Hi folks.. hope all enjoying the weekend. Just wanted to run something by you... Bob's recall has never been perfect but recently I've been feeling more and more confident with him. He's actually not TOO bad really. Anyway a couple of days ago, Bob met 2 bitches on heat while we were out walking. Since then I would say that we now have very little if no control over him when we are out and he's off lead. He just shoots off like a bullet towards any other dog now and nothing I say/do makes a jot of difference. On our walk today I only had low value treats with me so think I need to up my game a little bit. I just wondered if this was to be expected after his experience the other day? Bob is 6 months old now and I'm guessing will start feeling his hormones around this time? Any tips on how to handle this? Thank you, Lou xx
Re: No control since we met a bitch on heat.... I think all dogs are different. I don't have a great dealt of trouble with my intact dog around bitches in heat. For sure, if we are very close, he'll run across to them and can get extremely interested in sniffing where they have been, but I have never failed to get him away or had him run off out of my sight. I have had to walk across and get him a couple of times, but that's it. To be honest, footballs give us more trouble. My dog is completely unaffected as soon as we leave a bitch, and I have never noticed any lasting effects whatsoever and certainly a failed recall later would be nothing to do with earlier meeting a bitch in season. Other people report much more significant problems, so I'm sure it varies by dog. I would say though, that you say his recall "isn't too bad". You really need your recall super strong before you put any pressure on it (well, the same applies to any cue), and a bitch in heat is a lot of pressure to put on an entire male and a recall cue.
Re: No control since we met a bitch on heat.... I am reading this listening to the rain lash my Conservatory. I washed all the floors a couple of hours ago. Left the wooden dining chairs outside and have had to rush out in the pouring rain and retrieve them. Then dry them off. I have just run my still damp mop over the floors again. That's how good my weekend is
Re: No control since we met a bitch on heat.... My sisters Doberman is on heat this very moment. When she visited me last Thursday Finn became quite agitated. He was out of control and didnt want to listen. After she left it took a couple of hours to calm him down. He didn't see the bitch, nor has he met her. Just the smell of my sister was enough. Our other lab Euan of 9 years old is nurtured and it didn't bother him. Also in the period he was still a male it didn't bother him to be amongst bitches in heat. So this behavior is for me quite unusual. Annemarie
Re: No control since we met a bitch on heat.... My sympathies we have had similar experiences to yourself and Bob. We have also spoken to our vet in detail, plus discussed this with our dog trainer where we take Benson (now 16 months) to adolescent classes. What we have learned so far, is that the adolescent male dog has a lot of hormonal activity going on, starting at around 6 months old, and peaking at around 10 months, and reducing to normal adult levels between 18 and 20 months. All dogs vary, and these flux's often coincide with other behavioural changes associated with adolescence. Now all this probably isn't helpful from a practical point of view, but it does help understanding what the dog is going through. With Benson, we noticed adolescence at around 7/8 months, so we stepped up the training, recall, heel work, focus etc..however, saying all that, this had absolutely zilch impact when we encountered a bitch in heat. The first time we didn't actually know she was in season, we found out later and put two and two together. It really throws everything out of sync with him, even at home, for at least a few days, and really in hindsight I would avoid that area completely now. I don't think any amount of training would've made a blind bit of difference. I think now I can recognise the warning signs that he is aroused, and would clip him on his lead and leave the area pronto! Here is a thread with some info about where we are now, hope it helps! http://www.thelabradorforum.com/index.php?topic=9925.0
Re: No control since we met a bitch on heat.... Sorry I didn't mean that I think you should chemically castrate Bob, for a minute, only that some of the thread you might find interesting
Re: No control since we met a bitch on heat.... How unsurprised would we be to hear the same story from the owner of a young bitch "my girl is six months and suddenly: [quote author=Loopyloo30 link=topic=10052.msg146788#msg146788 date=1425226228] I would say that we now have very little if no control over him when we are out and he's off lead. He just shoots off like a bullet towards any other dog now and nothing I say/do makes a jot of difference. [/quote] All we'd say is "teenager".
Re: No control since we met a bitch on heat.... A male dog running off looking for a bitch in heat has a level of determination that is much, much higher than that of a female dog with a lacklustre recall. Management of off-lead time (ie only when it's judged safe and in-season-bitch-free) is important. As is secure fencing/gates. Some males are just not that interested. But some are very interested indeed.
Re: No control since we met a bitch on heat.... That's true, and it may be that some dogs are just better off castrated. But I am wary of jumping to the conclusion that poor behaviour is a result of a dog being intact - particularly when the description of the behaviour is not actually around an in season bitch, but is some time after the event (as the OP describes), or in general. When Charlie was younger, he was a nightmare around other dogs. For a period he was just a nightmare, full stop. With no focus, the concentration span of a fruit fly, a horror of lunging madness on his lead, and a complete bandit around other dogs and people. Hopeless. But it wasn't because he was entire. It was just because he was a hooligan. And he still has his hooligan moments (ok, hours). Nothing to do with bitches in heat though. Although we meet enough of them that I could easily (falsely, I believe in Charlie's case) correlate the two if I had a mind to do so, but that wouldn't help me. What helped me, and what will help me, was buckling down and getting through the training plan.
