Angus is 11 months old now and sill intact. He has recently taken a liking to my 5 year old grandson and basically trying to hump him. I was wondering if this is due to hormones kicking in and it’s a phase that will soon pass. Angus isn’t like it with anyone else and it has only started in the last few days. Any advice would be appreciated. Merry Christmas Everyone x
It's probably just because he's really excited about seeing your grandson, and he's at an age where developmentally things are running amok, but there is the risk of the behaviour becoming habitual if it's allowed to continue. I would give Angus a nice yummy kong to help teach him to be calm and settle around your grandson. You could keep his harness and lead on if need be, to keep him settled in his bed and not pestering your grandson, until he learns to be calm. If he keeps going for your grandson, you could remove Angus from the room or wherever you are, and only let him back in when he's being calm.
I agree with @SilverFalcon , its a habit that needs to be stopped by distraction . I doubt there is anything remotely sexual about the humping , it is pure excitement that get too much to handle ! Don't make a big song and dance about it , just distract him as soon as it starts .
My two girls often wanted to hump each other - not a behaviour to be encouraged! Distraction and not allowing it to become a habit is the way.
Yup, unless your grandson smells like a bitch in season (which is remarkably unlikely) then it's likely purely over-excitement. I agree the best course is distraction and encouraging calm.
You could try giving him another object to hump and encouraging him on that. I got a big teddy bear for Oban and that's the only thing he has ever humped, but he started at 9 weeks. Poppa Bear still gets a workout about once a day, is ten years old now, like Oban, and has had rhinoplasty and abdominal surgery to repair damage to his anatomy. Obviously we do not mind the dog humping (we hide Poppa in a closet when company comes) but if you do you can fade your teddy out if you wish.
Thanks everyone for replying. Angus is with my grandson every day, they are often cuddled up together watching tv. Angus knows what time to expect my grandson to come in on the way from school etc. Angus has only just started this and it’s not a constant thing, he will just suddenly start to do it but will walk away as soon as I tell him no. I will keep a closer eye on him when they are together . The only thing I can think of that’s changed in the last couple of weeks is grandson has just got a tortoise, maybe Angus can smell that on him lol .
