to back off.

Puppies can be quite annoying to older dogs, especially adult dogs who don't yet feel safe in their new homes and/or adult dogs who don't particularly enjoy the company of other older dogs to puppies.

I wouldn't necessarily call what the FC is doing aggression. If the FC really wanted to bite the puppy, the bite would already have occurred--despite your best efforts.

Understand that I am not assuring you that a bite could never occur; you are correct to be concerned because sometimes puppies can be quite persistent in their annoying behavior until the older dog just can't take it anymore. But I give the FC some credit for self-restraint. Puppies have pretty poor judgment when it comes to their own annoying behavior. They are puppies, afterall, with little life experience.

At this point I would keep the FC and the puppy entirely separated. I wouldn't even walk them together. Just let the FC settle into his new space
and let the puppy grow up and develop better manners.

Hope this helps. I know it's difficult to keep puppies and adult separate in the same house, but I think it's your easiest solution for the next few months. Hopefully better times are in the future.

BTW, good for you in adopting an adult dog.

Just 25 years of keeping, showing and breeding dogs.

Puppy owner, I left a note earlier in this thread, but
your most recent note supports my hypothesis that
the FC is just so uncertain where he fits and so anxious that he is not tolerant of puppy bad manners.

Give them some time in which they do not need to cope with one another to adjust to their new situation.
Often puppies will become especially insistent when they are anxious about a newcomer. As both dogs become less anxious and the puppy gets a little more mature, their problems will dissipate--if you keep them separate for a while longer.

It's not how many you have done; it's how many you have done right that matters.

Excellent idea! Your judgment seems quite good.

Just reading thru this thread & I wanted to say "thanks" for giving the FC a chance and time to settle in. Puppies can be PESTS and it takes time for any dog to feel secure in new surroundings. Having your trainer come over is an excellent idea! JMO