Neutral about Neutering ?

I was debating whether to mention something about Atticus in the earlier post. I realize that apart from just letting me express my feelings and experiences, my blog can also serve as a guide for future puppy parents. Of course since every dog is different what I am about to write may not be true for all. Two weeks after Dec 11th 2008, Srik and I decided to get Atti neutered. Do I sense shock or did you just roll your eyes as you read this. I don't know if it was the right thing to do, there is no right or wrong, but in my opinion, I felt he needed it. The primary reason was because the population of unwanted pets just keeps growing. There are about millions dogs and cats that have to be euthanized because they just cant find a home. The next reason was neutering could reduce the risk of certain health problems and could increase the life span of the pet. Finally I just didn't think I could do justice in taking the responsibility of getting Atti to breed. It is a continual process and there are so many rules to follow. I don't say that just because it is cumbersome for me but also because I care about Atti and I didn't want him to be harmed in any way. So we went through with it. It was a simple surgery, Atti was kept under observation for one night and we brought him home the next morning. The doctor advised minimal activity for about a week so that the stitches wouldn't tear. Atti did ok, however after a week or so, he started to act rebellious. It was almost like there was this anger in him, what? how ? I cant tell you till this day. Some say, maybe he was just mad that he was being neutered, or another point of reasoning could be that he was just acting like a teenager ( he was about 6 months then) and maybe it was his hormones. I will need to explain how he would have these outbursts. Atti would suddenly just hate his leash and start biting on it or pulling at it. He would growl and bark and it took us a lot to calm him down. Sometimes he would get hold of our jackets and tug at it so hard. Sometimes it would actually hurt our wrists, if he bit too hard. Atti would act violently out of the blue, like during his walk or when we are at home, resting. No particular reason- almost puzzled me. He mostly did this with Srikanth. It pained me sometimes because I didn't understand what was going on with Atti and I guess he didn't too. In about 2-3 weeks Atti was back to normal .no outrage, no anger no biting or growling. As far as I have read neutering was supposed to calm dogs, that is aggressive dogs could/would become calmer, but I didn't read anywhere about such a reverse reaction. It was a phase, a tough one but it passed and all was well.