Puppy Humping!

[2ndtime]

Yuck! I found our 9 week old puppy humping DDs teddy this afternoon. Surely this is not right. He's a baby! Babies shouldn't be violating cuddly toys should they?

How soon can we take drastic surgical intervention to nip this in the bud (as it were!)?

Hmmm. This brings back amusing memories of the family dog when he was small humping away at a) the large stuffed bunny and b) my mothers best friends electric blue stilleto boots (oh how we laughed... well, she didn't...)

...And the phrase "oh my god, your dog's got his lipstick out" (from best friend at the time) still brings a tear of mirth to my eye.

Not sure we did anything about it as such. He just grew out of it.

The stuffed rabbit was never the same again though.

Totally normal. Our lab bitch did it from time to time. Don't freak out about it, although you may want to provide his own 'companion'. Not sure of the ideal age for the snip but it may carry on afterwards - after all, our lab was a girl! Dogs do all kinds of embarassing things so you might as well get used to it!

It's nature to practice adult 'skills' and enjoy pleasurable activities. Try not to confuse human etiquette with doggy behaviour.

If it really bothers you then redirect his attentions to appropriate places and objects - i.e. his own special toy in his own space.

Our current dog (a two year old entire collie) enjoys his fleecy 'blanket' reguarly but it has never bothered us, it's his body he can enjoy it, and he's a member of the family and therefore we don't get embaressed by him.

Goodness knows what you would have thought of two dogs that we had when I lived at my parent's. We got a young mum (1 year) and her 8 week old pup. They mounted each other, even after we had the pair of them neutered (when the pup was 6 months old).

It's also worth pointing out that whilst there are many good reasons to have your dog castrated, it is not the be all and end all of behaviour correction. I know plenty of bitches and dogs that continued to mount after neutering, it's a operation which requires anesthetic and needs consideration.

Vets will recommend different ages for castration. I would say the average that I have been advised is six months. Some vets will work on the basis that if they can see it, then they can remove it (i.e. pretty young) but I would recommend waiting until the puppy has reached maturity (9 months - 18 months depending on the breed) as I feel castration interfers with their development.

I hope he's the only member of your family allowed to "enjoy his body" in polite company!

My own dog started humping at about four months; a friend's Jack Russell at two months. My personal favourite moment is when I found my puppy in his basket humping his blanket, with his rear legs bouncing up and down on the hot water bottle I'd put in there for warmth.

They grow out of it and neutering won't necessarily help. For the moment, I just brush it off with the words 'He's an adolescent...'

It comes from playing in the litter. Your puppy is showing dominance over the teddy. Our dog did exactly the same with a soft toy we gave him as a surrogate litter mate when we brought him home. I know it's potentially amusing, but it's best to get it under control now or he will try and do this with other dogs and even children (many dogs continue this behaviour when neutered.) When you catch him in the act, say his name and 'Off!' quite sternly, then take the teddy away from him immediately. He will soon learn that if he doesn't stop, the teddy gets taken away. Our dog is now almost three and hasn't tried to hump anything since. You're giving him a strong message about his place in the pack.