My boy is 1 and really excitable. He likes to lick guests then try and hump them, he also does this with toys and his bed. We are thinking about getting him neutered hoping it will calm him down and lessen his urge to hump. Does this sound familiar to anybody ? I would like peoples thoughts on this, thanks.
Re: Dog Neutering If the humping has become a habit over a period of time, then castration wont be the only answer to the problem as it has become a set pattern, a learned behaviour . Castration can help to calm , but really, it isnt a tool for altering any behaviour for the better . I would start to distract him every time he starts to hump , its not a nice habit for a dog to have, especially when people are involved in it and maybe have a chat with your Vet , get their take on the effects of castration for him ?
Re: Dog Neutering I agree with Kate. Castration may help, but won't cure the humping. It has become a learned behaviour so you will need to do some training with him too.
Re: Dog Neutering I agree with the others. The only thing castrating will definitely do is stop him being interested in bitches in season. We had a spayed bitch in the family who loved to hump her cushion!!!! : Training to alter the behaviour is I think the main answer.
Re: Dog Neutering My dog was different so take heart ;D My young dog would hump my older dog, I had him castrated at 19 months old and from that moment he never did it again. I am sure castration will help and as Kate and Jane suggested alter the behaviour as well.
Re: Dog Neutering It depends on the study you choose to read of course - there are so many it's impossible to read them all and many are quite old. Your vets very well may have access to the lastest information so definitely chat it through with them. I've read that castrating your dog may, but certainly will not necessarily, result in a reduction in humping. It might also reduce urine marking and roaming seeking bitches (again no guarantees). There is a smaller possibility it might reduce aggression and reactivity to other dogs caused by dog to dog aggression. I haven't read anything to make me believe it will have any effect on generally calming down your dog. The two studies that seem to be the clearest are these (you need to purchase a subscription to read them online unfortunately 1. Neilson JC, Eckstein RA, Hart BL. Effects of castration on problem behaviors in male dogs with reference to age and duration of behavior. 1997 2. Hart BL, Eckstein RA. The role of gonadal hormones in the occurrence of objectionable behaviours in dogs and cats. 1997 I am not in favour of the routine castration of dogs, so don't agree with the general thrust of the following article (which advocates castration in the circumstances you describe) - I say this just to make it clear that in linking to this article I'm not saying I think you should castrate your dog - the following helpfully gives a summary of the results of the two studies above: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sophia-yin/does-spaying-or-neutering_b_272030.html Do though watch out for the positive slant on the results, it would be easy to write them with a different tone. EG instead of the "the decrease [in objectionable behaviour] was marked" the author could have written "there is less than 50% chance of seeing an improvement in behaviour". And of course there may well be other studies that show different results.
Re: Dog Neutering Thanks for the replies, I will work on the training and distraction methods to redirect his behaviour. He only seems to do it with other people though as this is what triggers his excitement. Thanks again
Re: Dog Neutering Something as simple as teaching him to go and get a toy when greeting visitors might work, or teaching him to sit when meeting new people. It just gives him another behaviour to focus on instead of the humping.
