hi i have a 12 month old choc lab and he is usually sweet but as he is going through adolescance he has begun to not listen hump everyhting in sight and being gen moody , where i take him while i am at work they have said he is humping every dog and being a pain , donna who owns the creche says my dex is not coping with is hormones and is struggling with it , i know this makes him sad as he looks sad and gen not want to play to the extent he usually does, i know he is tired when he has been at creche but he does seem different somehow and now i have boked him in for castration as everybody is saying have him done, i have spoken to my brother and the vet and donna where i take him as she has 48 yrs experience with dogs so these people know what tey are talking about, i just feel apprenhensive am i doing the right thing trena
Hi cabbage, welcome to the forum! Sorry you are having problems with your boy. I am not very expert at giving advice, but as far as I know, there is no good evidence that neutering will cure these behaviours you describe. Pippa has an article on the main site, and if you haven't already seen it, you might find it useful having a look http://www.thelabradorsite.com/should-i-have-my-labrador-neutered-the-latest-evidence/ I think once behaviours are established they are a lot more difficult to solve. Taking cushions away when he is humping, not allowing him to hump other dogs (so maybe keeping him more controlled when off lead) for instance. Maybe free play at your dog-minder isn't so good. Is he supervised enough, and is your dog minder intervening and trying to prevent these behaviours? I hope someone else can come along and give you some advice. jac
I may be making a lot of assumptions here and apologies if so. If your boy is humping everything he's probably getting told off quite a bit so he's full of hormones doing what males full of hormones like to do and getting an earful of grief. I'd look sad or at least bemused/confused too..... Whilst castration probably can curb testosterone fuelled behaviour so can good management and training. Distraction as Jacqui suggests and praise with rewards when he does pay attention will help enormously. My spaniel is about 16 months old now. I've had to keep his bed in his closed cage for the last 6 months or he drags it round the house humping it. This behaviour has definitely diminished recently. I expect it to continue to fade away. There are plenty of good reasons for castration, there are also ways to manage and train through this teenage stage. Have a look at the article on the main page and see what you think best of luck whatever you decide!
Hi there! My Sophie is just turning 12 months this week and has been jumping her bed even though she’s neutered. My vet said it’s not sexual and just a way gut her to burn off energy and I’ve started teaching her to “leave it” and it’s been helping. she’s also in adolescence and has turned into a rebel. I have to tell her basic commands sometimes like “sit” 3 times before she does it. Or I say it once snd I don’t move until she does it. Sometimes it takes her 90 seconds. I’m told by my trainer this is typical and just keep reinforcing. She has been getting better in some areas but I definitely can identify the teenager in her
My pup is the same. We never neutered our other labs but probably will have to with Gabe since he has an undescended testicle. From what I've read, it can turn cancerous if not removed. I will see if the behavior changes but would not do it for that reason.
