Hello everyone, So Murphy is 10 months old now and going through his teenage years. His recall isn't the best which is something I will need to work on but my big problem the now is the humping. He has never humped anyone in the house or beds/cushions (did see him try with a blanket though one day and took it off him). But whenever he is out with other dogs he is constant! I have tried pulling him off and keeping him away for a while to calm him down then letting him continue to play which works sometimes but not all the time. I have recently just started full time work as well so have a dog walker 3 days a week now who takes him on group walks. Last week on Tuesday she said he was great and never tried to mount once, however, the next day she ended up in a park where there were 2 other dog walkers and a total of 15 dogs and she said he was excessive, and even just humping the air at one point. My dog walker is pro neutering and is suggesting I get him done when he hits 1 year old. A few others have suggested I do it too but I've also had positive people who say this period will pass and he will eventually calm down but not sure if he will. I have never wanted to get him neutered but I am now considering it after seeing how excessive he can be with it and have also had a few male dogs try to attack him. I would really rather not though, I am not for it at all but now that it's affecting his socialisation with other dogs I am slightly on the fence. Can anyone give some advice on how to distract him when he tries to hump or if possible behaviour completely? Also, if there is anyone with an older intact male dog who was also as humpy as Murphy as a pup, I would love to hear your advice and stories on how your lab has turned out. Because I refuse to give in and neuter him when I hate the thought of doing it to him. Would really appreciate help, thank you X Shannon
Neutering will not stop or fix this behaviour in the vast majority of cases, because the behaviour is due to over-excitement and general arousal levels (where arousal doesn't mean sexual arousal, but just feeling 'crazy' and losing one's mind in an overly happy way!). Research shows that dogs who are neutered actually hump MORE than dogs which remain intact. See this paper: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/a...By2m2WAPqXjMp5CVQu0E4euN0lQYi5U_n7X8CDJPD5QT8 The relevant part being: "Increased AAC [Age At Castration] was associated with significantly less mounting of objects, furniture, or people (7.64%; OR = 0.996(0.995–0.997))" And "Surprisingly, increased PLGH [Percentage Lifetime exposure to Gonadal Hormones] was also associated with less mounting " Really, if you see him getting humpy, just go get him and put him on leash. He is not a mature dog, at 10 months old. Just the same as fifteen year old boys are not mature men. Boys do stupid things due to testosterone, like driving dangerously, playing chicken on railways, starting fights with each other and generally being loud and obnoxious in front of their friends. We don't neuter them. We know they will grow out of it. Same goes for adolescent dogs in the vast majority of instances. Removing their hormones really is a kind of sledgehammer approach. Dogs are sexual beings. When you own a dog, you own the whole dog - including the sexual part. Don't be embarrassed by your dog's sexuality or project human shame onto the dog. Dogs are sexual - we shouldn't try to make them asexual. Of course, they shouldn't be obnoxious pests to other dogs - we need to be able to recall them away and have responsiveness under all conditions. But we shouldn't expect to see zero evidence of their sexuality, that's just not realistic. Well that's just bonkers. Instead of taking neutering or behavioural advice from a dog walker who put my dog into a situation where there were 15 other dogs, I'd be pretty angry my dog had ended up in that situation. Dog walkers should not be meeting up with other dog walkers to create packs of dogs that go crazy together and are a menace for other people out with their dogs.
