# an embarassing little problem....



## Laney (Aug 7, 2011)

Hi all,
Rocky is a male Cockerpoo, almost 6 months old. I guess we're reaching "that" age as the latest craze is to try to hump every dog he sees...doesn't matter if its another male either. He gets so excited that even when the dog moves, he continues to hump fresh air for quite some time before attempting to clamber back onto his victim. So far, this behaviour had been confined to one particular toy at home but now....any dog will do at the park!!! 
So far, no human legs are in danger. 
We intend to neuter but after much reading it would seem that it could be potentially harmful to the wellbeing of the dog to neuter before the age of 10 months (the breeder recommends 6-8 months and the vet says 1 year). I'd be interested to hear other owners' views on the subject  
Laney xx


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## EG1 (May 14, 2011)

Hmm. Well my breeder and vet have both advised 6 months since I have another male dog and this should avoid dominance issues. I have to say we didn't have Alf neutered until 2 after advice from different vet to avoid future urinary problems. Put up with quite a bit of laddishness and curtain spraying which wasn't great so would def prefer earlier rather than later! x


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## tinal38 (Aug 8, 2011)

Wow, that seems really late for neutering - are there some types of health benefits? Plus, I thought when you get it done earlier, those behaviors are often extinguished, but will continue by waiting?

Our current trend in the U.S. is as early as 4 - 5 months now. Definitely by 5 months is recommended. 

I don't think there's much you can do to curtail that behavior though, other experts? Good luck Laney!


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## doodlebug (Jul 16, 2011)

Ive just posted on another thread so rather than type the whole thing out Ive copied it

Humping is not a dominence thing, dogs hump for a number of reasons such as when they are over excited and need to calm themselves down, so when a dog gets over stimulated or is in a stressful sitution they may hump, they arn't trying to dominate they are just letting off steam. Neutering dosent always help because its an innate behaviour, dont tell him off when he does it if I were you I would teach him to sit


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## Laney (Aug 7, 2011)

*interesting replies*

This was one of the postings I came across. http://www.doglistener.co.uk/medical/neuter.shtml
I have a lot of respect for the "dog listener" approach to training/caring so am using this as an example, but there were lots more. It also mentions the U.S. trends of early spaying/castration so its good to hear from somebody in the know over there. Please keep opinions coming guys, I'm sure lots of new owners will be keen to have a good overview


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## doodlebug (Jul 16, 2011)

Laney said:


> This was one of the postings I came across. http://www.doglistener.co.uk/medical/neuter.shtml
> I have a lot of respect for the "dog listener" approach to training/caring so am using this as an example, but there were lots more. It also mentions the U.S. trends of early spaying/castration so its good to hear from somebody in the know over there. Please keep opinions coming guys, I'm sure lots of new owners will be keen to have a good overview


Stan Rawlinson is ace

heres more from the dog listener on neutering ---- http://www.doglistener.co.uk/neutering/neutering_definitive.shtml


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## Jukee Doodles (Apr 5, 2011)

Dogs do need hormones in their growth process. It has been proven that early de-sexed puppies tend to grown taller and lankier than those that are entire. As most of the growth is done by the time they are 10 months old maybe you have any ideal compromise at that age.
Ziggy our stud poodle humped everything he could from about 4 months old but he grew out of it by a year old. We just used distraction techniques as didn't want to put him off his future stud duties.
Like teenagers, as they begin to develop they feel lots of new feelings and don't always behave appropriately, it's just a stage to go through. 

Julia x


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## francesjl (Mar 24, 2011)

Haven't had either of mine done !
I know there are supposedly health benefits but decided to wait and see their behaviour. Both have had their moments but distraction works and its not a regular occurence.
I was concerned about 2 males but Rascal is the dominant one and we've had no spraying issues or aggression, so far, so good


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## holicon (Mar 8, 2011)

I had my other dog (not cockapo) done because he kept humping my daughter, that stopped but he still humped other dogs. I had Coco done at 8 1/2 months old vet said that was a good age.


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## M&M's mummy (Jul 12, 2011)

doodlebug said:


> Ive just posted on another thread so rather than type the whole thing out Ive copied it
> 
> Humping is not a dominence thing, dogs hump for a number of reasons such as when they are over excited and need to calm themselves down, so when a dog gets over stimulated or is in a stressful sitution they may hump, they arn't trying to dominate they are just letting off steam. Neutering dosent always help because its an innate behaviour, dont tell him off when he does it if I were you I would teach him to sit


I posted on other too so have copied my reply 

Yes very true ( re excitement humping etc...)

Monty was never a "humper" before we had him done and we waited till he was 18months before having him done.

Now he humps Milly when he is excited being: when we first put them into the car and sometimes whilst I am locking door to take them out for a walk, I turn round and he is on her!!

I just get him off with a firm NO and he doesn't do it again.
__________________


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## doodlebug (Jul 16, 2011)

M&M's mummy said:


> I posted on other too so have copied my reply
> 
> Yes very true ( re excitement humping etc...)
> 
> ...


LOL @ Monty the little monkey 

the worst of our humpers was a bitch, she always jumped on board our males back when she was excited, she wasnt trying to be top dog at all, you could see she was just full of it


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## sarahjo (Aug 6, 2010)

Hi we panicked when we got Eddie at 8 months because he was humping mad!!! 

So we got him booked in thinking castration was the answer and he still humps - he's a humping machine!!!!

But it does seem to only happen when he gets excited so we now know when enough is enough and play time has to stop - I usually have to be the one to tell everyone else to stop though as the kids find it funny


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

My vet told me 5 months is ideal. I can't wait to get Dexter done - this humping thing is so embarrassing. I met a friend in the park yesterday and Dexter humped her dog all the way round the park, although my friend's retriever seemed to be enjoying it!


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## Cockapoodledoo (Feb 8, 2011)

tessybear said:


> My vet told me 5 months is ideal. I can't wait to get Dexter done - this humping thing is so embarrassing. I met a friend in the park yesterday and Dexter humped her dog all the way round the park, although my friend's retriever seemed to be enjoying it!


Tess, I had Rufus neutered at 6 months old. He was quite a humper in the park with other dogs ......male or female ....he's especially partial to Shelties! At the time I thought it would help this particular behaviour but as everyone at Poo Fest will confirm .....he is still a humper!

Yesterday I had a private training session with The Company of Animals as Rufus pulls on the lead and I felt I needed some guidance to help with his training. It was a great session (subject for another thread!) and during our slot we were joined by the dog behaviourist ...... I took advantage of his presence and asked his opinion on Rufus's humping. From everything I told him he felt that Rufus was humping through being over excited. He has never once shown any aggression towards any dog and runs away squealing if another dog is aggressive towards him ...... so it really isn't a dominance thing as I thought it might be. The behaviourist suggested that every time he humps I take hold of his collar and pull him off - no shouting or orders needed. If he climbs back on then he goes on the lead for 1 minute and then can return to play. If he does it again then he goes back on the lead for another minute etc etc. The message is that when he humps, play stops. Distraction with a toy or some training is another technique. It's all about helping our dogs to cope with their excitement. Neutering early is very unlikely to stop humping. 

Hope this helps. I think I will be waiting until Basil is older than Rufus was to get him neutered. I think waiting until they can **** their leg is quite a good guide. 

Karen xx


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