Unneutered Male Dog With Spayed Female – Yes or No?

Everybody who has ever thought about introducing another dog into their home probably had to deal with this.

I know I have dealt with it.

My struggle was the other way around. Rottweiler is an unspayed female, but it’s basically the same.

Depending on who claims the rightful throne in your home, if you’re thinking about a second dog, you’ll have to choose wisely.

There are four possible constellations in any given household with two dogs.

If you have an unneutered male, you can pair him with a neutered/unneutered male or a spayed/intact female.

Not all constellations work and in some instances, it can be crucial not to pair your dog up with the wrong one.

Behavioral issues and excessive mounting are not the only possible issues, you should also consider with whom your dog has the most chemistry.

Neutering doesn’t come without risks either, so there’s that to consider.

Unneutered Male Dog With Spayed Female

An unneutered male dog can live with a spayed female but issues could arise such as excessive mounting, sniffing, or licking which, in turn, increases stress and potentially fuels behavioral issues.

It might be wiser to neuter the male once he’s finished growing.

If you just recently added an unneutered male puppy, it’s probably fine to wait until bone growth is finished and then evaluate the need for neutering again.

You have the unneutered male dog and the spayed female already?

Then the only thing you can do is try and observe whether or not your male dog shows stress symptoms (male dogs can definitely behave like they’re in heat too).

However, if the male dog came or will come first and neutering is not a solution for you at all (too young/old, health issues, general neutering risk), it can get a bit tricky.

If neutering the male to live with a female dog is not a choice, the alternative is to introduce another neutered or unneutered male dog into your home.

Beware that the constellation of two males can be a poor choice, especially if your male dog or the new male is only really in harmony with females.

Similarly, in case the spayed female came first, you might want to think about adding another female or a neutered male dog.

The best harmony is said to exist between a male and female dog but if it’s not possible to 100% rule out an accident litter, you need to look into other options.

A lot also depends on your own dog.

Some dogs are super friendly with any other canine while others are only into females or males (or no other dogs at all) and that’s totally fine.

If you’ve properly socialized your dog, you should know what he or she is into and what they dislike.

It becomes noticeable pretty quickly who your dog is into more, especially if you had other males or females inside your home.

Never try to force a relationship onto your dog and never blindly accept the risk of an unwanted pregnancy.

Raising puppies ain’t no joke and health testing should be performed prior to breeding. Far too many “accident” litters are born every year, month, week, and even day.

Can a Male Dog Be Attracted To a Spayed Female?

Yes, a male dog can be attracted to a spayed female, especially if the spay was only performed recently or if it’s an adolescent male.

While spayed females don’t go into heat anymore, males can still be attracted to them.

Beware that mounting doesn’t always equal attraction, it can be due to excitement or various other factors.

That being said, mounting or excessive smelling are probably the most prominent signs that a male is attracted to a spayed female.

I’ve met dogs that just seem to hump anything that comes their way.

While I can’t speak for my female Rottweiler since she seems to smell particularly nice to ANY male dog, I can attest to that fact by first-hand experience.

Females have been mounted, excessively licked, and classically courted (although this can be interpreted as play sometimes) and that’s despite them being spayed.

By the way: It can also happen that a male neutered dog is still attracted to an unspayed or even spayed female since it’s often a behavior pattern that doesn’t go away with the snap of a finger.

Why Is My Male Dog Trying To Mount My Spayed Female?

While male dogs can try to mount spayed females due to excitement, it can also occur that a male dog is attracted to a female despite her being spayed, especially if the spay was performed recently.

Mounting might not seem like a problem at first.

After all, your female is spayed and nothing can happen, right?

Well, that is kind of true but if the male constantly tries to mount the female, any given situation can go south pretty quickly.

My female Rottweiler does not like being mounted at all and it doesn’t seem to matter what stage she’s in (even before, during, and after her heat).

Granted, she is not spayed but at worst, the spay only increases that as the hormones are changing.

Neutered and unneutered males try to mount her pretty often outside and I always remove her from that situation.

I couldn’t imagine putting my dog through that stress every day.

If you’ve just brought home a new male canine or your adolescent dog is just beginning to get ready for potentially mating, you can just keep an eye on it.

I’ve fostered a neutered male dog and while there was a lot of mounting in the first few days, that behavior quickly subsided with some steering in the right direction.

A male mounting a spayed (or even unspayed) female is not always physical attraction but can be due to excitement.

Male Dog Keeps Licking Spayed Female Dog

If a male dog keeps licking a spayed female it’s more often than not a precursor to mounting, play, or other behaviors that have mating as the end goal.

Smelling and even licking are not rare occurrences among dogs who just met but excessive licking can be an issue.

Females will usually show signs of being uncomfortable.

Smacking lips, flat ears, hackles, removing themselves from the situation – it’s essential to look out for these signs.

To avoid further conflict, male dogs should not be allowed to chase their suspect of interest down for licking, or even just smelling.

Personally, I find it annoying if my unspayed Rottie meets a male dog outside of her heat who is incredibly persistent with the smelling and licking behavior.

Other dog owners may think it’s fine but they often disregard clear signs that the other dog is increasingly uncomfortable.

Disclaimer: This blog post does not substitute veterinary attention and does not intend to do so. I am not a veterinarian or pet nutritionist. If your dog shows any sign of illness, call your vet.