Is it possible to stop your dog's undesired behaviour?

[kid]

I wondered if it's possible to stop a male dog from trying to hump everything? I'm talking from male and female dogs to humans!

My previous dog died during his neutering op which he was only having to stop this behaviour. I didn 't like him doing it, but with hindsight, I would have preferred to live with that rather than live without him.

So, for future reference, can we stop that behaviour without neutering or how can we be 100% certain that another dog would not die in that way?

We might get another dog, we might not. We might get a puppy or a dog that has already been neutered. I am just exploring all avenues to be prepared for whichever option we decide to go for.

Kid I am so sorry about your pup and did post on the other thread.

Re your question here yes you can stop a dogs undesired behaviour - it can be hard work and it can take time but it can be done.

I don't know how to answer this post in the circumstances and the outcome may have been the same as I am guessing that it was the GA that was the problem not the neutering.

But some puppies hump for other reasons than hormonal. The behaviour can be distracted, altered and trained into something more positive. Jean Donaldson (Culture Clash) set the dog world spinning in to discusion when she said that she taught her dogs to hump her leg saying that if she taught them to do it she could teach them to stop. Controversial but an interesting approach!

You can give a chemical injection to the dog to see if the removal of the hormones stops the dog behaviour - never done this myself but it is an option - maybe Beautiful girls can fill in on the medical side of things.

However if you have a mature male dog chasing off after bitches, escaping, not being able to be trained as all he is thinking about are other things then neturing is an option.

I generally neuter for medical rather than behaviour issues.

I do feel so much for you as this must be such a rare thing to have happened but do realise that does not make any difference to how you are feeling.

There is another dog out there that would love to be homed by you and will have such a fab home when the time is right and certainly no replacement for Moby.

Thank you minimu1, I know it was rare what happened to moby, I just don't know if I could trust it not to happen again. My previous dog, a yorkie, wasn't neutered and lived to 14. He was pts due to multIple organ failure. That was sad but he was old, not the case with moby. My dog before that also wasn't neutered, he died at 16.

I am pleased to hear humping can be trained out of a dog. It wasn't an issue yet as when he was told no, he would get down. He also only did it if we bent down to pick something up. I was more concerned about him getting attacked by another male dog that did not want to be humped!

It was the GA that was the problem, they didn't even get to start the op as his heart stopes after 30 seconds. I am relieved the vet didn't ask for payment, I may have been charged with assault if he had!

"You can give a chemical injection to the dog to see if the removal of the hormones stops the dog behaviour - never done this myself but it is an option - maybe Beautiful girls can fill in on the medical side of things."

My dog had this, and it was successful. It's an implant which slow releases hormones over 6 months. The effect takes a few weeks to kick in, but it did calm my dog considerably and stopped the unwanted behaviours we had (not humping stuff, actually, but totally distractible and prone to running away). Neutering was a big deal for me and I wanted to see whether it would deal with the problems we had before doing an op, which is of course irreversible. I went on to neuter my hound, but I could have just continued with implants - this might be a solution for you.

So sorry about the loss of your pup.

There is an injection that lasts for 4-6 weeks and there is also an implant that you can use that lasts approx 6 months. I would go for the injection first of all as probably a bit cheaper just to see what sort of effect it has on the behaviour before you commit to paying out for the implants every 6 months. You will also get a fairly instant effect from this injection too. If you want to carry on with the implant you could have that placed at about 4 weeks on before the effects wear off. You may also find your vet will have to order the implants in specifically for you as they are not a daily use type of drug, so when you make the first appointment there is a good chance they wouldn't be able to do it then and there, but a better chance of the injection being available.

Thank you for that information on injections, sounds like an option if we did get an unneutered puppy. Do these injections carry any risk though?

I'm still finding it difficult to understand why a healthy 7 month old puppy's heart can just stop 30 seconds after a GA. Does it sound an allergic reaction? Are there any tests that could predict this reaction?
I don't want investigate what happened, plus his body has already been disposed of. But does the vet keep some kind of report of what happened?