Re: No control since we met a bitch on heat.... Homer's come across a few girls in season, with him his reaction has varied partly I suppose the the extent of the season, - 'just coming into season or 'in season'. Most of our encountered the girl has been on lead and in most cases I've been warned in time to put his lead on and take a different route. He would show a bit more interest than a usual dog greeting but happy to follow me and walk away. Last month we were off lead on the common playing fetch and a certain 'young lady' came bounding up to him and flirted quite shamelessly. They owner who I chat to from time to time came over strait away luckily by this time I'd noticed the reason for her behaviour myself and pulled him away threw husband ball for him and he went to chase the ball not looking back once. But for about a week after this his recall when sniffing along the path edge was not as good as normal, and his bed received more attention than usual. Last week his dog walker mentioned that he was bothering one of the girl dogs that she walks. I've never had any trouble with him running off after girls.
Re: No control since we met a bitch on heat.... This is exactly why owners of bitches in season should be more thoughtful when considering walking their dogs during this time! I don't even own a boy, but I get really cross for male dog owners if I come across anyone walking an in season bitch. It is really inconsiderate and the impact on other dogs, particularly males can cause serious issues. How guilty would they feel if a male dog ran off on the scent of an in season female and got killed on the road ? Part of being a dog owner is having to consider other dog owners around them, not just doing what suits them! Chloe
Re: No control since we met a bitch on heat.... A couple of days ago a Chocolate Lab suddenly appeared as we were training 'go backs' down a path in the middle of a small plantation, my CASTRATED dog immediately tried to get a leg over! I had a job to get him away from her and as she went from me I could see she was in full season! Fortunately he didn't try to follow her, but it does show females in season are very attractive even if you have been castrated.
Re: No control since we met a bitch on heat.... [quote author=Stacia link=topic=10052.msg146898#msg146898 date=1425290224] females in season are very attractive even if you have been castrated. [/quote] I was reminded of Stacia's comments today - but the opposite happened. I was walking along at the Common with Charlie off lead and a pretty chocolate Labradoodle comes along. Unusually, Charlie goes to say hello (he wouldn't normally approach a dog on lead). He was very close to me, so I turn to call him away but the owner stops, to allow her dog to say hello (lots of people do this, although I don't). She says "just say hello, that's it" so I call Charlie, but he has his nose up against this dog's bum. So I get him. The owner says "she's in season". Ok....says I, keeping my hand on Charlie's collar. She goes to walk off and I say "please just pause if he follows you". I let go of Charlie and he just walks away with me. No trouble, no fuss, nothing. Off we go. This just seems to be it with Charlie. It's never anymore dramatic than this. And I honestly think we must meet a bitch in season every week, or at least every fortnight...
Re: No control since we met a bitch on heat.... You are really lucky Julie,my Mum says her setter is the same but he was such an absconder in his youth ,I disagree with her..... I'm late coming in to this but only to say Dexter uncastrated met 2 females,one in season ,one just starting her season.....his reaction and interest was stratospheric compared to the normal ,usual interest in dogs he meets.....it was definately different and he was unsettled for days after the incident where he dragged me across the park....that was the start of him jumping over our garden wall too ....we smugly thought we had him trained up until that point : fools that we are! ;D Too much of a coincidence that he started doing it the very same night x
Re: No control since we met a bitch on heat.... A bit of a deviation here, but I was wondering at roughly what age Shadow will be sexually mature? I gather that they can physically successfully mate at around 7 months, but they generally don't understand the mechanics at this age ( ). Is the cocking of the leg any indication of sexual maturity? He's not done this yet, and doesn't show any signs of scent marking yet, which I assume is part and parcel of it. To note, I have absolutely zero interest in breeding from him so I'm hoping that he'll be more of a Charlie than a Bob as far as his interest in girls is concerned!
Re: No control since we met a bitch on heat.... [quote author=snowbunny link=topic=10052.msg147778#msg147778 date=1425638130] A bit of a deviation here, but I was wondering at roughly what age Shadow will be sexually mature? [/quote] Up until about 7 months, Charlie thoughts bitches in season were terrible - dreadful flirts and he couldn't get away fast enough. He started to be interested (as in glue like bottom sniffing) at about 9 months or so, but, as I mention above, it's nothing dramatic and nothing not easily handled. I'm sure they are all different. Through his teenage years, he was generally nutty, a hooligan, had the concentration span of a fruit fly, ran off to other dogs and was generally totally obsessed with other dogs, lunged and pulled on his lead such that it was horrible, and such that I thought my knees would never recover, walking him on a lead anywhere...but it never occurred to me to link that with him being intact, so I didn't. And it all went away. Well, mostly.
Re: No control since we met a bitch on heat.... Have now had dogs at both ends of the 'desire' scale. My old lab murphy behaved very similar to Charlie. We once met a yellow lab on our walk off lead. I vaguely knew the lady so we had a chat. She told me her dog was in season so I went to get hold of murphy but she said it would be ok. Next thing she says oh she's standing for him. Sure enough yellow lab standing infrin of murph tail curled. What did my big, butch intact dog do? He ran !!! He literally ran off in the other direction and it was being offerd on a plate. ;D Scott and Scout on the other hand don't need an invitation. Much more like Dexter : PS. Thinking about it murphy didn't show interest in anything until after he'd been castrated when he was 9. He then tried to get amorous with a yellow lab although he did adore her and would follow her around like a love sick puppy. ;D