Sorry for all the questions but I am trying to ensure that my family never go through such a loss like this again. It's only today that I have snapped out of my state of shock. I'm quite surprised at how quickly I snapped out of it but I am glad for DH and DC.

Everyone has been fantastic, in RL and on MN

kid, I have read your posts about the loss of Moby and I'm so sorry you're going through this. You have a lot of unanswered questions which are going to prey on your mind unless you address them. Could I suggest that you arrange to see your vet for a debrief? It is likely that they will be as much at a loss about why this happened as you are, but by talking you through the procedures and timeline of events they may be able to put your mind at rest that this has been an unforseeable event. As a vet I have never experienced the loss of a healthy animal under anaesthetic myself but a colleague unfortunately had this happen to her last year. It was very traumatic for her and despite it being no fault of hers she couldn't help but feel distress as the person responsible for the procedure. She had a meeting with the owners to answer their questions and express her condolences in person and it definitely helped both parties to come to terms with what had happened. This might be something to consider when you feel up to it.

Kid - without a full postmortem it is impossible to be sure what happened - on the other hand it is also possible that if a post mortem had been done that nothing would have been found to explain this. Some sort of adverse drug reaction is one possibility, as is some sort of undetected heart problem. I agree with OhExpletive that it may help you to talk this through with your vet when you are ready to. They may not have precise answers to exactly why, but they can hopefully reassure about the procedures followed and the safety measures that are in place to minimise these sorts of incidents happening. It really is a very rare occurrence, but that is little consolation when it is your family affected by such a loss.

Thanks fir the advice. I have to admit the thought of meeting the vet to discuss it terrifies me. I know the vet did all he could to save moby and I appreciate how diificult it was for him having to break the news to me.
When I took that dreadful call, I went cold, felt sick and almost fainted. I don't recall all that was said and I have got my dad to phone them to inform them to dispose of the body and to get the lead and collar back.

I think I will get another puppy, but could change my mind as I keep doing the past couple of days. I don't think I could go down the neutering route but would look at the injections or training.

I figured I could get answers to my questions here rather than by speaking to the vet. Actually, I just remembered I communicated by email about the neutering op so could do that again to get answers to my questions.

You don't have to do anything just now. It can all wait until you feel ready. Ditto getting another dog - there's no right and wrong time. You're still in the early stages of getting to grips with a horrible, truly unexpected loss. X

I have emailed the vet, just have to wait and see if they reply and what they have to say. I don't blame the vet for what happened, at least I don't thinkmi do. I know he didn't intend for moby to die and he was really appologetic when he had to brea. The news to me, but I do need to know why this happened to moby.

I am going to send a letter to the breeder tomorrow just incase it was hereditary. I'd hate for anynof his brothers or sisters to die and if she has kept contact details, she could at least warn them or even not do the same breed again.

I just don't want moby's death to be in vain. There must be something gained from it.
I will be taking the time to research ways to stop roaming and humping so I know what I have to do. That's on the assumption I get an unneutered dog.

I have been really brave today. Not actually shed any tears but can't help looking through his photos and some video footage we have pf him.

Sometimes it appears that there is nowt you can do. A lady I know has an extremely well trained 12 yo Border Collie who although neutered has a liking for humping all manner of things... cushions, teddies, thin air, you name it. Try as she might, and this lady is incredibly experienced, he won't stop.

S has now just got used to it and has a few well rehearsed apologies and excuses on hand when her dog humps things in front of young children or the vicar!

Lol, dogs will be dogs.
My 8 year DS couldn't quite understand what moby was doing. i'd just tell him that moby wanted a girlfriend which made DS recoil in terror at the mention of 'girlfriend'

Still no response from the vet. What am I going to do if he just ignores my request for an explanation?
Maybe I made him panic that I am going to be taking it further. I don't think I gave that impression, but then if he did nothing wrong, whats he got to worry about?

I know I need to give him time to reply as he obviously has his other patients to see. I just wish they would acknowledge my email and let me know they will reply.

The vet that performed the surgery on moby did respond. I can't read his reply just yet, got tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. Just saw the opening sentence of 'can I start again by saying how sorry I am for the loss of moby'
can't read anymore just yet, will wait for the kids to go to bed.